16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
That's pretty standard spacing AFAIK if you are going to be pruning to 1 stem.
My string supported plants in the GH are spaced 3' apart but then I don't prune much. I'd rather have all the tomatoes that the pruning eliminates.
Dave
PS: there is no such thing as "suckers". It is a misleading label from way back before folks understood how tomatoes actually grow - there's no "sucking" involved. :)
I would start with a 1/4 to 1/2 strength solution of your organic seaweed. They look nutrient deficient to me. When I do the initial transplant, assuming I am using a straight, basic potting mix without any fert in it, I start feeding a weak solution of fish/kelp, or seaweed fert, or Miracle Gro regular water soluble fert.
I am attaching some images of plants with nutrient deficient issues.
Susan
Here is a link that might be useful: nutritional deficiences in tomatos
Looks like a couple of problems. Definitely too purple which suggests a phosphorus deficency. The yellowing suggests owerwatering. I don't see a nitrogen lack because they are certainly green enough. Try to get a "little" phos. on them without overwatering.
This post was edited by edweather on Wed, Apr 24, 13 at 14:56
Assuming you'll be planting in the ground, what's the soil temperature where you'll be planting them?
How cold are your overnight temps at this point?
www.wunderground.com predicts the overnight low temps for the next week and a half (well, more or less; there's a lot of temperature variety in these mountains).
Get them out of the seed starting mix. It is too fine to drain well in a larger container, it tends to compact and either stay to wet or be difficult to wet when it dries out completely.
Just be sure to use a soilless growing medium, not dirt from the yard or a bagged "garden soil" because it tends to compact in a pot and then it drains poorly and the tomato's roots will drown or suffocate and the plant will die. (Which is what I think is happening now.)
I don't think you need to feed them, since the nutrients in a regular growing medium should be sufficient to carry them the 8-10 before they are planted out into the garden.
I hope that helps.
Betsy
This post was edited by bets on Mon, Apr 1, 13 at 23:02
Funny, I thought I did everything right and a few of my leaves are beginning to yellow. The mix is excellent draining, but that doesnt mean that I'm still not possibly overwatering. Didn't think it was possible with a mega draining mix. Can't wait to get them outside.....no more than a week away. The next nice day they're going out! With protection of course, don't get nervous.
Watering isn't something that can be scheduled. It has too many variables affecting it - soil used, size of container, ambient air temps, air circulation in the area, root mass ratio to top growth, etc. etc. etc.
So depending on all those variables it may be daily, every other day, once a week, or whatever. Watering is done only when the plant needs it, not when we schedule it. :)
The grower has to learn to evaluate the need of the plant. You do that by
1) acknowledging that it is human nature to over-water so when in doubt - don't water, Remind yourself that the roots need to breathe even more than they need water so tell them today is breathing day.
2) accepting that plants are much more tolerant of under-watering than they are of over-watering,
3) knowing that more seedlings are killed by over-watering than by anything else
4) sticking your finger deep into the soil to check the moisture level deep down, not by surface appearance
5) bottom water - soak until the surface appears lightly damp then dump out whatever is left.
Of course all of this is moot when using fiber pots because they wick all the water out of the soil into the pot and then they dry out far too quickly. Effective watering when using them is almost impossible.
but I am pretty sure that was where the cotyledons were. It almost looks like a tiny cut there. The stem immediately increases after the mark to the size above the mark.
I disagree but only have the pics to go by. It is normal for the stem to "immediately increase after the mark" when it is damp off. In this case it is already discoloring further up the stem as well and there is interveinal discoloration on the next leaf up the stem too. But continue to monitor it. If the plant improves then I'm wrong. If it continues to fail then you will know for sure.
Fingers crossed for you. :)
Dave
Thank you, Dave!
The one pictured is the worst one, and there are a few more that have the same two marks on opposite sides of the stem. One of them has one mark 1/4" higher than the other one. I am sure you are right, but I am honestly hoping you are wrong. If I lose half of my plants, I will be seriously disappointed in June and July. There is always next year, I guess.
Tycoon and Tygress are the exact same tomato variety except one has nematode tolerance and the other does not.
Tygress is a Seminis variety and in the link below which yoju can cut and paste you'll find onelink where you canenter your country/state , etc, to find where seeds might be sold..
I;m not so sure I understand why both of these are considered rodeo varities, ahem, but you live in TX,possibly near San Antonio b/c there's a link in one of those Google searches to a newspaper article about bothof them,
I linked directly to Tycoon seeds below and as manyof the links state,the most expensive hybrid seeds around which I can't qjuite understandlooking at the tolerancegenes included and as onelink said, very similar to some of the BHN varieties.,
So not for me considering the alternatives.LOL
Hope that helps,
Carolyn
Here is a link that might be useful: Tycoon seeds
Carolyn
Thought this might interest you.
Every year experts from Texas A&M's AgriLife Extension and volunteers from the agencyâÂÂs Master Gardener association plant thousands of tomato plants. These annual tomato plantings are part of a research field trial to determine new adaptive tomato varieties that will grow well in Central Texas. The best tomato is selected from the various tomatoes tested and assessed during these trials and becomes the next Rodeo Tomato. Plants are offered for sale the following year during the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, Sales of those plants help fund a Junior Master Gardener program and other youth gardening activities, along with horticulture scholarships.
Mike
Ok lots of good ideas here I'll try to do these things in the next couple days... On the temperature, the temp range for this week is from a low of 50 degrees to a high of 80 degrees, the previous weeks were more or less the same so if anything it's been too cold for them. The only thing weather wise that is notable is It was very windy for a few days.
That wire fence thing and those metal sheets on the ground are shelves I bought for cheap from the local borders bookstore when it went out of business. There's a lot of cats in the neighborhood and that's my overkill way of keeping them away from the plants. that and I'm trying to kill the crab grass surrounding the thing. I can open and close the wire fence like a door.
There is 3 tomato plants, one each of better boy, early girl, and a sungold. Id get a brandywine as ive heard good things but i dont think i have the room.
Anyhow I'll replant them deeper in the ground (should I go so far as to bury the bottom branches a little?) and put potting mix around them and start mulching them with either straw or wood chips. And ill start watering them by hand as well so the dirt gets more evenly wet.
**respectful moment of silence in memory of Border's**
As I understand it, wind increases evaporation. It will have stressed the plants.
A unique hinged cat-guard! Amazing.
should I go so far as to bury the bottom branches a little?
I've grown a lot of tomatoes, but I'm not an expert and I really don't know whether it would be better to re-plant the tomatoes lower or leave them and just mound up soil around them. You planted them a couple of weeks ago and they don't seem to have done much ... maybe wait to see if you get other opinions on that.
In any case, I don't think you have branches yet; I think those are compound leaves (the actual branch will grow in the angle where the petiole of the compound leaf -- what you're calling the branch -- attaches to the main stem). Above all, you don't want disease organisms from the soil to get onto the leaves, so if you bury the plants lower, it would be a good idea to remove the lowest leaves which touch the soil.
Unfortunately, Better Boy will get 8' tall, Early Girl about 7-8', and Sun Gold is reportedly a monster which will grow much larger. [Depends on weather, soil, and other conditions.] You'll see a lot of threads which discuss ways to support large plants which have been started in dinky cages.
If half ripe or ripe fruits fall to the gound, yes, some of the seeds could overwinter.
In this case since you had two different varieties in the same spot/area, it will be hard to tell which is which unless one of them was originally PL(potato leavf)
In which case I guess you'd have to dig up some of the volunteers and plant them elsewhere to see what you have.
And I'm assuming that both the cherry and the larger fruited one are both non-hybrids,
Carolyn
Do not use the moisture control in the buckets or in any small container. It keeps the soil too wet in small containers. Use the plain stuff.
You can mix in some of the Black Cow just don't overdue it and keep in in the bottom half of the container. Save the 10-10-10 for after first fruit set and then make a a narrow trench an inch or two deep about 1 inch in from the outside edge of the container. Put about 1 cup of the 10-10-10 there and cover. It is similar to what is done with Earthboxes. From then on you will have to use a liquid fertilizer diluted to 1/2 strength to water the plant every 7-10 days.
Dave
This is why you would want to plant in containers. This is a squash, but tomatoes look pretty much the same. This specimen came from a 1 year old raised bed.
I am converting all of my susceptible plants to containers. Five gallon is sufficient. I currently use cheap box store potting soil, but I will convert for winter tomatoes and squash to Al's 5:1:1: mix.
I think the only organic matter in this pile of sugar sand is the root knot nematodes.
Larry
Bunch of bs...i remember years ago before gobal warming was a political tool and cash register, when on this very date in new england there was a much more progressed leaf out than there is TODAY! The sheep were smarter then too.
This post was edited by pasco on Mon, Apr 22, 13 at 22:22
I read that none of the tomato plants that you buy have not been genetically modified. Is this true?
Yes it is true. You cannot buy GMO plants or seeds.
Dave
Thank you for the response.