16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

This monster is really starting to take off.

there are blooms everywhere and every day more blooms turn into fruit.

close up of the first group of fruit. they are starting to turn red

The hair on the stem absorbs moisture. And if buried in moist soil will develop roots but not every hair will become a root. Based on that principal you plant a small young short branch and it will root and become a plant. Many vegetables do that like basils, shiso, mint.. So planting deeper and/or hilling around the stem of tomato can helt it to develop more roots and be more stable too. Same goes for squash and cucumber.

Thanks seysonn, but I was really looking for some science, that I could understand, as to how the roots are formed and which cells/structures on the stems have the potential to form roots. The ability of many plants to root from stems is well known and exploited by gardeners. I use it myself when I plant Brassicas deeper when transplanting. Carolyn's info about the root primordia was what I was after. I was trying to find out whether it was indeed the trichomes (hairs) which became roots and it seems that it is not. The growth of adventitious roots appears to be caused by a flow of auxins towards preformed root initials (primordia) in a response to excess moisture and is a defence against oxygen deprivation in flood conditions. At least I think that's it, if I have understood it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato stem rooting

It is not, probably a BER. The rot is further away. Also the stem looks like being chewed by something too. Could it be a caterpillar? I have never seen a thing like that on tomatoes. But I have seen rats doing it to cukes and melons.

We dont have rat issues, thank god I hate them. We do have coons though. Just seems like they would do more damage. They are pretty big. Not sure.

Yes, 18" of soil is definitely on the right track. Adding more might be better, but honestly, given everything we've talked about here, I'd likely just let it go and see what happens

Regarding the weather, cherries seem to be less fussy than regular tomatoes, so they may actually be a better choice for you after all. I hope you'll keep us posted. :)

I will definitely keep you guys posted, and I want to say thank you all so much for the help and support as I figure out what the heck I'm doing, LOL!

It is without a doubt in my mind, a tomato. And what is more , it has kind of potato leaves too. BrandyWine ?
Did you have brandy wine last year?

That's one healthy little volunteer tomato plant!! It looks great despite the unpredictable spring weather this year.

The fun part, besides eating them, will be guessing what type it is, do you remember what types you planted last year?

Remember it can also be a seed from someone's salad or sandwich. If the tomatoes end up tasting dull and lifeless, then i'd say it was an errant seed from someone's lunch :)

- Steve

This post was edited by sjetski on Thu, May 30, 13 at 22:22

Like I mentioned, there were so many opinions I was just getting more and more confused and just decided that I needed to make a decision and hopefully this mix will work for me.

It can be confusing but for future reference, peat repels water for the most part. It is difficult to get wet and then it dries out quickly and once dried becomes water repellant again. It becomes a cycle of water control issues.

The reason it can work in bagged mixes rather than making your own out of plain peat is the bagged mixes have additives. They come wetting agents already added to eliminate the water repelling and they are already pH balanced by adding lime to the mix.

Better to move while it is already shocked then to let it adjust some and then send it back into shock again. Kinda like folks - we'd rather have all the bad news at one time then get hit with a series of bad surprises. :)

Dave

Ah ...that makes sense about the peat moss.

Would you suggest using straight Miracle-Gro mix or do you have another mix you would recommend?

I'm debating just moving them into the ground. There is a spot next to my house that the dogs can't get to that gets plenty of sun. I feel like the tomatoes would probably be happiest there ...provided I do some soil prep.

Sun Gold in a 10 gallon will be stressed - more and more as it grows. And it will get root bound just because it is a Humongous plant.

But from the looks of the leaves I'd guess a combo of salt accumulation, N tip burn, and some sun scorching. But that is just a guess based on the pic. Need to know what all you have been feeding it and how often and what mix is in the container and what the weather has been (air temps) please?

Dave

PS: keep in mind that Smart Pots dry out 2x faster than plastic containers when it comes to watering.

Thanks Dave,

I recycled most of last years Miracle-grow potting mix. Added some organic fertilizer (about 10-1-2) and organic tomato fertilizer to the mix. After it starts fruiting, I fertilized it with Ammonium-Sulfate and miracle grow 24-8-16 fertilizer, about half table spoon per 2 gal water about once a week.

Like you said, there maybe too much nitrogen and salt accumulation. Also, the leaves facing north looks better than leaves facing south. I will try to leach some salt out of the potting mix. Thanks.

I didn't use grow lights but I didn't use them last year, either. Everything did fine last year. I have a very sunny, south-facing window sil and thought it was enough.

Maybe I didn't harden them off properly. That is probably part of the issue.

Thanks for letting me know, Dave, about the problem of adding leaves. I need to learn more about soil and compost. I really lack knowledge and skill in that area, and it's so important.

I did add blood meal last week but so far it hasn't made any difference.

Thanks, again!

Half of my tomato plants look identical to yours and I'm also debating whether I should pull them or not. Here's some background on my situation which may shed some light on what's happening to both of our plants.

I planted some of my tomato plants in one garden plot. I had tilled compost into this plot several years ago. After that, I simply cover the plot with leaves in the fall, the leaves which remain in spring act as mulch. These tomato plants are doing fine.

I planted other tomato plants in my second plot. I built up this second plot using the lasagne gardening method by piling on coffee grounds, leaves, and grass clippings atop a bed of cardboard. I did this two years ago, and all my tomato plants grew well in this plot last year. I also cover this plot with leaves in the fall. This season, all of my tomato plants in this plot look like the ones in your photo.

I have planted some identical tomato plants in both plots, yet they are not doing well in the second plot. All tomato plants were planted at the same time, May 15, with the same additives in the holes (fish, bonemeal, epson salt, tomato tone). It was warm when they were planted, then it cooled off significantly, and it is now warming up again. We have also had a significant amount of rain since May 15th.

If the additives or weather were a factor, I think it would have affected all of my plants rather than just those in the second plot. This leads me to believe there is something about the soil in my second plot that is affecting the plants.

Strange how we both have similar looking tomato plants in similar soil. I do not till my soil in either plots so the leaves sit on top until they decompose.

This post was edited by jaidog on Thu, May 30, 13 at 19:03

I am planning to save seeds for the first time this year, and would like to know if tomatoes that are left to fully ripen or even over ripen on the plant will produce more viable seeds than those picked at first blush.

Makes little difference. As long as there is obvious blush at the blossom end the seeds are mature. Just let it continue to ripen indoors before harvesting the seeds.

Dave

Thanks so much, Dave!!! Clarity ... gosh how I love it!

I like to keep mine outside, too. I just move them from sun to a shady location. Even in the shady location they will get some of that great natural light, not to mention the fresh air and a little breeze. You probably know that part of the hardening off process is to get them accustomed to breezes/winds.

Agree that once they go out they do best if left out. Back and forth, in and out can be stressful for them as they keep having to re-adjust.

But that means only when day and night temps are ok and you need to make a somewhat wind protected and shaded area for them outside not just set them out on an open deck in the sun.

Dave

Thanks Dave.

I look for old straw, because around here I can usually get it for free.

Betsy

Thanks for the luck! I figure I will pull the worst ones and see if the better ones will be OK. Do I just leave them be or cut off the new/damaged growth?

I went to the nice nursery down the street and the tomatoes were all too big in their small containers and looked terrible :( Then they had big plants in big containers and I don't want those either!

Next year I will do some seeds, and then a few weeks later do some more for back up just in case this happens again. Live and learn.

I had some seedling early that looked like that. Mine was too much fertilizer. Plus after they looked sick I sprayed with Epsom salts. I know what I did. I was watering with dilute blue fertilizer but holding the dripping plant over my tub of potting mix. That bunch of potting mix had way too much fertilizer.

Black Krim's are very vigorous growers, at least for me. The ones I grew this year were from three year old seed and they grew as good or better than any new seed of other varieties.

Different varieties. Different genetics. Can't really compare the performance of them with any accuracy. Like comparing why one child growes taller or faster or wider than another. :)

Dave