16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

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

Jay, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy the pictures. Tall, healthy tomato plants alone,even without fruit, is something I have fell in love with.

Take care,
Travis

I have successfuly grafted and grown heirlooms in the past. I have a confirmed case of Fusarium oxysporum in my garden soil. A Marianna's Peace planted in my soil quickly dies (been there done that). A grafted Marianna's Peace (onto Maxifort rootstock) does well in the garden provided you continue to protect it against leaf disease. This year I decided to grow my ungrafted MP in an earthbox in the garden. Mistake! MP grown in the earthbox on the patio by the house grew 10 feet tall. MP in the earthbox in the garden showed unmistakable signs of fusarium and keeled over within two weeks of first yellowing.

I have no idea how fusarium got into the earthbox soil! So, back to grafting next year. BTW, when planting a grafted plant, make sure the rootstock doesn't send out a shoot. It is a monstorous plant with spit-out awful fruits (been there done that, too!). Maxifort is a hybrid so I didn't save seeds.

Beth

I've also grafted different heirloom varieties onto Maxifort stock in the past. As Beth notes you are in for a constant battle with the rootstock to try to reestablish itself through suckers. Also yo need to use care to keep graft junction above the soil line or the graft scion will root and the graft is useless. I've had a few that I thought were legitimate grafts that ended up being Maxifort plants so you need to inspect grafts closely. The yearlong care is an ordeal that I prefer not to repeat.

I know that I will probably get something started, but what they heck! My uncle used to root prune some of his tomatoes to get them to ripen early, he swore by it. He did always have earlier tomatoes than anyone else around.

I don't know if it would work in such a cold climate, we have hot summers here, but it worked for him. When the fruit was about full size he would take a shovel and sink it in the dirt about 4 inches from the plant on 2 sides, cutting the roots. Only on 2 or 3 plants. He grew about 100 every year. Those plants would have ripe fruit weeks before the others. But they didn't produce as well later on. He said that it would make them go in to survival mode to produce viable seed.

What kind of grow lights did you use? A metal halide (MH) lamp tends to keep the plant in the vegetative state while high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps tend to promote the reproductive state. If you're using MH, you could very well be keeping your plants from flowering and fruiting.

I recommend you have the library get you a copy as it is easy reading in one day

*****

I do know about Charles Wilber and his book. But how do I say this nicely..... I'm not interested in growing as he did, b'c I've grown Big Boy F1, I've partially dehybridized it and I can get all the fruits from it that I would ever need or want with a couple of plants. ( smile)

The name has escaped me now but who was the person who grew the tallest plant on record? I remember seeing a picture of that one with a man up on a reallllyyyyy tall ladder. LOL

Carolyn, who doesn't grow tomatoes for yield, height , fruit size, color or anything else other than TASTE. But it takes growing a lot of varieties to come up with those taste favorites. LOL

we have italian tree tomato seeds available at our site,

Here is a link that might be useful: mad river seeds

From past experience I would recommend Pale Perfect Purple. This year my German Johnson provided an ample supply of Tomatoes that meet your criteria.

Try one called Chapman. Outstanding results this year as to productivity and appearance. Box Car Willie is usually quite dependable as well. Haven't tried Opalka yet.

Carolyn, good to see all is well with you. Unfortunately the Delicious seeds in question were from Phil and Jane Hunt's 7 pound Delicious tomato grown in Canada and not from the Gordon Graham Delicious seeds. They got their seeds from someone who grew tomatoes from a packet they purchased in a store somewhere in Canada. You can get some of these heirloom seeds by going to the Bigpumpkin site and sending a SASE to one of the growers posting there and they will send you seeds free. It is not always about money as you know. I have sent out nearly 250 to 300 packets of free seeds so far this year. I know you give them away as well. Take care. Marv

There I go again, not knowing where all the seeds came from.LOL I thought at one time you or someone else got some seeds from Gordon's big one.

I'm glad you noted where folks could get some of those seeds, but as for me, I know you offered to send me some since we've known each other for so long, but I just haven't taken you up on your offer to date.

All is well with me you said? Well mentally I'm just fine, that's a self assessment mind you, and if you think I'm going to make a list of some medical conditions I'm dealing with, you're wrong. LOL

With increasing age, as I'm sure you know, stuff happens. ( smile) So one deals with it as best one can.

Carolyn

Thank you Nordfyr315. You da man. I look foward to growing the hell out of them seeds. I am going to make those seeds my itch. I am going to use them there seeds. Once I am done with those seeds, each one of them will need professional therapy.

I am going to punch those seeds in the face,with sandy loam,and good,dry manure. Maybe I am going too far?

Seriously though, thank you.

Take care,
Travis

Thanks - got my seeds today! Will save seeds for next year also. Linda