16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
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.
Re-greetings, Dave! Well, that's one way of looking at it. But maybe it would be less discouraging to consider that some might realize the limitations of their situation and abilities and wish to grow the best they can within that scope. Then rather than a cop out it is wanting to use thoughtful consideration in choosing. And of course, I do not frequent this particular forum, so I am not very aware of the phenomena of which you speak.
I personally favor taste first, then suitability to my area, then productivity when choosing things to grow for my own use. Generally speaking, blemishes don't even hit my radar, which is why I know so little about the causes of some of them. But I know enough about the people who will eat at our restaurant to know that they won't eat tomatoes with healed over cracks, and I can't in good food safety conscience send them tomatoes with open splits. So if I can stack the deck in my favor, genetically speaking, then I am reasonably assured of my abilities to avoid splitting in my tomatoes most of the time, and so I will come out ahead. That's my fond hope!
You might give "Mountain Spring" a try. Medium-large, and about the most crack-resistant, blemish-free variety I have ever grown. Taste is quite good (but not extraordinary) when fully ripe (IMO).
BTW, my experience is that tomatoes grown in a mostly covered container (such as an EarthBox) and which have a more-or-less constant moisture profile have much less cracking than those subject to alternating wet/dry cycles. Might be worth an experiment for you. (?) Even growing tomatoes using plastic "mulch" seems to help with cracking as well as controlling weeds and lessening foliage diseases. And putting a "soaker" hose under the plastic sure makes watering a lot easier when dry conditions prevail.
-wc2k8
1. ignore that. It only applies to certain types of plants and yours isn't one of them. Even then it is optional, not required. You can learn more about it by searching 'pruning' in this forum.
2. continue as you have been doing. As the temps increase you will likely have to do it more often. Don't let it dry out.
3. approx. 6 weeks
4. once temps consistently exceed 90 shade will help. Check out the FAQS here, especially the one on 'blossoms falling off".
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing tomatoes FAQs
On point 4:
The ideal temperature for fruit set is between 17 and 25C (62 and 77F). In borderline conditions, fruit may set without adequate pollination, however this can result in puffy and flat-sided fruit that contain few seeds.
For best pollination and fruit set, minimum night temperatures should be
below 27oC (80F) and daily maximums above 18C (64F). If the temperature exceeds 28oC (82F) fruit can be softer and yellow or orange in colour, especially if there is not a lot of leaf cover.
Here is a link that might be useful: Best Juicy Tomatoes
I picked the last bushel of field grown (covered) tomatoes Monday (11/6). Many of these were just turning red. My greenhouse tomatoes are doing well with woodstove heat supplemented but I'm going to reluctantly cut off heat by next week. My goal was 6 full months of harvest from mixed indeterminate varieties. It is hard to pull the plug on such a good harvest season. Most cherry/grape varieties are loaded with blossoms. Customers are still raving about the homegrown flavor.
I love green tomatoes. I've not met one I did not like yet.
I can not comment on disease since all I get is fungal diseases.
Cherokee Green tastes great. I think better than Cherokee Purple. They make a lot of tomatoes at the same time, and do not have very long shelf life.
Malachite Box is the sweetest GWR I've had. So to me the flavor profile is different than others. It is very productive.
Aunt Ruby's has a fantastic flavor. It is not overly productive though.
Humph is my personal favorite. Very tasty and productive.
Garden Lime tastes great. But I do not not know about the plants as the tomato I tried was grown by someone else.
Moldovan Green has a wonderful flavor. It was not overly productive for me, but it had a bad growing spot, and since I've only grown it one time. I can't save for sure that is the norm.
Grub's Mystery Green is an other excellent tasting variety.
Captain Lucky does taste wonderful. It was late for me as I suspected it would be being Lucky Cross is a parent. It was not overly productive for me. Again I'll hold complete judgement since I've only grown it once.
Lime Green Salad is a nice small green on small plant so good for containers.
Remy
Personally I'd stop spraying the plants with all that stuff as it only contributes to the problems. Foliar spraying has a role in gardening but only under very specific circumstances and only when done with great care, proper timing, and well diluted mixtures.
Root drenching with your various mixes is far more effective.
There are numerous liquid fertilizer products available, both organic and non-organic, that could benefit your plants and that don't require the months of soil activity to be of benefit to the plants that all your dry or granulated additives require.
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.
Good to know farmerdill. Just went to my linked databases and didn't even think of Google. Thanks for the info. :)
Dave