16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Have you checked out the FAQ here on how to grow tomatoes from seed? Lots of great info. And no 8 hours of sunlight isn't enough for seedlings. 12-16 hours is pretty much standard which is why supplemental lighting is recommended. Otherwise they become quite leggy and fall over.
Plus you pics look like they may have some green mold growing on the soil surface? If so that is a symptom of excess soil moisture and inadequate air circulation - which is why a small fan is recommended.
Dave
I didn't water the seedlings for two days carefully checking on them for any wilting but they actually looked way better at the end of the second day.
I then carefully waters each one equally with small amounts of water... Less than I was giving before. Today they did great.
I am going to make sure to be careful on not giving them too much water.
I am bringing a fan outside to give them extra strong wind for like 15 minutes out so each day.
I am going to place the seedlings on the roof where there isn't as many things to make shade so the seedlings get maybe another two hours of sunlight... I may consider setting up lights somehow but I would like to avoid that by moving the seedlings to chase the sun..
ohhh I am sorry I didn't see your reply until just now!
as for local produce... they do grow tomatoes, bell peppers,cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce (both iceberg and romain, though iceberg can get expensive here) etc...
they import a lot of vegetables and fruits from India and Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt etc... for reasonable prices, and then from Europe and the US at a pretty high cost.
Just to say that you're referring to Yellow Brandywine ( Platfoot) so folks don't think it's a Brandywine, which is pink. Seeds to me from Gary Platfoot of Ohio who lives near where Yellow Bandywine was first known and named and a strain that I and others hgave found to be much better than the seeds circulating for Yellow Brandyine.
I've had many varieties that continues to produce well and do so until they were cut down by a hard frost. If I let the weeds go they could protect from a light frost by taking the brunt of that, but not a hard frost.
So I take it no frosts in you area yet.
(So my question - is this just what happens when a plant never catches blight? Do all tomatoes have this potential, or is this plant a genetic anomaly? Of course, I saved seeds so I can at least try to answer this question next year, but does anyone have any input or had a similar experience with a plant that just wouldn't quit?)
I think it depends on which specific diseases you refer to when you say blight since that word is often used to indicate a sick tomato plant.
Where I live we don't have serious problems with soilborne systemic diseases, but do have the common foliage pathogens.
And I do find that most of my PL varieties tend to do better with the foliage pathogens and have suggested in the past that it could be due to the thicker epidermis of PL leaves.
But I have absolutely no proof of that and while some would agree with me, some wouldn't.
So near the end of the season I can see many PL varieties hanging in there while those with certain foliage infections have bit the dust.
Hope that helps.
Carolyn
I dont know the name of the tomato but it still is magical. I found a volunteer tomato plant that grew in my yard, around where I seeded tomato seeds into pots. it could be a spillover and went into soil directly and on its own it germinated. what is facinating is that its still about 12" tall after 3 months, did not grow too well, was not watered properly, never fertilized, has roots exposed, and was replanted into area that was not rich in nutrients or tilled. for some reason this keeps putting up tomatoes with no blossom drop while all other plants I took good care got hit with blosson drop.
I will post pictures of this tomato once ripe and would definitely save its seed for its hardiness.
carolyn137 I want to come back and read these posts more carefully this weekend when I have time and can absorb more.
But In the meantime I wanted say I think we settled on early blight.
I will link to the post below.
BTW the plants in the picture are still alive and kicking. They look pretty rough but still have fruit.
Here is a link that might be useful: Still think this Septoria
From reading the above, I would point out that the varieties you listed are all below normal producers in this area. Also, your ground preparation could probably be improved. Here are my suggestions.
1. Druzba - excellent flavor, outstanding production
2. Eva Purple Ball - huge production, decent flavor
3. KBX - about the best orange you will grow
4. Brandywine - just start them much earlier
5. Burgundy Traveler - phenomenal production, decent flavor
6. Heidi - an excellent determinate paste tomato
7. Bloody Butcher - if you want an early golf ball size tomato.
8. Grow some Big Beef and/or Mtn Magic again next year
Do more work to prepare your soil. I've had excellent results with purchasing bales of alfalfa hay and peat moss at my local feed and seed store and tilling it in at a rate of a bale each to 200 square feet. Then get some manure and till in about 400 pounds in the same area. Manure should be easy to find in your area, caveat to be careful about weed seed and possibly high salt concentrations.
Last suggestion is to start earlier. Depending on your exact location, you should have plants in the ground somewhere between the 15th of April and the 15th of May. The earlier the better. The larger the plants you set out within some limits, the better, just don't try to set out plants that are already blooming. I have grown Brandywine very successfully by transplanting into the garden on the 25th of March and covering the plants for a few nights over the next 3 weeks until past the frost free date.
DarJones
Shortly before that I added a family heirloom named by the donator for his father--the "George Curtiss Spoon Tomato".
..... is from the link I posted above as you just reposted.
I found the thread I linked to above via Google, yes, but what I linked to was the thread where the variety was discussed by you.
Calm down Trudi, calm down. Have you ever read so fast that you've made a mistake? Or made a mistake posting about a tomato variety or anything else?
I know I have but when I'm perfect in all ways I'll post that at the sites where I normally post, which isn't here at GW that much, and do so right before I join the tomato Godesses and Gods up in the big sky.
Because that's the only place where perfect tomato people end up at. ( smile)
Carolyn
This is not the first time you have raced through my words to find what you wanted and made a false accusation. Try looking instead for good things about me or anyone else who doesn't go your way and maybe that's what you'll see. May I suggest that you look in the mirror when you tell someone to calm down, because you racing through posts to find negatives is unseemly and not something that produces any, ehem, uplifiting effect.
Good luck with your future smiting ;-)
T
It may be hard to determine truth based on 6 plants. When I looked at your pictures, I smiled looking at the quality of the topsoil. If it is the horse manure, then I must be getting lucky on mine. I do not have the knowledge or experience YET, but why not hit those short, slow to grow plants with a heavy dose of nitrogen. What do you have to lose?(late thought by a season or so)
Take care,
Travis
The horticulturist is correct, with the idea of leaching. Thing is, with the water these days, it seems difficult to leach properly unless it comes from the sky. So maybe, we can come to a more probable scenario that when we plant seed,even seed from the same package,that they are not all born equal? I have scene this before,and recently.
BTW, garedneck, I think you think like I think regarding a problem/issue. No question can top the first hand.
Take care,
Travis
I had 2,4d damage that looked exactly like that last year
(overspray from a neighbor). In researching herbicide
damage to tomato plants (they're EXTREMELY sensitive to
herbicide, I found info about aminopyralid as well as
clopyralid. These are considered "grazable" herbicides
that are sometimes used on hay and straw. These persist in
the soil (they pass through the horse)much longer than
2,4d. I have two horses and have always used their manure
on my garden with great success. Since reading this
material, I've stopped using it in the garden since I've
started to use hay cubes from Canada and hay from western
states instead of local hay. I think before I'd use compost made with hay or straw, I'd plant some extra tomato
seedlings in it to make sure they did not exhibit leaf curling. I've also read just soaking the hay (if you have it) and watering an extra seedling with it will cause the
same curl if contaminated. Beans are extremely sensitive to the same so your "pea" test should work. I found out that these chemicals are also used on pastures to kill buttercup which isn't affected by 2,4d (buttercup is irritating to horses)as well as other weeds. Here's some sites you can look at for more info:
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid
http://www.the-compost-gardener.com/picloram.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/aminopyralid
At another popular forum which begins with T, you'll
find a great deal of info if you use the search feature
for these chemicals or just "herbicide". This forum won't
accept the name of another.
Besides pruning, I also planted some cuttings of favorite tomatoes. out of 10 cuttings, 6 survived and I see new growth. I also put two cuttings in glass of water for 1-week and both got roots, then I planted both into the ground and both survived as well.
on pruned plants new growth is pretty good. hoping I dont get BER, for that I will be treating all the plants with compost tea (professionaly fresh brewed)
Treated all pruned plants with compost tea (aerated). also added bone meal and dolomite lime for calcium to counter BER. will report progress in next 30 days. temperatures are now falling to low 50's at nights while day temperatures are still hitting low 70's to high 80's depending of the day.
bmoser, Are you talking about why I started these so late? It was as much of an experiment than anything. So far I have found that they need to be planted by July 1.
I do plant early, in fact, I keep moving back my early planted tomatoes, I am now planting them 2 weeks earlier than I was just 3 years ago. I have learned new ways to maintain the low temps without adding additional heat.
While my tomatoes do keep producing, I would prefer to tear them out and get my late fall/winter crops in my big high tunnels. These crops will bring in more dollars than the last of the tomatoes will. I usually try to have the tomatoes out by Labor Day. I planned to have these tomatoes picked by the time I tore out the other tomatoes.
Now my big tunnel with tomatoes now looks like this.
It has carrots, kale, lettuce, green onions, bok choy, napa cabbage, spinach and Swiss Chard and some hanging baskets of tomatoes.
Here is another tunnel loaded full of winter crops of broccoli, cauliflower, napa cabbage, bok choy, Red Cabbage, Green Cabbage, Swiss Chard
Now with having the late tomatoes in one of my movable buildings, I can have them for a while then move the building, when they are froze and protect the winter carrots, leeks, green onions, and radishes.
Here is another building with spinach, radishes and turnips planted.
The last building will be finished planting this week(we hope!)
Jay
are you seeing blossom drop? I went thru the same all Sep and then got attacked by squirrels.
I was forced to prune all tomato plants and now am seeing new growth. I eliminate BER, I added bone meal and lime for calcium today. Hope it works and gets me some tomatoes before we hit frost in next 6 weeks or so
Extending the season is something that I am pondering on right now as well. That is a pretty important point you make. The slugs and molding and all the other minor issues could never outweigh the positive of extending the season.
Hemnancy thank you... I thought I replied a, while back but I didn't!
Mmmm now I have to try to figure out what to do about covering all the plants to under the pots...
Right now I am going to add grommets to them in the meantime...