16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Is there any truth to the idea that saving seeds from heirlooms grown in a particular climate will produce plants better adapted to that climate in the next generation?
It's debated - a great deal. Some swear by it but others swear there is nothing to it. IMO it might help and it sure never hurts to do it.
Dave
This is the response from Tom Wagner (Tomato Breeder extraordinaire) concerning a tomato gardener in Fairbanks Alaska who had been growing the same beefsteak variety for 25 years.
[Anytime someone keeps a variety isolated from others for an extended time, the tomato variety should be considered unique in many ways.
As a plant breeder, I have deep respect for varieties grown in a particular region for a long time. Acquired characteristics, adaptation, bottle necking of the germplasm, small mutations, elimination of the original bulk population diversity, the template of Fairbanks, Alaska growing conditions is a valid point of identity.]
Grown it for 2 years now and while it is a fairly nice early hybrid tomato I doubt I'll grow it again. Small 4-6 oz. fruit but with good production on a 5-6' what I'd call a semi-determinate plant. Good disease tolerance and tolerates early planting under cover or protection very well since it was developed primarily for market gardening.
Taste is okay, especially for an early variety. Not the greatest by any means but then few early varieties are noted for great taste.
Not to be confused with Mountain Glory.
Dave
Bingo is a 1981 Ferry Morse variety. "Characteristics: F1 hybrid, medium early, firm, large, fresh market type with uniform green immature fruit, semi-determinate. Resistance: verticillium, fusarium (races 1 and 2), and tobacco mosaic virus; a distinct cultivar. " NCSU Ferry Morse no longer lists it. It is available wholesale from Harris Moran.
Dave if you google Bingo Tomato, you will get lots of photos, articles , recommedations etc. It was quite popular a few years ago.
Need2SeeGreen - did you read Carolyn's answer on this thread? I think they have very strict rules - why I am not sure, maybe it has to do with introducing strains that might carry diseases??? Carolyn unfortunately is without a computer or I am sure she would give you all the details. I have tried to order from Seeds from Italy and they ship to the US but not to Canada and the US website also won't ship to Canada. So go figure! It's nuts!
Sharon
Tomatoes need six to eight hours of light, so be sure to put your containers in sunny locations, and if need be, move them as the sun changes position.
Here is a link that might be useful: Best Juicy Tomatoes
I'm new here so I don't know if my location is easy to determine... it's Chicago. I've grown San Marzano Redorta (seeds from Italy) for two years and have given my extra seedlings to neighbors. We've all experienced the same thing: plentiful large tomatoes that refuse to ripen (for months they just hang there green, not growing larger, but showing no color or coloring in small blotches).
Good luck with your fruit Need2SeeGreen!
I'm sure you'll get some tomatoes before the cold sets in.
There is a great guide I use which has helped me
Here is a link that might be useful: Best Juicy Tomatoes
I've had my compost pile for about 3 months now. I turn it every day, water it regularly and add fruit and veggie scraps, newspaper, dead weeds, leaves and any other organic stuff I can find. I'm wondering if there is a point when I should stop adding things to the pile? Should I let it "rest" for a while when it starts looking more homogenous? Things are breaking down in it, but the pile never feels really hot--just mildly warm. I'm concerned about that as well. Any advice is appreciated.
We got German Giant from TGS this spring and we planted 36, worried that we were wasting valuable space. I was surprised and delighted. It is an early potato leaf variety with huge, delicious red tomatoes. The plants don't last long. Once you get that wonderful burst of tomatoes the vines are the first ones in the garden to die. But we got really large, productive, great tasting tomatoes that sold at the farmers market for $4 lb. That is roughly $4 per tomato.
Every year I swear that I'll do a really good job of keeping track of tomatoes by variety / plant, and I usually do a good job in the beginning, but when they start coming in by the bucket I have a big enough job just keep the plants picked and finding suitable places to put all the fruit.
That said, now that things are starting to cool-off / wind down production-wise, I did finally manage to do an accurate count on a recent picking of Big Beef.
I picked 52 tomatoes from two plants pretty evenly distributed between the two... So figure 26 tomatoes per plant, but this was ONE HARVEST - I thought that was crazy. I mean, I've been picking tomatoes off of this plant since late June / early July. If I had to guestimate, I'd say they'll have to end up at about 75 fruits per plant, and, honestly, that's probably being conservative. Also, there's still probably 1-2 dozen left out there that should ripen before frost.
This year I'm resolving to finally get organized about production numbers. Even though I'm far from a commercial farmer, it's good data to have for reference when planning things out for next year.
As I have finally pulled the last tomato of the season, here is my count, sorted by size:
CHERRY
Sun Gold - 197*
Sun Sugar - 567
Black Cherry - 108**
SMALL TOMATOES
Green Zebra - 24*
Bloody Butcher - 96
Black Prince - 133
Taxi - 53
MEDIUM
Big Beef - 23*
Rugters - 22*
Rutgers (Det) - 41
Rutgers (Ind) - 43
Black Krim - 19*
Jet Star - 15**
Lemon Boy - 44
LARGE/JUMBO
Black Sea Man - 29
Kelloggs Breakfast - 37
Cherokee Purple - 40
Brandywine Suduth - 38
Brandy Boy - 52
Pineapple - 35
* These were all container grown plants whereas the rest were grown in ground. While not always comparable because the varieties are different, it is interesting to note that the production of container grown was a fraction of those grown in ground.
** These were mid-season replacements which I grew when the determinates (black sea man & taxi) quit producing. Had I put them in the ground earlier, I suspect they would have done just as well as most of the other varieties. However, they didnt get into the ground until it was hot (affecting fruit set), and didnt have a full season before cold weather set in.
Overall, I was very happy with production. Also, the numbers above are only for tomatoes that ripened and were edible. I picked a few dozen green for fried green tomatoes, and I probably lost about 10-15% of my crop to weather (splitting after heavy rain), neglect (rotting on the vine), or squirrels.
Another formula from a master gardener:
1 gallon water, 2 tbsp ivory dish soap and 1 tbsp regular cooking oil. I use this formula myself. But with all things organic, you have to repeat this and really stay on top of it/bugs, best spray twice a week.
I sprayed the soapy mixture before the weekend, and I've just looked underneath the leaves again today, and there they are. So that means another spray again today...
.... and I just know I will never stay on top of it.
So, I've begun pulling my plants. Some of them were looking past the point of no return! Very off colour, very shrivelled, and the sides of the leaves going brown now. :(
Very sad and disheartening, to say the least!
I'm a beginner gardener. Only planted 4 tomato plants before - they were such a success I thought I would be eating organic tomatoes for the rest of my life! LOL
On the crest of the wave, I planted some 8 heritage varieties, and they were just flowering and bearing fruit... JUST...
and now, I'm left with nothing!!!
My chillis and peppers are all looking really sick too!!! I feel a bit sick to see my hard work, love and dedication to all these plants (around 30) all in containers go down the drain. Perhaps my fingers are not as green as I thought!
So, what to do now?
Do I throw away all my soil and wash my containers?
Do I wait before starting again?
How do I make sure the thrips don't come straight back onto anything new that I plant?
Any advice, please.