16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

It looks like I'll be the outlier. I band my tomatoes lightly with granular 10-10-10 about 2 weeks after they're in the ground, then again in about a month. You need to be careful to keep it off the plant itself. This has been very successful for me.
John A

Thanks for all the helpful responses here. One often does what one is used to doing. In this case I approached the tomato plants the way I do bulbs and some perennials, scratching in granular fertilizers in the top couple of inches of soil. But tomatoes aren't bulbs slowly storing nutrients for a bloom next year and I can see the advantage of relatively fast-acting liquid fertilizers. I'm not persuaded that granular fertilizers are wasted on tomatoes or of no benefit to them.

The reason I ask about Texas heat is because some varieties don't pollinate very well in the heat and production is low. That is why I ask.

The reason I ask about Texas heat is because some varieties don't pollinate very well in the heat and production is low.

No tomato variety, even the so-called "heat tolerant" ones, pollinate well in the heat and that is an issue for all of us in the south. It is called Blossom Drop and it is the nature of tomatoes.

The controls for that, insofar as it can be controlled, is in the growing conditions provided, not the variety. Earlier planting times, provided shade, heavy mulching, consistent soil moisture levels, windbreaks, extremely large containers if not in ground, low N fertilizers, etc. etc.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Blossom Drop FAQ

Oops! Meant to say, that's *not* damage from Roundup.

When it comes to 2,4-D versus dicamba, it's most likely 2,4-D.

jean is right, that is *not* glyphosate damage, that looks like 2-4D damage. My first year of gardening I listened to my grandpa and he said "aw hell just spray roundup around the plants to keep the weeds down. Well, my tomatoes looked like this afterwards:

2-4D causes plants to basically grow themselves to death, it causes the plant to grow in all kinds of weird directions and shapes, it makes them curl.

If it is herbicide damage, then My vote goes into the 2-4D type of chemicals. Are there any farm fields next to you that might have gotten sprayed?

Another thing no one has mentioned yet is disease, I was scolded and scared by my dad and grandpa when getting advice "you never never never plant tomatoes in the same dirt year over year" they said. Eggplant, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco are all in the nightshade family. They will be vulnerable to the same sets of diseases.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden

Djole, I would have sworn when I bought the seed they said indeterminate. But after Dave said they were determinate I went back to the website and it said they were determinate. Maybe it is like Celebrity tomatoes. Depending who you ask or the website some say they are determinate and some say they are indeterminate. I know that used to be all my neighbor grew and his get up to around 7'-8' tall. It would be great if they turned out to be semi-determinate.

If not I am also growing some Delicious and Red Beefsteak up a string as part of the experiment also. Although I don't have as many of either of them.

Guess we won't know until you actually go through it :)
Best of luck!

Hmm, crushed egg shells and tums? I guess that would work, lol. I generally go for a little bit of lime and bone meal....

I'm guessing it's a troll.

sierra_nevada, did you talk to your county's Cooperative Extension about identifying the soil problem? Some tomato varieties have been bred to deal with some of the soil problems.

We have the 2 gallon pots of grafted tomatoes here for $16.99, which I think is kind of dear. Perhaps in a few weeks they'll be reduced in price.

I wonder if the rootstock affects the flavour of the grafted tomato at all? And can you save seeds (or cuttings) for the grafted tomato if it's an heirloom...or will it become a Franken-mato?

LIttle round transparent like spots are often a reaction to the enviornment, ie: sun, wind. Is there any possibility that strong sun is being magnified by a glass window?

Growing indoors is a huge job. There are so many variables to consider.

First, the water that comes out of the tap is chlorinated, and it has a good bit of flouride, depending on where you live. Chlorine will evaporate out of the water, if you leave the water in a pitcher open to the air for a day or so.

temperature and humidity are a big issue too, tomatoes like it warm, top production happens at 85 degrees, and they like some humidity. Also, for pollination, the plants need wind to shake the pollen loose in the flowers that they set, you can use a fan or give the plant a shake every day.

that is a picture of chlorine damage in my indoor grown tomato

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden

Thanks all:

luvahydrangea, you brought up a very good point. I thought the point of mounding is to have the root ball above ground so it warm up faster. If you have mount and plant below ground level, then doesn't that make it even worse because now it takes even longer to warm up the root ball.

Johnny

I don't believe it needs to be above ground, just not too deep as the soil temperatures are cooler the deeper you go. What I usually do, is dig out a shallow trench, and lay the tomato plant on its side to bury as much of the stem as possible. Its below the surface, but only by about 3 inches which is close enough to the surface to warm up fast.

my Black Krim is doing the same thing! The blossoms just drop without any pollinating. All of my cherries, my better boy, celebrity, mariglobe, and several others all have developing fruit on them but none of the black krim. The weirdest part is that the BK plant has the most overall flowers. Last year this time the BK was packing on some serious weight with all the emerging tomatoes, but not this year. Im pretty frustrated.

I can't help but wonder that since the Black Krim is an heirloom and not a hybrid tomato, it's going to be a little more finicky when it comes to weather conditions? Heck, if I were going to "make" a new type of tomato, I'd want to engineer it to grow under less than ideal conditions.

I have to keep reminding myself that's not even June, and patience is in order.

what is WSJ ?

The Wall Street Journal.

Thanks All,
Yes Dave is right, it was direct sunlight.
Okey then, Gene, I dont have any idea about how to make compost tea? I now ppl suggest buy compost, soak in water for 3-4 days and brew it and then add to plants. but dont know where to buy that and what is the exact method.

Thanks.

I am making my first batch of compost tea as I write this. I found a ton of useful videos on youtube. I used a 30 gallon molasis tub recycled from a farmer friend. I also used about 30 feet of soaker hose, connected to a dual output air pump from a fish tank. I placed 3 bricks on the soaker hose that is coiled up on the botom of the 30 gallon bucket. I useda 5 gallon paint strainer bag that I purchased from sherwin williams. I filled it with about 2 gallons of compost I purchased in a bag from walmart, i also put about a gallon of compressed freshly picked weeds from my neighbors field. I picked some clover but mostly true tap root style weeds. My thinking on the weeds is that tap root weeds take up hard to reach trace minerals and well clover is a nitrogen fixer. So I figured the green plant material would be a fertilizer boost. I zip tied the compost weed mixture so no solids will fall out. I had filled the bucket the day before with tap water, adn I areated it for a few hours. that should hav egotten most of th emunicipal chlorine out. Now I place the tea bag in the water, adn it sank. i also added about a cup of molasis. It has been bubbling about 24 hours now. It has a nice faomy layer on top, adn the soaker hose allows bubbles all over the bucket so there are no dead spots void of O2.
My first batch is not finished yet, but it smells the way many describe, the color is very tea like, adn it has the soapy bubbles as it should. I would guess I have a very good first batch. I have 24 dollars invested in the pump equipment from amazon , the bucket was free. the compost was left over from some mothers day potting gifts, but cost about $3 for the bag which is still over half full after several pottings, adn this batch of tea.
aerated compost tea is quite inexpensive adn cheap to make. dont be afraid. But if you were local to me I would be happy to give you a gallon to try out.
I am thinking about selling it at the farmers market. I figure have a frsh batch ready on saturday morning, and tell people to use it up by Sunday. I have read it sells for $3 to $10 per gallon. Ill probably play with mine for this year. See how it works out. If I think it is the real deal offer it to others. I know compost tea is the real deal. i just dont know if mine is.

I sprinkled some garden tone around my tomato plants

What are the application instructions on the box? Usually sprinkling dry fertilizers around plants is just a waste of fertilizer and has little to no benefit for the plants.

Dave

It said to sprinkle about 1/3 cup of it around the base of the plant

Yes, the crack will scar over. Don't throw the fruit out unless it gets to the point where there's so much mold the fruit begins to rot.

Try to keep moisture consistent as that will prevent future cracking; it doesn't look like you've mulched the container; if not, that will help. You can use almost anything as mulch, including shredded office paper, plain newspaper, or even cardboard.

Thanks guys. I'll mulch it. As for what it is, it is an F1 Better Bush x Black Krim on a Black Krim parent plant. I was hoping to pull some seeds when it ripened.