16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
I kind of like the funky shaped tomatoes that come from these type of blossoms. Maybe not so great for the market, but I think they often have their own beauty.
Dig something ugly, man!
I've heard you shouldn't save seed from them though since they're easier for the pollinators to get into (and therefore cross pollinate).
The main stem of my tomatoes do a major split (fork) at about 12" to 18" above the ground. My first tie is at this point or a few inches above, by looping a strip of cloth around the plant and stapling it to the wooden stake. Any suckers that are not captured within this tie are topped, i.e. just the growing tip removed. If I let these branches grow, I will either have to go back later and tie them, creating a dense base, or they will lean over and drop to the ground, often breaking. I prefer to keep the lower part of the plants more airy and all branches above the fork supported. More air circulation, cleaner appearance, and less work.
TomNJ/VA
again, a very nice discussion, probably with my climate in Sault Ste. Marie, which is just slightly north of upper UP Michigan, I'll start to keep the garden in check at the beginning of September, I am hoping to extend my season by covering with a hoop house/ plastic when it starts to get chilly - if we get a warm fall, that will certainly help - have a nice day, paul m. :)
If I will share... Then I like movie franchises for example Harrypotter, James bond, Twilight. All of these are my favorite movies.
There are several ways to disinfect seeds. My personal preference is simply to mist them with a 1:10 bleach solution. Then dry them well. Some prefer to use diluted hydrogen peroxide. I use cheap disposable coffee pot filters for seed drying.
Other methods of disinfecting are discussed in the Saving Tomato Seeds FAQ and in other discussions here.
Dave
Perhaps the most important thing with tomato plants is sunlight, sunlight, sunlight. Temperatures from the lower 50s to upper 80s allow them to grow. Cooler temperatures at night are not generally a problem, but if the temps drop into the upper 30s, you should provide some protection (even if frost isn't predicted, you can easily get it with temps below 40 degrees). One study I saw said that tomatoes germinated best from temperatures in the lower 80s, but grew best from 65 to 75. Don't know how true this is. They don't need massive amounts of water at first, in fact more water can slow them down, but the soil shouldn't be drying out more than about a half inch down.
If you tend to have inconsistent weather, with Spring periods of nice sunny days followed by a few days of freezing or snowstorms, then that is one place where Walls of Water might excel Here is an Amazon.com page for about the best price you will see them at: http://www.amazon.com/WALL-O-WATER-3-PACK/dp/B0000DI86C/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
When planting, I generally plant them up to just below a set of good, bushy leaves. But in NO CASE do I plant deeper than about 8 inches. If the plant is longer than that, I tend to tilt it and lay it on its side, so that most of the plant is 4 to 8 inches deep. This is based on tomatoes I had in the past where I planted them up to 1 1/2 feet deep (they were large plants, okay) and later in the summer, I had occasion to dig them up. First of all, production was no better than on a smaller plant, planted only 8 inches deep. Second, all the new roots that had developed were in the first 2 to 6 inches below ground.
I don't believe they develop roots from 'fuzz' but from almost anywhere along the stem, particularly at the joints.
Lastly, it is very common once you plant ANY tomato plant for it to shut down for 2 weeks or so. This is kind of a SHOCK process as it adjusts to it's new home, but it doesn't mean that nothing is happening. It may be not just adjusting, but actually starting to send out additional roots and otherwise preparing to grow. Warmer temperatures and bright sun (with adequate but not excessive water) speed this process, while cold, wet, cloudy conditions extend this period of time. It is also true that if your plants are well hardened off and able to deal with stress, that they might move through this period better. If you have plants in Walls of Water, some people think that the WOWs may actually help the plant to go through this adjustment period earlier. Other people think that the Walls of Water DESTROY any hardening the plant has been through, and that the plants will delay, again, for a week or two, once you take the Walls of Water off. I personally am not convinced of this. As I said, I am a big believer in walls of water and have enough for over 100 plants at a time.
Once you do put the plants out into the ground (hopefully they are exposed to as much sunlight and warm air as you can get) keep the soil moist - damp, but not flooded. In the early days it is generally better to water a little bit in the mornings, every few days than large amounts all at once, and try to avoid watering at night during the cooler weather periods (watering at night chills the plants more from evaporation).
Fertilize VERY SMALL amounts perhaps once per week or every other week, rather than large amounts of fertilizer all at once. Fertilizer can stress the plants too, for sure.
Avoid excessively windy areas, if possible.
Keep weeds away from the plants.
If you do all of these things, then, when the weather turns consistently warm and sunny, your plants should take off and grow very well.
No way to know without growing them out just as with any other hybrid. There are too many genetic variables - color, size, shape, brix, skin thickness, etc. etc. etc.. I don't know Sungold's parentage but It isn't always just two parent stocks with F1 seeds and these are F2 seeds.
They are grandkids or even maybe even great-grandkids if grandma had a really dominant gene or two.
It boils down to your choice.
Dave
Since you didn't add the fert strip why do you feel you can't add it now? If not for some reason then you will have to feed the plant weekly with a liquid fertilizer of some kind. Many of us that use Earthboxes give it a liquid fert boost every couple of weeks anyway even with the fertilizer and lime strip in place.
But yeah you can't expect them to do well without some sort of feeding. Your big problem will be that you have two plants with different nutrient needs in the same box.
Dave
Don't know which one you bought but all granular organic fertilizers contain ingredients that will be attractive to animals. That is the nature of the ingredients in organic fertilizers and plants need feeding/fertilizing.
The problem is that the dogs have access to the garden, not the fertilizer.
Dave
Depending on what bush variety you have, you will probably need some kind of support for each plant. Even if the enclosure keeps them all upright, you'll have to get at them to pick your tomatoes, and you don't want a tangle of vines falling out on you whenever you open the door :) the critters sure wont get at them, though!
I'm growing Better Bush this year, and it would definitely sprawl if not caged/staked.
So I tried what was supposed to be Opalka this year based on the favorable reviews in this 5 year old thread.
Results are small plants (not spindly), with small sized fruit which more resemble San Marzano. In short, I believe my purchased Opalka seeds are something other than Opalka.
I also tried Amish Paste as a comparison this year. Plants are tall spindly; two to three times the height of the "Opalka" plants. Production looks OK - fewer fruit but much larger than the supposed "Opalka".
I may try Opalka again next year but if I do so will definitely need to find a different source for the seed.
This post was edited by grandad on Tue, Jun 11, 13 at 9:54
Thanks AJ. That is quite a bit more dramatic then what I was dealing with but still, never knew it was one of the signs of herbicide damage.
Thanks ajsmama
They look harder hit because glyphosate has been sprayed directly onto the plants. I did suspect this but thank you very much for confirming it.
Steve