16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

They do everything different in Tx. Ever been to Hippy Hollow State Park? Lake Travis?

Yes I have been to Hippy Hollow , but not since they made it into a park and started to charge money for it. ( Not since the Hippies are gone). TOO CROWDED, too many gawkers in boats.. Lake travis is 50 feet down and awful for swimming these last couple of years because of the drought. I live about 10 miles from Lake Travis.

I am chopping my indeterminate tomatoes down and I will get another crop in the fall. The nights are now to hot for toms to set.

I am using Black Gold potting soil. I will start checking the soil with a moisture meter..hopefully that will help.

That could be your problem if indeed you have a problem.

Should always use "Potting Mix" not "Soil"
The mix drains WAY better.

Bingo Tomahtohs, that's it exactly! With all due respect to Dave and Carolyn- and I mean that sincerely as I've learned so much from their posts on this site- I think they possibly may be unaware of this particular tomato plant phenomenon. I'll keep this thread alive if I discover anything worth posting as my anal retentive nature will not let it die without a reasonable explanation.

OK, here we go again. LOL

Complete self pollenization of a tomato ovary, or also accomplished by cross pollination , whatever, as long as all ovules in the tomato ovary are fertilized, then the small green nub called the ovary starts enlarging and about after a week or so you can see it start to enlarge and then it goes on to form a mature fruit.

If not all ovules in the ovary are fertilized by pollen, then that green nub does not enlarge and after a while turns a darker color and then RIP.

There's really no hibernation, as some have been calling it, it's just that the length of time after all ovules in the ovary have been fertilized is variable until the ovary starts enlarging and that's the confusing issue here.

And yes, from seeds taken from a single fruit there can be self pollenized ones that when sown give rise to the correct variety and seeds that are the result of cross pollination and yes, it's been found that up to four different kinds of seeds can be found within a single fruit due to self and cross pollination.

Temps and humidity have to be favorable for pollination to even occur in the first place but once that's happened then further weather related events are not going to wake up a tomato ovary out of "hibernation" and cause it to enlarge, etc.

Does that help? I sure hope so. ( smile)

Carolyn

This post is off topic but may help members like suncitylinda..

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Here is a link that might be useful: Handy Programs

This post is off topic but may help members like suncitylinda..

It's your thread, you should be allowed to take it in any direction you care to.

Sorry for the late reply. Dave, I feed them with an all purpose vegetable feed according to the package label, every 6-8 weeks. I water them as I need to making sure that the soil always stays moist.

Thanks,

That's the reason I stopped growing them. the initial fruits may be larger but they soon drop off in size as the other blossom clusters develop. Try Favorita or Sakura. These hold their size better than others I've grown and I feel are well worth the extra seed cost.

there a very meaty tomato, with kind of a sweet taste to me. Been saving seed from all these monsters. they have a very pretty color. I'm also growing Eva purple, Brandywine, Mortage lifter and sun gold cherry.

Georgia streak cut open

Mortgage Lifter

Also growing Georgia Streak and like the looks. I think many overlook this one. However your Mortgage Lifter don't look like ones I've seen. I've not seen an oblate fruit but a large fruit as deep as wide. The 2 bottom fruits in the picture look like Rebelski, a slightly lobed, perfect shape, oblate tomato. Maybe it's just the picture angle.

was woke up at 3 am this morning by thunder / but still no rain / NEW RULE !!! if it thunders its gotta rain !!!!

I too heard that thunder and saw the lightning this morning.
I looked out at my plants and saw a hole in my shadecloth causing it to slip down from its stake and hit the plants. I figured that I'd better repair it before the rain came in.

Here I am at 3:00 am on a ladder repairing a hole with lightning flashing all around me. Got it fixed and headed back inside thinking to myself "bring that rain, and bring it hard". Of course it only sprinkled for about 3 minutes.

I thought it was interesting that they noted more success breeding for commercial qualities, then taste...

I think the reality was that commercial qualities just got priority. When most people are in a store, they are looking for ripe, blemish free fruit, as that is all they can see. You can't taste it until you get home. Because of that, I don't think taste has been a priority as is obvious from the tasteless tomatoes you get at the store. I don't think the genome will really change that for store bought produce, unfortunately. Often variety names are not listed for standard tomatoes. That would be one way to list potential improved taste.

There is a scientist in Florida analyzing the chemical components of great tasting tomatoes. I heard the Science Friday broadcast on NPR, which was very interesting. I think knowing the genome might help the scientists understand their breeding a little better, but it will be a while before there are great tasting tomatoes in the grocery store. Picking anything unripe is just difficult to capture a good flavor. (Except pears, but they are different.)

Some heirlooms could stand to be more disease resistant, higher producers, better keepers, etc. Not everyone can grow their own tomatoes. And not all hybrids are bad, Sungold is my favorite cherry tomato with a wonderful flavor. And so productive!

Here is a link that might be useful: Science Friday, NPR: Secret to great tomato flavor.

I agree Hankjr. I wish I had access to horse manure because I've seen other reports such as yours. I'd like to give it a try and it's just the right price.

i dont grow tomatos in pots but i do grew basil in them and i bought a $10 bag of MG mix and it was terrible mostly chunks of wood and some fluffy brown stuff not sure what it was/ went thru 2 packs of seed trying to get it to grow with no luck / finally dumped it along the back fence row and got a diff brand and got basil growing like mad / so yeah you can get bad potting mix

Thanks for the response Dave. The worms I have are causing significant damage to the leaves. They burrow into the leaf cavity and cause a leaf section to curl - almost making a protective area. At first, the area becomes translucent and eventually the section of the leaf becomes brown. They also leave a black substance in the pouch that they feed in. Does this sound like a fruitworm?

I sprayed BT 48 hours ago but found about 6 worms today burrowed into separate leaves. I will get some photos tomorrow.

Here is a picture of some leaves I cut this morning. You can't see it, but there is a small grey worm in one of the leaves.

I've had BER a few time and have been told everything from not enough calcium (bought calcium carbonate from the oyster store nearby) to uneven watering (have since controlled the watering with a soaker hose) I also use my own compost and organic manures from local farms.
Usually my BER only lasts a couple of weeks. I just dump a bunch more compost on everything and hope for the best! LOL
I have since read that you want to incorporate your calcium carbonate (oyster shells)in the fall in order for it to be absorbed by planting time in the spring.
I tend to just sprinkle it around though the year and hope I'm doing the right thing! Nancy

Sorry Nancy, adding calcium usually doesn't resolve BER. Better control of moisture conditions usually resolves it. See the FAQ.

Yes Linda, she has talked to the makers of the product and they specified that NOTHING should be mixed with Daconil or the coverage of the product on the leaves will not be 100%.

Thanks Mudman, now I remember the thread!