16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Likely the folks over on the Florida Gardening forum might have some specific recommendations pro and con. But theoretically, given the right planting times - which is quite different for you than for much of the country - and the proper growing conditions there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to grow any variety.
The deciding factor is the growing conditions you provide, not the variety itself.
Dave
I didn't get to re-pot or set them outside last week due to my work hours.
They have perked up and started sprouting new leaves/branches on the lower part of the plant where I trimmed some not so good looking branches.
The only change was temps. They are in a house that I am remodeling before I move in. The painter guy turned up the gas logs in the next room to make it more comfortable for him and better paint drying conditions. An average of 70 degrees.
Since I can't check on them every day, I'm thinking about not re-potting. The painter is slow and cheap, Really good on repairs, only works about 2 hours a day. So he will probably be there 2 months or more.
Think I should leave them alone for now?
o_w, one of the pages I saw ... somewhere ... showed photos of the silicon grafting clips, including one of a clip falling off the stem when it grew to a certain diameter. Apparently they are designed to do that.
Maybe "the bit on the side" is the mechanism whereby the clip knows when to fall off?
Should have tried a Google Image search yesterday. All sorts of interesting photos....
Here are photos which show pinching one side of the clip to open the "tube" part wider so you can slip it over the stem. That might be the reason for your "bit on the side."
http://vegetablegardendjp.blogspot.com/2010/05/tomato-grafting-with-pictures.html
That blog refers to a video at Johnny's. Johnny's has lots of videos and other helpful stuff. The third video here is about grafting tomatoes:
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/t-video.aspx#instruct
However, that's a different type of clip and a different technique than I've seen elsewhere.
Here's the photo of the grafting clip falling off; detailed info on grafting tomatoes too:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Horticulture/Tomato
You might also want to read the longer version:
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~clrivard/TubeGraftingTechnique.pdf
[Pardon me while I cheer a bit for my state's university which published that.]
Here's the Google Image search; maybe you can locate a vendor this way. In any case, there are lots of photos and you might find other good info.
Google Image search tomato grafting clip
Good luck with your grafting!
The bit on the side of the smaller clips serves as a handle and you can pinch that side to slightly open the hole on the other side where the scion and rootstock stems go. If you're grafting smaller plants, the silicon clips make it fairly easy to create a joint that won't move as it heals.
If you're trying to do larger plants and you're a patient person, you can use a length of silicon tubing, split along one side so that it will fall off when the stems get large. In my experience, this takes a bit more patience to use (no handles)and I've found that a bit of porous surgical skin tape along one side of the joint can help hold things in position until you get the tubing in place. I'd consider buying tubing in slightly different diameters in case your plants are different sizes at the time you're ready to graft. Ideally, the inside diameter of the tubing should be small enough to hold the joined stems snuggly without pinching.
I can't speak for others but when working in the tomato patch I always had several outfits dedicated to just working with the tomatoes, for the very reason you noted as to staining of clothes.
Maybe someone knows some special soap, or chemical, but I just washed my increasing green tinted clothes and watched them get greener and greener as the years passed, and when they were so tatty and green I started with a new set of tomato clothes.
Same with sneakers, which I usually wore in the tomato field.So at one time I could have what I called my dress sneakers, then dress sneakers slightly soiled, then usually two pairs of tomato sneakers in case one pair got wet so I'd have a dry pair for the next day. ( smile)
Carolyn, who grew a heck of a lot more than just tomatoes, so really should be saying special dedicated gardening clothes and sneakers.
I had a good year for both, but know people all over the US that had the worst year ever. I heard that entire gardens were ruined.
In my area, I think a cool and wet spring going straight to hot and fairly wet summer created unusual diseases, especially for the tomatoes.
My goal is to plant my tomatoes earlier, with protection. My peppers do nothing if I plant too early, so that's a waste of time.
Tomatoes can't pollinate if the daytime highs are in the low 90s or above; the pollen is not viable. Same problem if the nighttime lows are above 75.
If temperatures are below 55, pollination can't take place either. Using Blossom Set spray enables fruit to set in those temperatures, but the fruit are frequently misshapen.
At temps above 96, lycopene (the pigment in red tomatoes) cannot form, so fruit of red-fruited varieties cannot ripen.
If the soil temps are above 90, the roots have major problems.
Cherries and small-fruited types seem to perform better in high temps.
At temps below 60, the plant is too cold for growth to occur.
Humidity and greenhouse varieties I can't help with.
Be sure to use a fan that will reach all the vines -- or manually shake them every day -- to ensure pollination; still air is a problem unless you have insects to pollinate or shake the blossoms.
tomato plants will bear larger fruit if they are well pollenated. pollenation creates seeds, more seeds = bigger tomatoes. I use the electric toothbrush technique for pollenating my indoor and outdoor tomatoes. you can google the technique, but basically you take turn on an electric toothbrush with the bristles lightly touching the base of the flower. the vibrations shake loose the pollen and fertilize the tomato.
Try the Tumbling Toms! But make sure you only put one plant in each large pot. They come in red and yellow varieties.They are very vigorous bush cherries with an umbrella-shaped branching habit. They are actually rather ornamental! I'm trying to grow some in a greenhouse for winter.
I haven't hear of any plants that aren't photoperiod... but I'll assume you are correct.
I'm not sure what you mean that you have flower clusters pop up but not blossoming. do you mean that the flowers fall off before they bloom? this is called tomato blossom drop. you can google this for more information. it's basically caused by stress - heat, water, nutrient deficiency...
Are you pollenating the flowers? if your plants are indoors you have to take on the job of the bees. I use the electric toothbrush technique to pollenate my tomatoes even the outdoors ones, because if the bees don't get to them... no tomatoes.
I read somewhere that tomatoes and peppers aren't photoperiod sensitive (those are the two plants I grow indoors) and I phrased that incorrectly ear when i said flower clusters I meant the bud clusters I suppose, sorry about that. My concern is that after those three bloomed and i pollinated them I haven't had anymore flowers bloom.
Age and so maturity to set fruit are determined from the date of transplant to final growing place so yes, seedlings started later and then transplanted to the garden will produce later assuming all other factors -nutrients, weather, water, etc. - are optimal.
It is a common practice and often discussed here to use cuttings from the parent plant for later transplanting rather than starting new seeds. Saves time and effort and is just as effective. But if you prefer to grow new ones from seed that's fine too.
Dave
I think it's good to remember that all trades and wants should be posted in the Tomato Seed Exchange, not here in the General Discussion area.
The link for the Tomato Seed Exchange is at the top of this first page to the right and just above the first thread title. If I didn't post this I know Dave would have as he has before so this time I beat him to it. LOL When Spike owned the site we had him put up the Seed Exchange site b'c this General Discussion one was getting filled with trades and wants, so he did so. And he also put up the Pest and Disease Forum as well as the photog one as well, and all of those are also linked to at the top of this first page.
I just wanted to say that others have reported that the various icicle varieties have not gotten good reports as regards taste at least at some of the message sites where I read/post.
The black one was bred by a man in the Ukraine and the others came from a commercial seed source in a different part of the CIS ( Commonwealth of Independent States) formerly known to many as the USSR.
Carolyn
Many Determinate tomatoes stay at a smaller more controlled height as opposed to Indeterminates which can grow to 8 feet or more. Some are know as Semi-Determinate. You might want to experiment, grow a smaller hybrid plant, like Celebrity and maybe an Indeterminate heirloom that is known for high production like Jaune Flammee or Stupice. Most cherry toms are very high production plants, I agree that only 8 tomatoes a day seems low. As has been mentioned, abundant lush green growth and few fruits is generally a result of excess nitrogen. LInda
Thanks everyone. Given that the soil was new, I wouldn't be surprised if the nitrogen levels were high. I'll have to get it tested next season so we have the right conditions for the plants.
Overcrowding is also a distinct possibility; we're working in a small space.
I'm also a true believer in Avtinovate. I have been using it for three years and will do so next year. I order it from the internet; sure it's a bit pricey, but on the other hand it
only costs about the same as 1 case of beer and takes care of the whole year (which 1 case of beer certainly will not!).
Hello guys! I'm from Russia, first time here. Very interested of tomato. Wish to chat with you.