16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Here's some info from Univ of CA about Yellow leaf curl virus in tomato
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PDF/PMG/TomBrochure04NoTriFold.pdf
And here's info from Univ of Fl
http://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu/resources/success_stories/T&PGuide/pdfs/Chapter5/TYLCV.pdf
Even so, I still suggest you contact your county's Extension Service office.
Here is a link that might be useful: from UFL
The extension office just confirmed that the symptoms on my plants (send email with description and pics) are the same as
TYLCV symptoms. The recommendation is to remove those plants and don't plant tomatoes in the same spot again. Treat the ficus with a systemic and spray other tomato plants with a 3 in 1.
Most home growers use either fermentation or oxidative methods, more the former than the latter, to process seeds and also b'c fermetation is a natural process.
I prefer fermentation b'c there's data to document what it can accomlish, but for the oxidative methods there's no data I know of that speaks to efficacy with that method.
Fermentation accomplishes the following:
It removes from the seed coat most, but not all, of many fungal pathogens such as the common foliage ones as well as some of the systemic ones such as Fusarium and Verticillium, to name two. And since infection is a quantitative process it means the less likely that the seeds will transmit infection when sowed.
IT removes the gel capsule from the seeds which gives nice beige, fluffy seeds as one might purchase. The gel capsule does have a germination inhibitor in it, but that's part of the larger life cycle of the tomato where fruits fall to the ground and when conditions are OK for germination, then some of those seeds germinate and are called vounteers.
It use to be said that fermentation also killed viruses, that in the older literature, but much more recent research has shown that for every bacterial and virus tomato disease that's been looked at, they've been found in the endosperm of the seed and only hot water treatment can be used to inactivate the bacterial ones. And that's a....do not try at home process. LOL
Have I ever taken seeds right out of a fruit and sowed theM? Yes, but not often, just when needed, and with no processing I got about 100% germination. BUT I garden in an area where there are few to no soilborne diseases, no viral diseases and very few bacterial foliage diseases; the two common fungal foliage diseases yes.
So yes, I do think that processing seeds by fermentation helps, and I've done a lot of it, believe you me.
Carolyn
I am 4 hrs west of Madison - great to hear about a tasty tomato that does so well here. I will definitely try them next year. I have eight different types growing this year, but so far am only picking Early Girls, Purple Russians and Genovese Roma. Of those, the Early Girls are by far the tastiest for me.
Do you WI growers top your tomato plants in the early fall? If so when?
Just pulled the last of my IHs on Friday after a hard freeze. It was still producing and ripening -- a winner yet again. Even though we'd been through several frosts and several cold nights the fruit was still completely edible.
A local tomato guru says to top your plants the first of August. I forgot and didn't do it until September. Oh well. The whole season was bizarre.
I didn't have luck with Cherokee purple a few years back and haven't tried again. Got 2-3 ugly fruit, total.
I tried Borghese this year ... a oval-ish cherry meant for drying. Over the top productive and very perfect fruit right up to the end. No disease or weirdness from the heat/drought. No splitting. Drying is fun but I eat the things like potato chips.
I remember when the Seattle Times did their big series on toxic wastes being used as fertilizer ingredients. At that time they listed Miracle Grow products as highly pure.
When you compare the .87 ppm of arsenic in their standard water soluble all purpose product with the average of 7 ppm in Washington State soils, the MG looks pretty good.
Even the reagent grade and food grade materials contain some toxic metals.
A poll won't settle anything, nor would a "Jury". Still might be interesting though.
Is Miracle Grow Safe To Use In The Home Garden?
Yes
No
In moderation
ÃÂ ÃÂ pollcode.com free pollsÃÂ
I caught the squirrels eating mine. They don't usually eat tomatoes except when it is dry and then they eat them as a source of water so they will eat them green or red.
The squirrels can climb the vines to get to them. Has it been dry where you live?
A physiological problem due to extreme temperatures, be that high or low.
See http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1997/7-18-1997/tomdis.html
Here is a link that might be useful: tomato woes
Puffy tomatoes---thanks :-)
From your link,
Cause: Extreme high or low temperatures, excessive nitrogen fertilization, and heavy rains may interfere with normal pollination, resulting in puffy fruit. Puffiness occurs most frequently on early fruit. Control: No effective controls. Puffiness should decline later in the summer.
Here, in my zone 6B garden, the temp extremes were never hit---nights were over 55 and days were under 100
I had watered more religiously than in previous years when I had grown Mule Team but it was always watered at the base of the plant so I'm guessing this shouldn't have interfered with pollination?
I had used a small dose of 5-10-10 early in the season, which I had discounted as a cause. Found this study by Dept Agriculture (38 BULLETIN 859, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE) where they tried to determine if a fertilizer inbalance was the cause:
Various fertilizer plats were arranged to determine the effect of
different amounts of nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid upon the
production of "puffy" fruit. .....
No positive results were obtained in this study showing the cause
of puffiness in tomatoes
Puffiness may therefore be dependent upon an unbalanced soil solution, but,
if so, none of the variations in the fertilizers just enumerated sufficed
to restore a proper condition. It is, of course, not inconceivable that
puffiness is of a genetical nature and due to somatic variation. If so, it
might, in conformity with the observed facts, be much more frequent
in some varieties than in others, and the same plant might show both
normal and "puffy" fruit. The whole subject is one which needs
investigation.
I think I'll get a soil test next Spring and find a "new"favorite tomato to grow.
Thanks so much for the help! :-)
Ahh - chaos theory vs. Darwinism. Your approach is more the former than the latter as it assumes no role for random happenstance.
Of course if they were sheltered somewhat now until they obtained some size and root structure then Darwinism would apply and the odds of individual survival relative to its strength and quality would increase.
Dave
As Carolyn suggested, the rotting stems might indicate that you should bring them in. You might get frost on Friday night also. You could let the larger ones ripen on the counter top. Otherwise, you could have fried green tomatoes or pickles or make them into a relish.
John A
I don't intentionally grow self seeding tomatoes from year to year. But many years a plant (or several) will come up on its own. When I've let them grow, they have usually been cherry types. If you want tomatoes to come up year after year, try putting in a few varieties of cherry types, then leave some fruit behind late in the season and leave some mulch on top to soften the extremes of winter.
My volunteers often do not have ripe fruit until late in the season since they don't have the head start transplants do. For me, the volunteers are not a reliable source of my preferred larger tomatoes that ripen beginning in midsummer.
As mentioned in the above post, or implied, it makes a huge difference if you're talking about hybrid or OP ( open pollinated) varieties.
If fruits from hybrids drop to the gorund in the fall and become dried out then some of the seeds will make it through the winter and will germinate when conditions allow for that. But since they are F2 seeds the volunteers won't give you the same as the original F1 hybrid.
And for any OP variety if fruits drop, the same scenario, but unless those fruits had cross pollinated seeds in them the volunteers in the Spring will be identical to the original OP variety.
So almost ANY tomato plant in SE MI has the potential to give you volunteers, the difference being if a hybrid or OP, and the viability of seeds getting through the winter can also differ, so best not to plant variety X alone and wait to get variety X volunteers.
Years ago I used to dig up 10 volunteers from my tomato field and transfer them to s side garden just to see if I could ID what they were. And at the time I was growing up to several hundreds of varieties and plants each season, and had gotten away from growing hybrids.
Yes, I could ID most of them b'c I never sow seed of a variety unless I know what the traits are for that variety, but sometimes I couldn't ID all of them and that's b/c the seed that led to the volunteer just happened to have that X pollinated seed in it.
But I never saved seeds from any of those 10 volunteers b/c I only save seeds from varieties that were labelled.
But I did find it was lots of fun. LOL
Carolyn
Not that any one has posted about but a search will pull up any discussions about it still here.
The so-called "book", whenever mentioned, is scoffed at, and is considered a joke and a rip-off. Justifiably so IMO.
The controversy was most likely about the book, not the member, unless it was yet another of the many names the author has tried to use here to promote his book.
Dave
Put them in larger pots. This will give the roots more room to grow and will encourage the plants to set larger canopies. You could do a 5 gallon pot for the celebrity, but Big Beef will produce a fraction of its potential in a small container.
Change the fertilizer you are using. You have way too much nitrogen and not enough potassium or phosphorus. Also, get a micronutrient supply and use per directions.
Put the plants in full direct sunlight at least 8 hours per day. My best guess is that your plants were in a place with only 5 hours per day or maybe less of direct sun.
DarJones
Those varieties are all indeterminate, and they are a waste of time in a container that small. It would work better in a 40-gallon container, but the problem is the cost of so much media to fill it.
You need a determinate tomato, which is a variety that does not keep growing and setting new fruit. That's what made your plants get root bound and quit on you.
My favorite red cherry determinate is Terrenzo. I have been researching other early red determinates lately, and I want to try Lyana, Mountain Princess, Northern Delight, Pipo, Siberian, and Wilford.
John, if you post this on the exchange forum(just above the forum threads)you should get some traders. The threads are a bit old but the forum usually starts to pick up this time of year. I have a few varieties, but we are in the process of moving so everything is packed up. Here's the link also...hope you get some great ones.
Here is a link that might be useful: tomato exchange forum
You may also wish to check out the 5th Annual Pepper and Tomato Seed Exchange, in this or the Hot Pepper forum. It's my first year, but I've read great things about it. Heather says that, if you have seeds that breed true, you can send in pepper seeds and ask for tomato seeds in return.
The deadline to send your seeds in to her is approaching fast.
Please see the thread below called End of An Era for the same announcement and I posted in that thread b'c many believe that Charlie Byles ( Radiator Charlie) was the first to develop Mortgage Lifter, but the Estler one was first and I explained why I like the Estler one over all other so called Mortgage ones.
Carolyn
Hadnt read the other thread but Bob's obit was in the Huntington paper today. He was my boss for a short while at a metals factory and once got us all together at Thanksgiving and said grace for our meal right in the middle of the floor of the factory.