16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
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.
Tom I have 6o ft rows and I am very happy with 8ft landscape timbers for end post (4x5) and t post every 10ft between. I plant heirlooms that grow from 6 to 8 ft tall. I have to have 4ft between plants as I train them to grow side to side, better for control of plants and easier to spray. we have trouble with all the leaf disease know to man and need room to spray leaves on both sidfes. I think we live in the same area, if I can help more feel free to call. GOOD LUCK Bill
Hi misstheobvious, thanks so much for your response! I do stake my plant - I actually tied a couple of branches to the stake too; however, I think the extra 'resistance' actually helped the wind to break it!
I really hope you are right about the new growth! The snipped off branch looks quite stumpy. There are no leaves left whatsover as the entire branch and its leaves went, so any suckers went along with that :(
It was so hot in Oklahoma that not many tomatoes made it thru the Summer. I usually have a crop of SuperSweet 100's and Jelly Beans in the Fall, but this year the Supersweets had lots of fruit, but it got too cold for them to ripen.
I have better luck carrying over container plants rather than in-ground plants.
I prune my plants severly during the Summer, removing all non-productive stems and bigger leaves, and removing bunches where there is more than one bunch on a stem.
The only cherry tomatoes that I was able to harvest this year were a couple of SunGold, which had quite a few that ripened. I had to move the containers into the garage a couple of times when it got down to freezing, but did get the satisfaction of harvesting some sweet tasting cherries in November. I also am harvesting some Celebrity tomatoes that are larger than the Spring ones.
Here's a pic of a Sungold taken November 8th:
Yes, that looks a lot like mine. Long vines with the action up at the ends of them.
So I guess the idea, during the heat of the summer, is to start pruning them to give suckers lower down a chance to thrive? The stems lower down have become pretty woody by this time, though, so there aren't a lot of suckers that want to come out down there. Maybe there is a way to encourage such suckers to sprout?
I just started mine since I got obsessed with growing tomatoes in my small lot in Seattle this summer.
Here's the link:
Pacific Northwest Gardener blog
I blog about tropical, unusual and impossible plants and seed germination
Here is a link that might be useful: Medusa's Garden
Yes you can use the top but a Better Boy should have lots of suckers on it-unless you have intentionally removed them all?
And rooting cuttings in moist potting soil, not water, is recommended. Water roots are not the same as nutrient roots and it is the latter you want.
Dave
Well yeah I did remove all my suckers because that is what I have been told will produce bigger tomatoes. But that�s good to know about the cutting having the same genetic material as the original. Hey does that mean I can keep cloning the same plant indefinitely? I also have four Brandywine tomato plants that I am hoping will not drop its blossoms. I was able to remove two cuttings because my better boy forked in two. I removed the blossoms on one and let the other keep them. I will see which one does better. By the way the plant that I grew in water and later put in dirt seems to be doing o.k. but will it develop future problems?
I used to have a real, basically solar, greenhouse and could get ripe toms in to Feb. sometimes later. I Over wintered one for several years and it was still producing when I moved. They were great in the summer, OK during the winter.
They were better than store bought, but not as good, as tracydr stated.
I am experimenting with some red robins this year, not in a greenhouse, but a sunny room, new home. They are very healthy at the moment and I see a few flower buds starting to form.
I will update later on my results.
Present temps here in SoCal are 60's daytime, 50's nighttime. I just picked a ripe Glacier and it was delicious.
Last year we picked Paul Robenson till January (40's nighttime) and they were still very tasty.
May depend upon the varieties that you plant, Stupice and Glacier are two of my best fall/winter performers.
For larger tomatoes, I would pick Siletz and Siberian.
You mentioned opening windows so it appears that you either have a glass partition greenhouse or have end wall windows. With the glass units you have options of spraying a light blocker onto the glass which should help. With a plastic film covered unit I think roll-up sides are a must to keep temps low unless you install an expensive ridge vent system. I ignore the end wall exhaust fans in mid summer and leave the sides rolled up day and night. Themperatures inside may still reach 100F but most varieties seem to handle that extreme. Heirloom varieties will be affected sooner than most hybrids and there are a few newer varieties that should set fruit at higher than normal temps (see 2012 Twilley seed catelog).
Opening up the greenhouse is a good idea to let in as much cool air as possible,I would also place some shade cloth over the greenhouse to reduce the direct sun to the plants during the hottest part of the day.The tomatoes should still produce fine.Good luck!
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.
Bruce,
Using manure in your pots is probably not a good idea. You need a mix that is light and drains well.I hope someone who knows for sure about this will chime in here.