16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Wow, consider me properly chastised. I was just inquiring. Would I do that? Absolutely not. My Dad would turn over in his grave. Sounds like one of those fairy tales from Washington. Will pass on the message to daughter. Right now she is in London and will probably have more ideas when she gets back. Hope she brings some of the Piccolino tomato seeds, if she is fortunate enough to get some dried. I really do appreciate your help. Barb
barb, I wasn't meaning to chastise you, and I'm sure none of the others were either. Sometimes three people do post at the same time (and I did check before I posted, but then I had to add that sentence about Kenny's co-worker's infallible Tums cure, and they snuck in ahead of me).
Glad to see I am not the only one who ends up with a jungle! I prune the ones touching the ground, and I have learned the hard way, if there is something Tropical heading my way, do a Hurricane Prune. Anything that is not supported enough to withstand torrential rain and winds get chopped. I had, thanks to Irene and some others, a LOT of damage, mostly splitting where a limb would break and rip down the trunk. I thought if they were o.k. during our thunderstorms they would be fine in a hurricane.
Live and learn, if anyone has a better idea I am happy to hear it.
I am making a half-hearted attempt at pruning. Pinched off the branches likely to rest on the ground, and some lower suckers. I will have to decide what to do after they grow a bit more, as I am trying the Florida Weave method of support this year so the plants will need to be taken somewhat in hand.
jolj,in any one SSE Yearbook one can find the following varieties, pretty much the same but from different sources:
Tiger
Tiger Paw
Tiger Stripe
Tiger Tom
Tigerella
Tiger-like
Tigerly
Tiny Tiger
And while almost all of them are called tart by the folks who list them, and almost all describe them as red with yellow orange stripes, and while almost all of them are small, I'd like to say that there are real differences between them, but can't.
Carolyn
Alrighty. The pots are filled with local red clay, Miracle Gro Garden Soil and Black Kow manure. I chose three varieties specifically for pot/patio. Patio Goliath, Solar Fire and Super Sweet 100.
I don't know anything about the varieties at this point beyond they are for pot planting and hot, dry weather.
You can buy ready to install small drip irrigation set-ups from many different sources. They are complete with timers, pressure reducer, feeder lines and drip emitters for approx. $50 or similar set-ups without the auto timer for any where from $15 to $25 if there is someone who can turn it on and off for you. Example of one below.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Container drip system
Next time put the pot in a 5 gallon bucket or Aluminum baking pan, fill the space around the pot 1 inch for every day you will begone.
This work great for short span of time, no more then 5-7 days. As soon as you get home remove the pots from the water bucket. I have done this with Japanese Maples, fig trees,& many house plant in hot August heat of the South.
If it's truly Early Blight ( A solani) your homemade baking soda spray is not going to help. The Cornell recipe, which I don't think has any oil in it, is OK for use on ornamentals but not on tomatoes.
Since I've never used baking soda on tomatoes I don't know if they are frying but I wouldn't expect individual black spots if they were. Rather, since you coated the leaves I'd expect to see whole leaves going south.
What you need is a good anti-fungal if you know that the disease is a foliar one caused by either Early Blight or Septoria Leaf spot. Neither of which actually have spots that are truly black, but the foliage diseases caused by Bacterial Speck and Spot do give black spots. And being bacterial anti-fungals don't work.
Carolyn, who also suggests that really nothing should be sprayed on tomato foliage, with few exceptions, when the sun is high in the sky b'c it can burn the leaves.
Thanks for your input.
A question about snipping off leaves - what about the leaves that only have a couple small spots on them? Are they salvageable or will they just spread things along, even if they are sprayed?
A question about spraying - how do I get it to more fully cover the leaf surface and the underside? Any tricks to that?
The solution to over watering is DRAINAGE and proper "Potting Mix", not garden soil, make sure your mix isn't heavy.
Just drill about 10 or more 1/2" holes in the bottom of a 12-15 gallon pot.
If your soil is light and airy and the drainage is really good you basically cant over water.
If anything one of those globes will only keep your soil wet.
I'd like to second Dave's point about plant labels and tags. I gave away over 70 tomato plants in small pots this year, with the sole proviso that the recipient use the wooden markers provided. And I kept a list of who got what. That way I can ask later on how a particular variety fared in that particular garden.
On the other hand, I quite dislike the all too common practice of sticking a plastic marker in among newly planted annual flowers. Fussy, I know :-)
WC2K8,
Interesting subject; I don't grow long keepers, but getting back to your question, there are 2 others - 1 of which might only be available from SSE members, Mercuri Winter Keeper.
Another- I've seen available at a few online merchants is Yellow Out-Red In. -R
csunbean, you can pick tomatoes when they're semi-ripe or when they're completely ripe, but either way you shouldn't pick them until the color "breaks." To know what color that would be, you need to know which tomato you're growing: the 'Fantome du Laos' ... or the plain 'Fantom' from Totally Tomatoes ... or something else?
If you're not sure what the name of the variety is, do you still have the seed packet? If you don't, where did you buy the seeds? If you bought them in a store, do you know the brand (Burpee, Ferry Morse, etc.)?
Have you checked Craigslist for compost or manure? Unless you're in a very urban area, it's likely that you can get manure delivered cheaply, or go pick it up for free if you've got a truck or trailer. If anyone near you has livestock of any sort, they would probably be thrilled to let you clean out the pens and take away the manure for free. Before I had a truck, I'd fill up Rubbermaid tubs of horse manure and bring them home for the compost pile. These days I get a 12 yard load of horse manure mixed with shavings and hay dumped in the fall and leave it in a pile to compost all winter. In the spring it is broken down and ready to be worked into the garden.
You are killing your soil with commercial fertilize...it's "Crack" for the garden. The more you use the more you have to use.
Compost, grass, leaves, weeds, horse, cow, sheep, pig, chicken manure. put in pil, make damp, turn every three days, and a little dirt from the woods, vacant lot, somewhere that hasn't been messed with for awhile. Make compost tea, water plants with it and put it on their leaves in the evening. Let the chlorine bleed of your water before using on you plants and making tea with.
Get your garden off the crack. I never buy fertilize. Quit all the tilling. Get a lawn mower with a bagger...empty bag into a pile...there's your compost. Quit working so hard.
Has anyone idea about the best filtered cigars available in online. I am searching it for my grand uncle he smoke only cigars and I want to surprise him by giving him this filtered cigars which have red cover on the tip. I forgot the name but I need you guys to help me .
Here is a link that might be useful: Little Cigars
Hello all,
Thought I'd bring this issue back up. I had several plants infested with this Russet Mite in 2011. The plants leaves turned yellow then crunchy brown. It was end of July.
This year I am ready with a new defense. I have researched AzaMax and will begin preventative spray this week as the plants are just starting to fruit. The hydroponic community in my town is all the buzz about this stuff and they use it for hydro, greenhouse soil and outside soil and container growing. It is expensive but shopping around on e**Bay I found it for a much better price (plus free shipping). It is listed for organic production according to the label.
Just an FYI
DL
Here is a link that might be useful: AzaMax info