16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Incredible. Bonnie Plants may have been more in charge of the pricing, not Home Depot. Hardware and garden prices are no longer as attractive as before. Just bought some carriage bolts the other day for ~$1 each (~$0.80 contractor volume price), which cost $0.17 for the identical product sold by a local fence company.
Home Depot irresponsibly allowed hackers to have 56 million payment card details (names, credit/debit card account numbers, expiration dates, internal card security codes, ZIP codes and whether the card was a debit or credit card) and 53 million corresponding email addresses of all people who shopped at Home Depot’s stores and social security numbers if you got credit with them and DOB and addresses if you returned merchandise, between April 2014 and September 2014 in the U.S. and Canada (You still can get them to pay for the year ($15/month) of deluxe identity protection services they purchase on request for anyone who requests it at https://homedepot.allclearid.com/ in the US, or Equifax Premier in Canada).
I don't like HD any more ... this is how they reward our patronage after they put the local nurseries and hardware stores out of business
PC
The Super Snow White is a little bigger with a 2 oz fruit. Tastes the same. I know a lot of people think Italian Ice and Snow White is the same. I can tell you that every year here in Los Angeles there is an event called Tomatomania. They sell 600 different varieties!!!! In any case, Snow White and Italian Ice are two different varieties that they sell. I have never grown Italian Ice but I know they look similar though I think the Italian Ice is a little lighter in color.
From your list I've grown the following:
Isis Candy - was nice and fruit was super sweet but prone to cracking; prefer Sun Gold
Super Snow White - not much flavor though the fruit was large (2oz); prefer Dr. Carolyn's (ping pong sized white cherries)
Stupice - gave me an early harvest but flavor was mushy; my fav for early is "Kimberly"
Sungold - classic home run variety. I grow it every year.
Thanks for highlighting those two sweet cherry varieties. They certainly sound fabulous.
This year as a little experiement I'm going to compare Sungold (F1) and Sun Sugar (F1) with their supposed OP replacements: Ambrosia (OP) and Big SunSelect (OP).
Here's my tomato list:
smithmal
Well you have at least 4 different gardening zones in Mass, possibly more, so specific location would play some role. But the majority of the state is 5a and 5b so aside from different planting times you should be able to grow any of the early or mid-season varieties and there are literally hundreds of those, thousands if you grow your own from seed.
So could you narrow down your preferences more? Growing from seed or buying transplants? If buying, any ideas what varieties are available to choose from there? Determinant or indeterminant, cherry or slicer or beefsteak, red or pink or other colors, hybrid or open-pollinated, etc. What size is your bed? How deep? How many plants do you want to grow? What sort of cages or other supports do you use?20 or 30 :)
With that info we can narrow down the suggestions from hundreds to maybe 30.
Dave
Wormgirl,
Yeas they (WF) had a lot of good popular varieties. I re think they had hybrid too, like 4th of July.
The thread is already dealt with, I think. The neighbor is not going to get any benefit from it anyway. We hope nitsua does not mind us getting off the track.
Sey
see this video from Univ of Maine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSf3aSj46jo
This is how I have been doing it for years. While it isn't exactly a weave, it supports the plants and does a great job. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZHEL0_uBww
Hi fireduck,
I'm on the sunny side of WA. I grew out four Willamettes last year purchased as starts from a local Spokane nursery. I planted two in pots (5 gal) and two in ground. All were very healthy, vigorous and productive compact plants. Each went thru three distinct fruiting cycles and lasted until frost.
There were a few problems, the biggest being the taste. They tasted on par with store bought tomato, so completely tasteless. Very disappointing.
Also, they were not early either. Anna Russian and CP ripened earlier for me.
On a more positive note, "The Tomato Lady" in Spokane Valley, 10 miles away from me, has had great successes with Willamettes. She won grand prize at the local county fair in 2013 with her Willamette and it's one of her favorites varieties.
Shelley
Wouldn't a cold frame arrangement help raise the early soil temperature past the critical point? Just use it for appropriate non-tomato plants and move it out of the way when the toms are demanding to go into the ground? (caution: even though I do all germination outside, I haven't used a CF since they were made of wood and glass storm windows because plastic wasn't invented yet.) I know there's a scale problem but early toms are worth it!
"Where I am in Miami, Florida, I am wondering if a shade house would ... help tomatoes survive a Miami summer. I believe they are used mostly to help Orchids survive in sunny yards."
My parents' home in WPB had a grapefruit, an old-timey avocado, and an impossibly huge ficus tree. They held what seemed like a hundred orchids and bromeliads 24/7/365. It would seem you guys have an ideal orchid climate.
I'm not familiar with midwest weather Randy but in North Tx I must plant at the very earliest date after frost,plant two weeks early and cover when frost threatens or use cold frames to give plants a head start. The time between last frost and 90 deg F where blossoms no longer set isn't long enough for tomatoes varietes over 70 days. Most people plant two weeks before last frost and cover as needed. The problem with that is if you are delayed in removing covers plants can be shocked or killed from overheating. My answer is in my cold frames. My frames are much taller than conventional. I am both curious and frugal so I repurpous,recycle and experiment at every opertunity. I will explain one frame that you are familiar with so that you can see how I build a frame from scratch. i rescued a supermarket reach in dairy case which is about perfect. I cut a 6" vent near bottom and installed a 3" flexiable hose at top. Hose runs down 18"to connect to a box containing fan from dairy case. The descending hose prevents heat lose by natural convection (warm air rises,cold air drops.) The thermostat has one set of contacts that make on temperature rise above an adjustible 32F to 55F and break as temperature drops which in turn control cooling compressor. There is a secound set of contacts which make and break inverse to first set. When unnessary components were stripped,I retained defrost heaters and connected them to the secound set of contacts which make on temp fall turning heaters on then break when temp reaches 45-50F. Another salvaged t-stat was mounted high in case, internally altered to perform in the 80F range and connected to fan. I save and raid gas station island trash for black oil,trans fluid and anti-freeze jugs. Jugs are filled with weak mix of water/anti-freeze then placed inside case where solar heat is stored then released during night to miniumize energy used by defrost heaters. A chime is connected parallel with heaters and a buzzer with fan to allow me to dial them in. Plants sit near top in colder weather then decend to lower shelves as they grow and weather milds. When plants are removed from flats they go into 1 gallon pots. Cumulativly, years tinkering has shown as cu ft space inside frame increases, maintaining temperature becomes increasingly easier. Gallon pots ease moisture and nutrient maintainance, reduce transplant shock and alow plants to hit the ground running. I hope this was relivant to your question.
The temperatures ( 50F ++) is just fine.
Now if you keep them in the shady place, there is no need to cover them with shade cloth. A couple hours of morning sun should be ok to start.
One more thing: Can you keep your basement cooler for few days before moving your plants out ? For example by opening windows (if there are any).
But all in all min. temp of 50F should not be too shocking, especially when you bring them out in the morning when it starts getting warmer out side. The purpose of hardening of it to avoid big changes in temperature for a few few days until the get used to it. Tomatoe can tolerate temperatures as low as 37F, provided it is done gradually. But in your case 50F is nothing to be concerned about.
Sey
Howdy Hudson.
On August 18th, 2013, you posted a Better Boy and Brandy Boy Cross. Meant to ask if you followed up by saving seed and replanting it? I realize that there's a lot of variance in the F2 and F3 generations, but if good lineage(s) are selected and stabilized then *Better Brandy Boy OP* could be a real keeper.
Oh, btw, i'm going to flood my friends, family and coworkers with extra Brandy Boy starts this year, haha. They're doing great in real sunshine as opposed to indoor lighting, they will be ready for plant-out the 2nd or 3rd week of May, which is the norm around here.
Steve
Your are right PC - besides - I got to smell my fingers after pruning some suckers this morning - haha. Good luck on the Dwarf BB - I would plant it!
Hi Steve - no, I didn't save the seeds on the cross - but think I may when I retire and have more time to keep track of things - guess I will leave it to Burpee and PC for the time being - haha.
<A question though, why would a mega bloom place anymore stress on the plant than if the blossoms did not fuse and 2 or 3 tomatoes were forming from the separate blossoms?>
Normal growth vs. abnormal growth. My arthritic knees working in the garden vs. your healthy ones ones working in the garden. Big difference. :)
In this case the central stem would have kept growing, providing circulation of water and nutrients. Now it can't.
All you have to do to get your zone location added like the rest of us is to go to your profile page here - just click on your name - and add it in the slot provided. From then on it is automatic.
Dave
The early ones in the big high tunnel are Polbig, BHN 1021, Cherokee Purple, BHN 871 and BHN876, FL 91 and Big Beef. The picture with the coffee can in it are Big Beef.
Blooms will be opening up this weekend I bet. We will have tomatoes before anyone at the market and after everyone at the market. As for most, it is our #1 crop.
Jay
Alright JR. Have a home run !
Most of your varieties are not familiar to me. Maybe they are available for the big guys. But I am growing Big Beef, (op + F1, one of each) for the first time. I have heard so much positive about it that I had to have it.
Have a great season !
Sey
Personally, I'm going to punt on paste tomatoes this year due to their proclivity to Blossom-End Rot (BER) and grow the following for sauces:
From what I've read, these tomatoes have very meaty, have great taste and generally are not that affected by BER.
smithmal
Doing a quick google search I am surprised to find out there actually IS thought to be such a thing as people who are allergic to lycopene. (Not much info on it out there though.) I'm surprised by this, because there are hundreds of compounds in tomatoes (if not thousands) and I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that it's the lycopene that's causing the problem. It's possible this idea is based on people who didn't tolerate lycopene in supplement form (and there are other reasons they may not have tolerated it besides the lycopene itself).
On the other hand, it's well known that some people are sensitive to solanums, which is where I would start if I noticed some reaction to eating tomatoes.
I have heard that lycopene content is enhanced by cooking with oil.