16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

I have two favorite recipies (if you can call them that).

1. While picking cherry tomatoes off the vine...eat them.

2. Sliced raw tomato with Kosher salt.

Both recipies are simple and easy. And the best way to
eat tomatoes IMHO.

I really enjoy my tomatoes sliced with salt and nothing else or on a BLT. I do like a caprese salad, too, though - sliced tomatoes, sliced fresh mozzarella, chopped fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. And of course, salt.

It is true that the smaller what you call runts usually don't have we well developed roots, but that's b'c most of the time, at least the way I start seedlings, they are in nutritional competition with other nearby seedlings.

Which is why thinning out seedlings helps a lot.

Trust me, you'll learn by experience. When I first started growing tomatoes there were no message sites to ask questions at, and that's true for many who post here and elsewhere and I did just fine as did they and you will as well, that I know.

Experience is the very best teacher there is.

Carolyn

I started the seeds in pots in sterile seed starting mix. I think the roots were not developed due to how hot and humid it is here right now. I had 1 seed per cell so I don't think it was competition.

The ones that did the worst were Kellogg's Breakfast, Virginia Sweets, OTV and Cherokee Purple. Sudduth, Landis and Plattfoot Brandywine and Sun Gold did the best. So I am going to stick with the latter 4 and then try again in November with the other 4.

I put my green tomatoes in newspaper lined flats. These are covered with another layer of newspaper. I just lift the paper to check. In my case the newspaper provides some insulation and absorbs fluids from bad spots that I have missed.

Thanks for all the replys. I put them into a box as suggested and covered the entire box with newspapers and checked daily. I am happy to report that most are already various stages of red. Looks like they will all ripen and a lot sooner than I thought. Thanks again...this is a great forum.

I let them on to turn yellow and fall off on their own cause I figure that they're still feeding the plant. Then when I transplant again into cups a couple weeks later, I go deep. I might be right or wrong though.

Just cut one off and bury the other with the stem

alex, i will take pedantic divel for 300$

what is bull?hit
ding ding

What is bull? terrybull, lol!

jesse, I wonder if you're seeing tomato fruitworms? They look similar to cutworms, so if you're seeing fruitworms you might think of cutworms.
tomato fruitworms images (ignore the two attention-seeking hornworms "horning" in)

Fruitworms eat leaves: I find more of them on tomato leaves than I find fruit damage. They also eat through the skin of a fruit, making a neat hollow in the interior where they can gorge themselves on seeds and pulp without being seen. Then they go off to become a moth, leaving you scratching your head when you later find the untenanted hole. They may also bore into stems and leaf midribs.

The tomato fruitworm is also known as the corn earworm.

Carolyn thanks for cluing me in. The plant has already set fruit and the leaves and some fruit has been eaten looks like it could be the fruitworm thanks Missing and Carolyn for the I.D. Well today I placed a plastic gatorade jug around some of the other tom's so I'll see how that works, I'll keep y'all posted. Thanks all I think some of the tom's have fell victim to the fruit worm ugh. I believe there is still time to start some tom's from seed. Thanks again

You can turn yourself orange if you eat too many carrots due to the beta-carotene being fat-soluable and depositing in the skin. It is called carotenoderma. The darker your natural skin color, the less noticeable it is.

There is beta-carotene in tomatoes, too, but you would have to eat a tremendous amount to turn orange from tomatoes!

I know a gardener who isn't supposed to eat tomatoes. He feels lucky if he can eat half a tomato twice a week. (I'm not sure what his problem is; it sounded like either a mild allergy or indigestion.)

===

Apparently there is no recommended level of lycopene. Nor is there any information about what level might cause an overdose.

Some studies show lycopene lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and prevents or fights certain cancers. It may also help build up the immune system in the elderly. It is also taken for HPV, cataracts, and asthma. However, the NIH says there isn't enough evidence for any of the claims about lycopene.

Besides tomatoes, lycopene is found in watermelons, pink grapefruit, apricots, and pink guavas -- but at much lower levels.

I've certainly learned much from reading posts from Mulio & Carolyn, but what is the point of this?

The point of it is mulio defining the difference between a line, as in breeding line, as opposed to a variety and he said the preferred term was cultivar, not variety.

My only comment was to explain why I think we home growers are more comfortable with the term variety while scientists in the field tend to prefer the word cultivar.

So, a clarification on mulios's part which should help those who do confuse a line, whether a breeding line from selections from an initial hybrid, or breeding lines on the way to an F1 hybrid, that a variety is not the same as the OP's found in breeding lines.

That's what the point of mulio's thread is and I, for one, am glad he initiated it.

Carolyn

Hi remy; Thanks for the post so quickly. I looked it over twice and didn't see Mark (Korny) anywhere. Have you heard from him? Looks like all had fun. I hope next year will be better for me and the misses to come again we enjoyed the one we were at. Kind of miss it the past couple of years.

larry

You're welcome! Mark was there. Here's a pic with him in it.

It would be great to have you come again!
Remy

I ordered some Dr Lyle because of you Carolyn, well, actually because of the description in your book. Cant wait to grow it next year. LInda

Carolyn, I haven't grown Dr. Lyle ... yet.

I certainly read the blossom color info in your book, but have likely seen it mentioned elsewhere also; the lighter colored flowers intrigue me. I have a large Word document (compulsive retired-librarian behavior) of interesting tomato varieties and other tomato info: Dr. Lyle and Lutescent came up in a search of the doc.

Jay, yes I was wondering about that too. It has green and red stripes, sort of elongated shape and they are bigger than a cherry. I got a lot of tomatoes out of only 1 plant, this season I planted few, 2 for me and others for friends. I am sure that it will be a big seller at the market, they do look good in salads.
I will be waiting on your review of the other tomatoes to see if they are worth growing them.

Silvia

I am glad to hear the size is bigger than a cherry. I am hoping these will be a nice addition to our late fall/early winter salads. If they are really good and staying productive, we planned to move a few (Maybe 10-20) baskets into a south facing room with all windows and keep them going all winter long. We did that several years ago with one basket.

Jay

I bought 2 plants and several different 'varieties' of the OSU seed this Spring. So far all I can say is WOW. The Plants are big with thick fat stems and very fast growing. They are out growing all my other tomatoes. They flower early and set well. The 2 plants have numerous golf ball sized fruits on them that are turning deep blue/purple right now. Looks like they will be ripe soon.

The seed grown ones are blooming right now from a May sowing and look to be more variable, though they too have excellent vigor. They will be plenty of time for these to set fruit too.

Besides the fast growth the lateral stems are very vigorous and have had to do a lot of staking. the only negative is that they have been prone to wind damage from being so big.

They are in the same soil as my other tomatoes which is good but not overly rich. The vigor on these is exceptional.

Yup, I had the same thing happen to mine as well.

I had it in a fairly mediocre wire cage because I honestly didn't expect this much growth out of them. Couple weeks ago we had a windstorm and it was so big and bushy the wind picked the entire damned thing up and knocked it over (note that it was in a 25 gallon pot, full to the top).

Had some damage from that, then more damage after I had to cut the metal cage out to put better stakes in. Didn't feel like just tossing half the plant on the compost pile (especially since they had small tomatoes on them), so I dug out the rest of my potting soil and tossed them in a big pot. Figured they'd live or die, would see what happened.

Not only did the impromptu cuttings live, they kept the tomatoes that are now ripening. These are hearty little buggers!

Picture of one of the clumps:

Had a small one ripen early (was down in the leaves away from most of the sun, so it was only half black, half red), too small for seeds so I ate it. Don't know why people put these things down, was a very tasty little 'mater in my book (although, again, the strain isn't entirely stable, maybe I just lucked out and got a yummy one).