16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Just a guess about the seedlings. Sometimes when the cotyledons don't release from the seed coat cleanly quickly, the part caught inside the seed coat for a while will look like that. I wouldn't really worry too much about them as long as the brown does not spread further.
Linked a number of previous discussions about this below. As you will see there are several different approchaes folks use.
As I have posted in some of those discussions I dump all my containers out onto a large tarp and spread it out to dry well in the sun - that alone takes care of some of the resident bacteria. Then remove all the root clumps and other debris, mix in approx. 1/3 new quality container mix with it and also add a good dose of Osmocote or other slow release fertilizer and refill the containers.
dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Reusing container soil discussions
My growing season is too short for doing it backwards, as you say, but I know that some in the warmer zones do sow seed for early varieties for a Fall crop. For some it's worked out OK, and for some it hasn't and they've stopped doing it.I remember that happening with some TX folks I know,both from the Bastrop area in S TX. And one from the Houston area as I recall. For them it could have been the specific season, that I don't remember, but they didn't get much at all from what they eventually planted out.
I know in southern Cal that nurseries do offer plants of early season ones for fall planting, not necessarily det varieties, and at one time I had a couple of good friends in S FL who would send me boxes of fruits as a Xmas present from Fall planted ones.
And of course some start from seeds and don't buy plants as you are.
So please let us know how it turns out for you.
Carolyn
We might be missing the obvious here - are you sure that your seeds / plants are F1 Sungolds?
Also there are many varieties that look like, but taste nothing like Sungolds.
I've always found SG to be the most reliable tomato variety i've ever grown. IME they always tasted good no matter what.
"Flamed" you? Hardly.
You posted a question about your container mix (pea stone then a mix of compost, peat moss, garden soil, and bone meal) and to that you wanted to ag. gypsum to cure your BER.
What I said was that your container mix was already so far off the common norms for ideal container growing - especially in such a small container - that based on the information you have provided and this late in the season (it was Aug. 5th) it is going to be really difficult to get any usable tomatoes out of your set-up no matter what you do now. Better luck next year.
I then went on to link you to the BER FAQ abd suggest some research into what are considered acceptable container mixes and why such things as you listed were not recommended.
You never replied or provided any additional information.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: your original post.
Thanks, Carolyn. We never get a break in the weather here until September is over and I can recall years where it was that hot well into October and some even into November. One year it was hot and humid through mid-November and then by early December we were dropping into the high 30's. It was crazy!
I may have to grow cherries in the fall here and save my heirlooms for spring, but last year it started getting hot and humid here end of March so I would need to start seed in mid-October I think.
I planted sun gold last year in the fall and it was excellent as long as I didn't overwater. Then I tried it in the spring and the fruit was sour. Don't know what the problem was maybe the seed was not true? They tasted terrible very unlike the ones in the fall.
Carolyn - thank you for your thoughtful response. You are likely right that I don't have true Sungold volunteers, though one of them is exactly same size and flavor as originals.
I'm still puzzled about my weird 'cross,' partly because there is no one near me that grows tomatoes and all of last year's non-Sungold tomatoes were red. So maybe I just have a much larger F2 version of 'Sungold' since I have no idea what the farmer at the Farmer's market used to create his F1 Sungolds last year. I always plant starts from the market, so there's no odd seed issue at hand either.
Interesting... but they are all quite tasty. :-)
If the farmer at the farmer's Market had labels saying Sungold F1, then he would have used F1 seed for the plants he sold.
But there are four open pollinated (OP)versions of sungold, meaning non-hybrid, and one of them is genetically unstable and it's been found out that the last one, Big Sungold Select, is not stable and can give various colored fruits on individual plants ( all the same color on one plant). The one before Big Sungold Select is called just Big Sungold and it is stable but the fruits are bigger than the traditional fruits seen with F1 Sungold .
So unless you know if you bought plants that were from Sungold F1 seed or Big Sungold Select, there's no telling what you might have.
The F1 seeds being hybrid, are much more expensive than the OP versions.
Carolyn
There are lots of varieties that look like that at the green stage, so no way to ID it, but I bet what you have is a seed that was dropped there by a bird b'c that does happen, especially since you didn't plant it yourself. ( smile)
I don't know what you used in your strawberry box as a growing medium, but it too could have had some tomato seeds in it depending on what you used.
But my vote goes to bird transmission. ( smile)
Carolyn
I've got 5 plants of Super Marmande in my garden (T&M seeds), they look a lot like the ones on the picture posted. They are only lightly ribbed and smaller than they should be (probably due to unfavorable growing conditions throughout the season), showing the same green shoulders and discoloration patterns like those.
Here is a link that might be useful: Random googled pic of marmande
Marmande may may make some smaller tomatoes especially in less than ideal conditions, but they would not all be uniformly sized small globe shapes tomatoes as the original poster's pic shows. In general, Marmande makes small flatter beefsteak shaped tomatoes.
Green shoulders are very common with heirloom tomatoes and can not be used to positively id a variety.
Remy
Here is a link that might be useful: google pics of Marmande
I have seen regular San Marzano seedlings at the nursery but don't think I've seen any special strains of it such as super San Marzano or Redorta.
I have grown Amish Paste 2 years in a row. Last year it didn't do so well, but I think that was my fault. Too close to the cukes & they took over the area. This year it did great! The fruit was very large, meaty, and great taste. They also did well in the really hot weather. Really did not have much seeds, or pulp. They weren't sloppy, juicy like some varieties, but neither were they dry or tasteless like a Roma. They looked like Roma's on major doses of steroids, lol. Most of them were as large, or larger than my whole hand. They were great on sandwiches & held up well in freezing & canning. No doubt I will grow more next year.