16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

Is it worth using a desiccant in a seed container to reduce the RH... or is it a rather worthless endeavor at best and a possible seed viability terminator at worst ?

Lots of info and a FAQ on this over on the Seed Saving forum but basically it's your choice. Can't hurt - might help.

The goal as Darrel said is 55% or less. This time of year RH is normally much lower than that anyway.

Personally I store mine in paper envelopes organized in plastic totes in an old fridge in the basement. But that is more convenience for me than anything else.

Dave

I've saved seeds that I've processed at ambient temps and humidity for well over 20 years now and never did anything about controlling the humidity or temps. Those seeds at even 5 years old will usually have germination above 50% except for most hearts whose seeds that I and others have found have seeds that don't remain viable as long others.

Admittedly I live in upstate NY and the summers can be very humid and hot, but for far lesser times than those in the deep south have. So that's another condsideration

I have too many seeds to store in the fridge so many of them are in vials in 100 place scintillation boxes and others are in non-sealed envelopes large envelopes and a few in used pill bottles.

If I were going to freeze them I'd use silica gel to get the humidity down to between 6-8%. And that would be at normal home freezer temps of about 0 degrees F.

For even longer term storage many places have -20 and -80 F freezers but that would be for very long storage. USDA does that for many of their tomato seeds at Fort Collins, CO, which is the backup for the Geneva NY, USDA station that I know.

Carolyn

Agree with the above - drip irrigation is best. But soaker hose is almost as good and allows for more flexibility in set-up. Why won't soaker hose work in the location? Incline?

Dave

Here in Colorado we have to water regularly. One time I built an array of sprinklers about waist high that covered the whole garden, Boy, was that the absolute wrong thing. But I learned.
My best is drip, but I modified it a bit by using the largest dripers I can find so they don't plug up. Since they are large, I time the application. Like 30 minutes to put on 1 gal of water to each plant. I think my best was with 2 dripers to each plant, one on each side, spaced about a foot apart. Plants were about 3 foot apart. Can I call it a "dribble" system?

Sometimes the problem is not disease, but instead yourself or a neighbor (and the neighbor does not have to be directly next door) having one of those yard services spray to kill off the weeds and dandylines. The stuff is lethal on tomatoes!

If the wind wafts it into your garden it's all over. I have not had this happen but one of my good friends did.

I am not convinced that being able to diagnose the specific disease is that important. There are many possible tomato diseases, but only a few ways to treat them. The most important thing is to try to prevent them in the first place. You do that by first ensuring that your soil is appropriate for tomatoes: with good fertility, the right pH, good drainage and weed free. Next you need to use a fungicide soon after planting out to protect against the rain and airborne fungi that are the maincause of disease. Many people use Daconil. If you prefer organic methods, neem oil offers some protection against fungus and also kills most of the insects that attack tomatoes. They are another source of disease. If you are vigilant about preventing fungal and insect attacks and treating them if they occur anyway, you can minimize the damage.

I wonder if a straw bale garden might be more suited to your needs. I've been thinking about trying it out using this conditioning formula... wood ashes followed by lime and then bat guano or compost followed by a little topsoil.

I've thought about straw-bales, but don't have the money or the ability to transport them ($4 a bale is the best I've found around here).

I planted two reusable grocery bags with greens today and put them in the barn, elevated. I'm wondering if the elevation is going to make the dirt too cold, or if it matters. They are the fabric kind that's not cotton. I imagine the regular plastic ones would fall apart pretty quickly since I can rarely manage to get them into the house without breaking half the time!

I may look into doing a few grow pots - I did see them for pretty good prices on eBay. Definitely worth a look. I just figured if I could do it with an $.89 bag, all the better! Will report back with my findings as things progress.

Do you add the citric acid, red food coloring, and sugar to your home canned ones like the commercial canners do?

If that is the taste you prefer (most folks prefer the fresh grown flavor over any canned variety) then you'll need to add those ingredients no matter what variety you grow.

Also keep in mind that variety isn't the only variable that controls taste/flavor. Growing conditions provided, nutrient levels, watering regimen, and soil pH are just a few of the many variables that dictate taste just as much if not more than variety.

Dave

I add lemon juice to bring the acid level up to where it is safe to can, but never thought of sugar and food coloring. Maybe ill just try some black krims this year to darken the color up, the sauce we have been making almost looks like a vodka sauce.

I just used my green tomatoes to make a green tomato pie using this Food Network recipe from Paula Deen. It tastes almost like an apple pie--delicious!!!

I know it's late but had to tell you. I used up some green tomatoes this year making jam! I found the recipe on the internet. It has three ingredients - 2 cups green tomatoes (liquified in food processor), jello (I used raspberry) and 1 or 2 cups sugar. You have to boil it for just a little while, then I refrigerated it. It was terrific on toast! Next year I am going to try other jello flavors and also add some hot peppers. It will make great gifts next year.

We grew Matina last year, and it was very early, but for us it was small, kind of sour, full of jell and had a thick skin. I can't really recommend that one... then again, I got my seeds from trade so maybe it wasn't the true variety. I really do want to try Sophie's Choice some day, a lot of people have recommended it.

I recently read about 2 varieties with great taste in our area in The Resilient Gardener. The author recommends Stupice and Amish Paste, so I plan to try those for 2012 tomatoes.

Hi Heather,

I received the package yesterday :D. Just in time! I haven't open it yet. My family asked me what is it, and I told them it's a Christmas present for me. I'm opening it tomorrow morning. Thank you so much for organizing this event! Merry Christmas!

I'm so sorry that I didn't post sooner, but I received the package about a week ago. What a fabulous Christmas present that was! I was overwhelmed by all of the great stuff that I got. Thank you so much!!!

sillybugs, thats never happened to me. What are you using for soil?

I guess I'm just lucky, I have no problems ever starting seeds (tomatoes and others, like perennial flowers) They just go in a wet paper towel in a zip-lock baggie, I lay it on the top of tropical fish aquarium for heat...I used to put them on the back of the fridge, when refrigerators still had exposed coils on the back. Under a light bulb is good too, ANYTHING that's a bit warmer than the regular house temperature. The seeds plump up and sprout within a week. I use quality potting mix in styro cups with holes in the bottom, the dirt is completely saturated (don't try and plant a seed in dry potting mix). Seeds get poked down a bit with a fingernail, pencil, tooth-pick, old peeling knife, what's ever handy. The stubborn seeds that don't want to sprout, I give them more time in the
paper towel and if they still won't sprout they all get put together in a styro cup or two. Usually out of that bunch, a couple will sprout when they want to.

Trivis was going great right up to covering I'd go with plastic,to help heat the soil all winter
Bush Goliath VFN is a good, bush type of Tomato to start with,use a cage on them.I'd put down mulch or straw around the base under each plant and let them grow you can find these at Lowes as plants or TotallyTomato .com as seeds I know you don't like the shipping but with a $5 order you'll get a Free trail offer (Gourmet Heirloom Blend) and a Free trail offer (sweet peper) blend so with your 5.00 you'll get two free packs that will help offset the shipping cost which wasn't bad,I called on Monday and received my shipment on Sat the 24th. great CS.

SoTx, Thanks for the name of the website. I'll have a look at it. I hope that they say in the description of some that they're extra blight resistant. Otherwise, I don't know one from the other. I'm not too familiar with tomato varieties. Actinovate, huh? I haven't heard of that. I had gotten something last year (forget the name of it) to spray on for blight, but the tomato plants probably ended up with it anyway.

Travis, Thank you, I had a nice Christmas and hope that you did too. Thanks also for describing that raising method. Now if I sit down and read over it a few times, maybe I'll understand it fully. Sometimes it takes me awhile to wrap my mind around something. Ha. To be honest, this tomato thing is all becoming overwhelming and I might just ask my husband if he absolutely has to have them this coming year. I'm afraid that I'll be disappointed again with dead plants.

Bob, So don't you think that the slugs would become a problem then? You ought to see the gigantic ones that we get. They could almost run off with a small dog. :) I'll check out the link that you gave me. Thanks, and I hope that if my husband insists on having tomatoes that they'll live or this year might just be the last for them.
Cathy

I would change seed starting medium. Also, are you reusing your cups? Are you bottom watering?
Take one of the seedlings out and see if it has any root development. I suspect it doesn't. I think the seed starting medium is somehow infected or compacted, maybe too wet or something.

yep feed them some weak fertilizer and they need 12 to 16hours of light a day use lamps about 2-4" above them