16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
There are lots of opinions on whether to take off blossoms and buds from plants to be set out and some have even used the same vareity and done that to one plant and not the other, and some say it makesno difference and some say it does,
I'm of the opinion that all buds and blossoms should be taken off,You want theplant to remain in the vegetative stage of forming a good root system and strong stems and foliage before diverting plant energy, from photosynthesis, to the sexual cycle of blossom formation, fruit set and fruit maturation,
The stronger the plant is itself from initial vegetative growth, the better it will be for good results with that sexual cycle which ends with the fruits that we all want to see and eat,
So that's my opinion.
Carolyn
So, here's a picture of that tomato now. I dug it up, looked it over, didn't see a problem, and stuck it in a bucket. It's doing great!
And, I put a new tomato in the ground where this one had been, and it's doing great. No clue what made this one unhappy where it was, but all is well.
If it's an F1 it must be one of the many Goliaths offered at Totally Tomatoes, of which there are many,and as I recall all F1's.
THey may call it Old Fashioned, but the original Goliath is an OP heirloom and I've linked to Tania's page for it where you can see it's from the last century,
Nope, I haven't grown any F1 Golaith's. ( smile)
Carolyn
Here is a link that might be useful: Orginal Goliath
Yeah I've posted about these tomatoes a few times before. Neighbor puts out several hundred od these to market by tailgate' I grew the one you referenced last yr and it was big but not very productive...oblate or beefsteak whatever. Neighbor's fruit seem to be right against the stake in clusters of three or four about baseball size. I have Park's Wopper also and have grown Better Boy many times so I will have easy time in comparing these tomatoes. I read somewhere that people in the south compare this hybrid favorably to Big Beef. We'll see!
Although it depends on the specific varieties you want to grow, whether early, midseason or late season varieties I would definitely NOT direct seed in the growing zone you indicate.
IN warmer growing zones, as some folks above have indicated, possibly yes, but not in a 6b area. From mid-May onwards to the middle of June, or so, the weather can change quickly, and does, so IMO not the way to go in your growintg zone in terms of growth, fruit set and fruit maturation. Besides, the soil temps in 6b at this time of the year are still on the cool side which will affect seed germination.
Hope that helps,
Carolyn
At a soli temperature of 50 degrees F, tomatoes take about 43 days to germinate. At a soil temperature of 77 degrees they germinate in about 6 days. So, soil temperature can account for much of the difference in time required for growing them directly seeded in the ground compared to starting inside. Use a kitchen thermometer to check your soil temperature. Soil temperature can be quite different from air temperature when the sun strikes the soil.
Cool temperatures can slow the growth of established plants too, of course. They don't make much progress until it gets warm.
But, based on experience with volunteers, tomatoes definitely can be direct seeded.
Jim
Here is a link that might be useful: Germination Temperatures
Uscjusto, what variety of tomato did you grow last year? Hybrid varieties won't come true from seed, so you might not get anything you recognize. I've had the same thing happen with seeds in the garden and ended up not getting much, but it was certainly fun to grow them out and see what I got. It's too close to your chosen plant, so put it in a pot and see what you get. :)
Best guess - mis-labeled plant. Don't know how they could claim heirloom and F1 combo- Better Boy unless it is a grafted stock plant. Maybe they used BB root stock with some heirloom cherry graft? Never heard of it being done but with all this "organic" and "grafted" hype floating around lately it could be anything. Call the vendor.
But yeah, those aren't BB tomatoes.
Dave
See link below to the FAQ here on how to prevent cross-pollination. If you don't know the names then they could easily be hybrid varieties. That means the seeds you save won't breed true anyway. Only the seeds from open-pollinated (aka heirloom) varieties will breed true.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Faq - Preventing cross pollination
Yes, Helen I do, but not Break O'Day.
Ones perhaps likeSilvery Fir Tree, Purple Calabash, Noire des Cosebeauf, yes, I do call the taste assertive and not acidic b'c the actual pH of MANY varieties has been tested and there's very little difference of pH inside the fruits.
A few low acid ones are known, Jet Star F1 is the best known one and some call some of the pastel ones low acid but they aren't, it's just that the higher sugar in them masks the normal internal pH.
The primary determinates of taste of any variety are determined by the specific genes that they have.
Carolyn
I thought this was an interesting thread about acid tomatoes:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg1220161811535.html
Relatively new raised beds often lack the active soil micro herd required to sufficiently convert solid form organic materials to the nutrients needed by the plants. It takes time for the herd to develop.
Weekly does of compost teas as a root drench, assuming good quality, highly diverse components, compost can definitely help but IMO aren't enough. Additional organic liquid supplements are usually a great benefit to the plants. Especially so when it comes to micro-nutrients.
There are many high quality liquid organic supplements available. The choice is yours. They can be mixed with compost teas or used alone on alternate schedules.
As for a "schedule" of fertilization using only organics, the Organic Gardening forum here would be your best source of that info. I fertilize with organics but I use fertigation so have no "schedule". Those who use synthetic fertilizers usually recommend a 4-6 week schedule but that doesn't work with organics.
Dave
Shouldn't be a huge problem. It might set you back a few weeks depending on how much of it broke. But, the plant should regrow. Once it gets warm and they go into growth mode, you may not even notice.
I just posted in another thread how my brother literally broke one of my beefmaster plants 1 or 2 inches above the soil as he was moving it out to harden off. It has already started growing a new stem. I won't use it because I already had extras...but the point is that it should regrow.
So, as long as your covering was successful in protecting from the frost, it should be okay.
Again, depending on the severity of the break, it could set you back a few weeks...but should recover.
Daniel,
Sorry about the damage caused by your learning experience.
Another suggestion: Replace your clear lid with a shade cloth lid or row cover lid when the danger of heavy frost has past. This will keep high temperatures at bay, provides a frost blanket on a rare chilly night and provide shelter from a cloudburst (the rain drops breaks up on the cloth and sprays gently into the box or runs down to the wall)
You have electric heat (lightbulbs) and your ground temperature will be warm enough to survive a few cold nighttime hours just using a shadecloth lid.
I built a light shade cloth lid that I mount on top of the clear lid in the few weeks of in-between weather and then use as the only lid in warmer spring weather. It is still opened with the automatic opener and activates the fan within.
Once it is warm enough to plant out, my coldframe is done for the season.
Hope this helps,
Rick
@ n1111z: Smart guy, that Napoleon Hill.
@ seysonn: Yep,life must go on.
@ rwsacto: Thank you for your suggestions.