16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

Planting deep is good advice for long season areas so long as the soil temp at planting depth is above 60 degrees. The root system will develop deeper which contributes to more fruit production. Do not plant deep any time the soil temperature is below 60 degrees. This applies to early season plantings in southern climates and most plantings in northern climates. The low temperature is equivalent to putting your feet in an ice water bath for the plant.

When you are dealing with cold soil temperatures, mound the soil up 6 to 8 inches high, then cover it with black plastic. Set a plant into the top of the mound through the plastic, putting it about half the length of the stem into the soil. As temperatures rise, remove the plastic and mound soil up around the plant until another 4 to 6 inches has been added to the mound. The black plastic will absorb heat and transfer it to the soil mound. The mound will warm up faster when the sun shines and cool down slower during rain.

DarJones

I half remembered this deep planting advice from my father in law about 30 years ago. So this year I planted deep but forgot to remove the bottom set of leaves. Seriously. Remembered after a few days but decided it would be worse to dig them back up. Luckily no ill effects. They are all off and running and doing well about a month later.
This is the first veggie garden I have had in about 20 years so I have been reading GW like mad.

I also have 3 stems coming out of the main stem about 2 inches from the ground and the leaves on them are turning yellow they have holes and shriveled and those leaves at the end of them stems lay on the ground

This post was edited by John_JJ on Tue, Jun 4, 13 at 21:05

the leaves on them are turning yellow they have holes and shriveled and the tips of them touch the ground

Those I would remove. Nothing is gained by leaving discolored or damaged leaves on the plant. Most of us remove the lower branches that touch/drag the ground. Some will remove any up to just below the first bloom cluster.

Dave

Neem oil worked for me last year. I had tons of them. Spray every square inch of the plant.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I will try to first flush it off with a gentle jet of water ... then if they persist try the hand method... then the soap water ... then the garlic ... then the neem :)

Didnt know this was so common on the forum. Thanks so much !
G

The middle bucket has a celebrity, the two buckets left of that are just called "patio tomatoes", the two other buckets are called Better Bush maybe?... I will look at the tags next time I go out to make sure. The Better Bush are by far the best producers so far. The celebrity has a ton of blooms and a few small tomatoes so far. The Patio's have a ton of blooms and a lot of small tomatoes. The ones in the ground are Better Boy's and so far they are not doing as good. Hopefully the new round of fertilizer will prod them on.....They are very sturdy plants and such a deep green color. The green bean plants are still pretty small but they are producing green beans. The cucumbers have not bloomed yet and seem to be slow growing, could be because they are somewhat in the shady part, in between the buckets maybe....but it is what it is.. lol and still fun. I can see a lot of fresh tomatoes and salsa in my future

RB.. the one in the corner is a different variety, it's a Celebrity...It was also smaller then the other's when I bought it... and actually the two biggest ones get less sun then all the others.

As soon as all of my seedlings have emerged, I take them off of the heat mat.

They go straight outside if the weather allows during the day, and into the garage at night. On particularly cool nasty spring days, they stay in the garage under grow lights during the day.

I like to expose them to full sun and weather from the beginning, before any true leaves form. This way the plant grows pre-hardened off.

Of course, I am growing about dozen plants I can easily move back and forth. If you had a large number, this may not be practical.

So you think it's better to start them inside under grow lights even when it's warm and sunny outside?

The ideal way is to start them in a greenhouse where they have all the advantages of limited spectrum, UV blocked sunlight (and supplemental light when needed) but in a temperature and air circulation controlled environment.

But that isn't practical for most small home gardeners. So yes, the next best method is indoors under lights and fans until they are established and old enough to be gradually exposed to outdoor elements.

Not only does it give you a head start on the season but it results in transplants that, if it is done properly, are almost as good as greenhouse grown plants. The problems with transplants that can result from growing indoors under lights are due to the grower not understanding how to do it properly not because they are grown indoors.

Dave

Thanks for the advise. One of the reasons I was thinking about using the mulch was due to the fact that it has been very windy and the clips are not holding the cloth. I have pushed dirt on top in places and that helps, that is what one of my neighbors does. I have always put mulch over the cloth and have found that the ground stays damp better.
Now if I can get my daughter to get the tractor out and bring me a few buckets, I will be all set!

Yes, I've used dried grass clippings as mulch for tomatoes right over the soaker hoses. I usually don't have enough, so also use straw.

Just about any medium to large slicer catfaces for me in the Pacific Northwest. Cool weather during fruit set seems to make it more pronounced. Here is one last years' Paul RobesonâÂÂs with an innie.

That one's really pretty!

I guess I need to grow more medium-large slicers. I've been growing a lot of saladette types...

How deep is the soil layer under your beds? I have less than a foot of soil over pretty much solid rock, drainage is a big issue in much of the hill country. You might want to consider doubling the depth of your beds next year if your soil is shallow.

Soil is two cinder blocks high so pretty deep and of course hill country rock underneath. I trimmed the dead/dying stuff and turned off the water and most seem to be making a come back. The yellow pears and juliets are looking strong, but the celebrities are still on the fence.

Thanks for the response!

It looks more like sunburn (sunscald) to me. How gradually did you harden them off?

That name is a good example of what I call variety name contamination - La Roma VF Italian Type vs. Roma, Roma VF, Martino's Roma, Italian Roma, Roma Italian, Little Mama Roma, etc. etc. see link below.

One never knows what they are getting. "Roma" - the name - doesn't mean Roma - the variety - any more.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: List of umpteen roma varieties

Interesting. Never seen and heard of ROUND Roma.

That plant and its flowers look normal, to me.
Tomato fruits will grow very slowly, not like zucchinis . Just be patient, as already mentioned.

Too much humidity will cause the pollen to clump and
thereby inhibit pollination. Are your nighttime temps
above 55 F? That's another major factor in setting fruit.
So are temps above 90 F.