16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

Carolyn,
I actually got the seeds for my Mexico Midget and German Queen at Tomatopalooza 2008, I believe from Craig himself. I made several attempts at crossing MM and GQ and saved seed from the fruits I crossed. The plant is lanky like MM and the stigma is quite exerted, it is also RL and WAY more productive than the GQ the seeds came from. I suppose it could be crossed with something else but given that I emasculated the flowers and placed MM pollen on the stigma over the course of a few days, I can't think of anything more likely.
The fruits so far are good. Skin is a little on the thick side but I wonder if the rainy hot summer could be a factor. Taste is about halfway between the parents. That nice "pink" taste of GQ with a touch of the bolder MM. I haven't really thought about what I want to select for in F2. I have a small garden and a whole lot of exotic varieties from GRIN to grow out next year so I will probably plant at most 3 of the F2 and see what variations come up. If you like, I would be happy to send a few F1 seeds your way or some "LeHoullier" MM seeds.

Thanks for the seed offer but Craig L and I have been best friends for over 20 years and are in constant communication and what seeds I have he can have and vice versa.

Actually I'm growing Wild Sweetie this year which is akin to Mexico Midget in being an S. pimp as well.

I think German Queen is one of the most beautiful plants I've grown with those perfect pink beefsteaks, but to tell the truth, I never thought much of the taste.

Ah well, if we all liked the same varieties it wouldn't be that much fun. LOL

Carolyn

I did that for quite a few years. I would bring the coffee
grounds home from work on a daily basis.

Can't do that any more since I'm retired. My wife won't
let me do our home coffee grounds. She firmly believes
that putting them down the sink will keep the drain from
clogging.

I sure do have a lot of earthworms now. They love coffee
grounds.

Hmmm, there is quite a bit of Nitrogen. I would go easy with it, especially after the plants start to flower. I have finally learned to resist feeding my tomatoes excess nitrogen just because I have access to it for free.

Oh! Missingtheovious Thanks! :) Zippering. Hum it seems to be perfect name for that formation! haha

terrybull,thanks for making me laugh :D

Actually, that(plumbers crack) is what exactly my husband said when my HB saw that fruit! ;-)

Actually a moon (of the plumbers crack variety) was my first reaction too.. I was going to say what ungrateful tomatoes. All that love and care and they moon you!

Do a search of your name, anything that you have posted to will show up!

I put in your name and this came up:

Here is a link that might be useful: Gumby

That was the link... Thanks

Marglobe is a determinate tomato which has some indeterminate 'blood' in its past.

There are lots of attributes to this heirloom. It's been fun to grow. I just wish it tasted better! To my palate, it tastes like the grocery store tomato it was bred to be. It's the truck farmers' delight.

I'm sure that I will get 100 tomatoes from the one I grew this year. Big, bushy 4-5 foot plant, zero disease or pest problems. I mean...I don't think I've ever grown a tomato without seeing at least one caterpillar, one aphid, one spider mite, or one whitefly. Sheesh.

Speaking of Marglobe, I had better get out there and do some more picking!

Try this link it might clear things up in regards to the heirloom tomatoes.

Thanks for the put down digirt!!!

Thank you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia

I'd consider bark fines as being about the size of one's finger nails...pinky to thumb. What are typically sold as "mini pine bark nuggets' are too big.

And don't forget that we're talking about conifer bark...pine or other conifers. Not plain wood chips.

Thanks. This particular brand is fir bark, which I think is a conifer, but not a pine. The chunks looked to be about the size of my fingernails, maybe a bit larger, but I will check again.

missingtheovious!

Thank you! That is one cute caterpillar! They are really reall hairy! :D

Is that a real hair like dogs' ?

Wow. :-D

rhizo!

I see. So I really need to sterilize my garden bed for next season! Thanks!!! :D

I guess I am going to see more worms then I hoped :-(

Thanks for your help!

Sterilize your garden?? Never. Talk about doing more harm than good. Best thing you can do regarding next year is to keep your eyes peeled for those little eggs. Inspect your plants every once in a while. Learn what the hornworm eggs look like and get rid of them before they hatch.

Don't remove ladybug eggs.

Don't worry about it Randy as there is no way we can ID it anyway. We get lots of please ID this plant or this tomato requests here and it simply isn't possible as there are way too many possibilities.

But if you want to post your pic anyway just copy the href code photobucket gives you. It is the one that begins I tried to do it for you but even with trimming your URL above all I get is a 404 error.

Dave

Here's a link to randy41's photo (thanks to Firefox's BBCodeXtra add-on, which does the magic stuff for me):

Gorgeous!

If it tastes good, save the seeds. If it's an open pollinated variety (OP, as opposed to a hybrid), you can have the same tomatoes next year.

Seed-saving instructions (various methods):
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0516104221142.html
http://wintersown.org/wseo1/YourChoiceTomatoSASE/Learn%20to%20Save%20Tomato%20Seeds%20300.pdf
http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/A_Beginner%E2%80%99s_Guide_To_Saving_Tomato_Seeds_Using_Fermentation

Starting tomatoes from seed:
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/tomato/2005015135020413.html

A tomato farmer told me tomatoes are actually bienniels. They produce fruit the first year (obviously) but if they don't die or freeze, will continue producing another year.

A tomato farmer told me tomatoes are actually bienniels. They produce fruit the first year (obviously) but if they don't die or freeze, will continue producing another year.

Bienniels? Not really. Look up the definition of a biennial plant. ;)

Indeterminate varieties, yes they will live for several years given the right conditions and will develop fruit every year. Determinate varieties, no.

Dave

I bought a sweet 100 and early girl one fall. The two plants had identical, small, cherry type tomatoes.
Speaking of Burgundy Traveler, is this a darker form of Arkansas Traveler? I grew AT this year and really liked it. It seems to tolerate the hot, dry climate in Arizona well.

Hi Nerak -

Unfortunately, some tomatoes have tags switched or, in my case as happened this year, they come mismarked from the supplier.

We here in Orange County have a well known retail nursery of which many of us religiously get our transplants both hybrid and heirlooms. I always get two Lemon Boys in the mix of a dozen or so as they're very reliable, disease resistant, taste good and tangy and prolific, not to mention the color which several of the neighbors find delightful when they get some. This year they both came up as yellow pear(s) which, altho cute, taste both mushy and bland. These came directly off the suppliers truck to the nursery mismarked so, yes, it can happen, even from reliable resources.

The heavier mixes have a great deal of bark in them. THAT'S the secret. They will never compact, as opposed to something that is mostly peat moss. These potting mediums will drain beautifully, support and very vigorous root system, prevent that dreaded overwatering and root rot.

These mixes will look different than something you are used to, especially the Nursery Mix. It's GOOD stuff!

Can I just mix in orchid bark if I can't get a nursery to order the heavier mixes for me?