16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Well it's been about a week since I harvested all my tomatoes. I went through all of them today and almost all of them have turned a lighter green if not yellow or even red. Hopefully this means most of them will ripen eventually. I am now starting to collect seeds for next year. I was wondering if the seeds from green tomatoes that ripen indoors will produce good plants or should I try to only get seeds from vine ripened tomatoes?
You can save seeds, but it depends how green, usually a 70%+ mature tomato works and less doesn't. Just ripen like you are doing and then cut through the tomato you want to use for seed with a sharp knife. If the seeds get cut rather than slip out of the way, probably not good. But if the seeds are brown and have gel around them, most will be good.
I did this with one tomato and got a good plant from the seed, but next time I will put about 4 in each starter plug and take the best of the group, instead of just one which I normally do. You might want to pre-germinate them in a plastic bag on a paper towel and then the instant some good looking ones show germination, transfer the seed to the plug or whatever you use.
Lindalana (pre-soak) and especially Daniel (pre-germinate)both do similar methods as they have posted. I personally don't because the first time I experimented with it, I let the roots grow 2-3 days and many of them did worse upon transfer. Just a suggestion.
PC
socalgal, if you live in a dry climate it ios probably much harder, but here in Florida it is certainly possible to do especially in times of high humidity ... if you can be creative to support it and protect it from the Sun.
Not something that will all take, but there are usually failures even in recovery 'chambers'. That has more to do IMO with matching the correct stem size. A side graft technique, for example on a low side shoot would be much more successful for this sort of thing, which removes the scion's roots in two stages. I would use the same procedure like when my stem broke earlier this year and only about 20% was left connected. I connected it as best I could and wire wrapped a split tube around the break and it mended just fine, although adventitious roots also grew out of the wound.
Maybe I'll try it now just to see since I have some seedlings I need to toss that were extras for my fall season. But finally we have a lower humidity week so I wait for the rain to come back and do it then.
PC
Bart, if you bought the seeds for GZ they should be small in the 2-3 oz range.
But as noted below seeds were sold by Tomato Growers Supply for what they called Big Zebra, as noted in the link below, with pictures.
From the link you can see that both TGS and Diane's Flowers are offering seeds for 2014 when you click on seed availability.
Carolyn
Here is a link that might be useful: Big Zebra
This post was edited by carolyn137 on Wed, Oct 8, 14 at 13:48
Thanks all.
From looking at some of the google images, I see most shots are the round, "ping pong ball" shaped ones that I got this year, but there were a few shots of the more squat shaped ones too.
I hope it was because of the weather this year!!!!
I have grew one years ago, just for the heck of it. I made my own pot by drilling a hole at the bottom of a 5g bucket. I planted a cheery type in it. There are many technical problems: I did get no more than a handful of tomatoes off of it.
The fact is NO PLANT will grow upside down in the nature. Cascading is not the same as upside down. Actually planting some cherry tomatoes in a good size hanging basket can be more decorative than upside down. Pick a small indeterminant cherry.
i've done it a couple of times, some success but yes there are problems as alluded to above. Wouldn't do i again unless there was a space issue.
One problem is when watering the water runs out the bottom and all over the plant making it all yuk.....so if you are going to do it, i would suggest growing it out the side of the container rather than the bottom.
This is really an interesting subject fort me since I have these cutting too. I didn't see ddsack's post when I wrote mine, so I just wanted to say that's the sort of thing I was talking about with chartreuse color, thin leaves, and leggy plants. I admire his plants for fun inside and think it really depends on what you want to do, but I wouldn't use (3? of 4?) of his plants in my garden any more than the 15 leggy ones here, and probably all would go take well up there like he says. Plus, I don't have a nice sliding sunlight bay window or door higher than ground level, facing sun any part of the year where I could even dream of putting big pots in cold weather, let alone 18 plants which is what I need for planting.
If you are dealing with a short season, a thick stemmed plant will always out produce a leggy plant IMO. The key is just to time it right, which is sort of seysonn's point. By putting a bulb with a reflector above a plant, it stays stout and develops heavy, robust "fronds". But again it depends on priorities. I would pinch off inside flowers, too, if the goal was an early plant for the garden, so they plant used all of it's energy to get stout huge solar collectors and my hope would be this would return big time tomatoes. It is not a fair comparison to start seeds or even cuttings late and compare that with a leggy transplant much its senior.
Though conditions vary. If I try to harden off a chartreuse leggy transplant, it will not take off here, but rather be attacked by leaf miners and other bad stuff on its tender thin leaves and never amount to much after that. I would have to pinch off the main growing stem which ddsack could also do; Then the plant would have no choice but to stop getting long looking for limited light and to grow thicker and lusher and maybe be a good transplant so everyone who experiments a little can work out what best suits their climate, soil, and pests for their goals. The hard part is identifying goals, because once I see a flower bud it is very hard to remove it, so goals change along the way ;-)
There are indoor varieties bred for that, so if I planned now, I would want it all and plant appropriate indoor varieties for that and start my seeds earlier using light (since I don't have a good window;-)
Is your variety something special that you don't have seeds for or maybe not know what variety it is? That was my reason for taking most of these cuttings - I got a private heirloom plant in spring and wanted to get it in time for the fall season. I planted seeds when they became available. Initially the cuttings massacred the seeds for speed, but the limitations on light and size inside ... and fall came and I used only the ones I raised from seed. The best clone barely was as good as the average seed due to my specific growing conditions (lack of light), and there is always the possibility that the cuttings will more quickly fall to disease than plants grown from seeds, on the back end of the season, so bigger isn't always better and I think ddsack addressed that in his post too and agree with him.
PC
On the surface of it, six months of biding time before spring is a really long time, but you'll never know unless you try. Maybe if they get too leggy you could take cuttings from the cuttings! Sounds like a 'speriment to me. Dopers do this all the time...
Carolyn, it is interesting thought about soil being frozen to kill pathogens... but OTOH, the ever nasty C diff lives in the gut peacefully until opportunity arises...
so if there is some small nasties that do overwinter in the soil but good guys prevail I will still come ahead?
&&&&&&
Being a retired infectious disease/immune response person, I don't think I'd go as far as saying that Clostridium difficile lives peacefully in the gut since not everyone has that bacterium as local flora. But as you know, certain antibiotics can cause it to multiply if it is there, and that's not a good situation.See the link at the bottom.
What I'm thinking of as to critters and letting the soil freeze deeply are cutworms, which mainly pupate in the soil, and any imported Fusarium, etc.diseases that are killed where the soil freezes deeply.
Has Fusarium and other fungal systemic diseases appeared here in my zone 5 area? Yes, but mainly from plants bought in southern areas. But once here, also are the moths that lay the eggs.
Yes, you'll come out ahead if you know which critters are in your soil that are potential problems and know which ones are killed by freezing and which are not. ( smile)
Carolyn
Here is a link that might be useful: C.diff
This is an old thread (2006).
I also posted a comment in 2011, mentioning that my SINGLE tomatillo plant did fine previous year but my 3 plant are not fruiting, as of the end of June.
Once again, there are posts written by the gardeners who mention their sole tomatillo plant is doing fine. This puts the "self incompatibility theory" in doubt.
I have experimented single plant , 3 times in the past plus this season. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE PLANT unless you want more fruits.
Read my thread titled "Tomatillo, Facts and Myth" if you like.
Hi dbarron ... what an interesting time to be there and growing!
Here's a 1976 excerpted part of an article written about the Arkansas Traveler tomato cultivar in your University's town's newspaper. It illustrated just how remarkable the variety was at the time you had front center seats. Despite a degree from Cornell, Dr. McFerran was still had some hillbilly in his Arkansan heart. He also was involved in the breeding of Ozark Pink, continuing with the Arkansas Traveler theme, which he apparently liked … Did he play the fiddle or banjo?
Music Video of the Arkansas Traveler which the tomato honored
I'd take that bet he did :-)
Northwest Arkansas Times of Fayetteville, AR
Thursday, June 24, 1976
Page 4
"...the Arkansas Traveler tomato developed by the Horticulture Department is now grown on 2,200 acres in Bradley County. It constitutes an $8 million dollar industry. Those people almost lost their tomato industry from disease, and this remarkable plant was developed to replace the failing one. They know the value of research done by trained scientists ... McFerran and Company, This silent war (mostly plant breeding) goes on to prevent the wiping out of our great agricultural crops.
(Note, the tomato was referred to interchangeably as Traveler (Traveller) and Arkansas Traveler, since the beginning,and that’s an Arkansas thing, not an addition by outsiders specifying that it was from Arkansaw, but a real part of its unique history. The Arkansas Traveler fiddle tune to residents of the State, like the student newspaper, were called "Traveler" with the understanding they referred to the "Arkansas Traveler" which was not necessary to say in common parlance. Similar to a US resident calling Dr. Clinton a former President, when in the United States, but former “President of the United States” by those abroad.)
PC
I'm afraid I didn't know Joe's personal life that well. I was only a lowly undergraduate who watered his tomatoes for a year or so (lol). I do remember the Ozark Pink, but never liked it as well, I always felt my tomatoes should be bright red.
Too late to segregate, Seysonn. The seeds are saved mixed from multiple fruits.
I saw bumble bees going from flower to flower in the garden, so that's why I felt there would be cross pollination. I could grow maybe 2 or three trial plants, but I want different varieties and don't have much room. Your suggestion on preventing cross-pollination sounds like just the thing if one of the trial plants shows the desired characteristics. Although I have been growing backyard tomatoes for decades, I am really new at seed saving and have no experience whatsoever in developing a variety.
I have easily 100 surplus seeds, so I could farm them out if people here feel they would like a few to help the endeavor.
an easy solution: keep your current seeds. try one seed next year. if not successful, try another one the following year. if you have 10% seeds from cross pollination, you chance of having one bad seed is 10% and two bad seeds is 1% and three 0.1%... let math do the job. lol
Tom, if you go to the top of this page, just under and to the right of where it says Messages, you'll see a link to Exchanges, and that's where folks post their wants and haves.
Bulgarian Old Sort caught my eye since first, I've never met a variety from Bulgaria that I didn't like, and second the same person who sent seeds for it to Tania sent the same to me, and I linked to Tania's page for it below and there are no sources currently listing it.
No, I no longer have seeds for it, Frederick sent just a few seeds and both Tania and I had problems with germination and she got luckyl Actually Frederick sent seed for a few other Bulgarian ones as well, but right now I can't remember their names.
But there are many other varieties from Bulgaria that are better known and one of my seed producers is growing out another one or did this past summer, but I don't know how successful he was with it.
Carolyn
Carolyn
Here is a link that might be useful: Bulgarian Old Sort
I usually plant Matina in Louisiana (Zone 9) and they turn out like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b4LktURbMQ
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Tomatoes!
REPORT CARD:
my 2014 EARLY ones, were as follows:
--- Bloody Butcher: Wont repeat. It produced the very first ripe tomato. BUT the fruit size was too small, not that prolific, aggressive vine, PL prone to diseases (mildew ? mold ?).
--- Matina: Not as early BUT, good size juicy tomatoes, prolific. Will grow it again
--- Siletz: My favorite early. Has good size fruits (5 oz +). It was the earliest along with Bloody Butcher.
--- Siberia(N): Not really early. Maybe MID. Nice compact det plant. Still has fruits. Will grow it again
--- Early Treat: ( a Burpee hyb): Zapping it. Not as early, not prolific , small fuits...
--- Legend: I'll Keep it
--- Silvery Fir Tree : Zapping. Though I like the foliage but fruit set/size/ were inconsistent and only produced one flush.
--- Stupice: also zapping it. Reasons: not early AND small inconsistent fruits shape/size
OK, folks, time to report back. Let us share experiences and evaluations.
Hope your season was a great one. Mine was.
PC, as they say: IT'S COMPLICATED !
Well, good luck !
seysonn, nice weather.
Regarding how long this warm weather will last, I would say in ANY moment, things can change. Only one night of cold air from Canada - even 30s - and everything will be gone. No matter what blue sky we will have after that, it will be (very) cold.
Meantime everything looks good here:
Tomatoes are self-pollinating, but it's fun to zap the flowers with an electric toothbrush just to make sure (grin).
Linda
In zone 8 GA, there is no chance. I know this, I have lived in ATL area for a number of years.Even your FFD delay till the end of November, You will have less than 50 days.
here is your data:
Last Frost Date (2014): 3/23
First Frost Date (2014): 10/30
Average Growing Season: >232 days