16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Thank you so much for the speedy reply, I'm really glad to hear they won't need to be replaced with a different variety. I was really dreading having to dig them up after I put so much time and effort into growing them lol.
I usually try to plant seeds instead of transplants, and the Home Depot nor Lowes seem to carry very many varieties of tomato's. Maybe you or someone else here can suggest a good place online to order some of the harder to find varieties that I may not be able to find here?
Again, I really appreciate your help, I'm really starting to fall in love with this site and all the good info it has!
Hi Pacman,
I would recommend this generous thread, take a look at it and just mention your gardening interests.
I've bought a few seeds from tomato community people that are self-proprietors and not the big ones. This is because I love the excuse and kind words I exchange with them with a personal touch, and I understand the difficulties involved with trying to do the hobby you love and they get a token bit of money back, but mainly do as a labor of love. It helps everyone because then they have good reason to keep their seeds pure and the enthusiasm up, just like you and me.
What happens is you can think they are great but if you endorse them, think of all the others that could use an extra $5 since diversity is key, we've got to keep them going.
There are lists and databases of larger seed suppliers, but they don't include everyone equitably IMO, so it is best if any commercial endorsements are kept offline IMO. That said, if you are interested in a particular variety LOL just ask people for input on how it grew, donâÂÂt be shy about posting here, it is a great resource with great people who really help. Then if you like it, ask them where they got it and see what happens.
You should start your seeds inside about 5-6 weeks before transplant date (well, IâÂÂm no expert but thatâÂÂs what I do in this climate). I got a packet of Cherokee Purple for $1.79 from Home Depot the other day under the Ferry Morse label. The seeds did fine, but unless that variety has a particularly weak seedling, IâÂÂm at day 12 now and it is about 3 days behind. That is perfectly fine and will make good plants regardless of whether it is super fresh or not, but my point is the other heirlooms I got from small guys and so far I am just so feeling great about them.
JMO
PC
IME Sweet 100 will be the biggest plant by far - in both height and diameter. Isis Candy next biggest. Never grown Green Grape. GRS will be next, then Mariana's and Earl followed by CP and Anna. Anna Russian is a wispy almost anemic looking plant.
You don't mention the height of your cages or what they are made of. That will make a very big difference as will if you plan to do any pruning.
Dave
Thanks Dave, they are about 6 foot but i will need to 'sink' them so 5 foot something when secured in place and are made from 2.5mm galvanized wire. I don't plan to prune, although i'll only plant 12- 15 so no trouble if i have to do a bit.
Funny, the S100 and Isis Candy look quite small compared to some of the others but i guess its still early days......the AR is by far the tallest but as you alluded, looks quite pathetic!
Greetings, since I originally posted my question here's what happened. We've had a great summer here with temps in the 50's at night and 70's to 80's during the day. 8 days ago temps started hitting 100 and I guess my plants couldn't handle the stress. Almost all the breakers got scorched and I wonder if the green ones will be okay. I pulled half of them will just let the rest run wild. Thanks again for your advice.
I don't even see a link to a picture. Lots of ways to post photos here so what is the problem you are having? Plus there is a preview of your post you can look at to make sure the photo comes through on the post or not. Did you check that?
You need a new post each time. Just go back to your original post and add the photo.
Dave
m-g-g, there's no picture visible.
Whatever shows up in Preview is what we'll see in your final post. If there's no photo there, there'll be no photo in your final post. And if a link doesn't work in Preview, it won't work in your final post.
Also, it's best to put both photos in the same thread, because your threads will become separated, and people may be unable to find the other thread quickly.
It's possible to put multiple photos in a single post if your photos are in a photo-hosting site like Photobucket or flickr (or any other site on the web).
If the photos aren't hosted somewhere on the web, you can always put the second photo in another post within the same thread. Now, GW's software sometimes doesn't want to let you make 2 consecutive posts, but you can get around that by changing the wording in the Subject of Post box (the reason for this is that the software is a bit paranoid about spam, so gets antsy about a second post too soon after a previous post, or posts which seem identical to the software).
I should add that it's never possible to post photos from your email account or certain Google accounts, because we don't have the passwords to access those accounts.
Need to see the picture you refer to. The weather could explain much of it just as it has for many others this year. "Salvage", this late in the season, is probably pointless if even possible as far north as you are.
Dave
I'm growing Sun sugar, a hybrid, instead of Sun Gold. Haven't grown S100 for a couple of years - decided to try Risentraube instead along with Jaune Flamme and Amy's Apricot. Of course Black Cherry is in there too. Keeping the fingers crossed. So far, the seedlings are doing really well.
I had good luck with BW last year. This year I'm trying the BW Yellow platfoot and OTV. Mind you, last year BW was better for me than in past years, so I decided to give it another shot this year. We'll see.
Seysonn, I wasn't growing Bloody Butcher this year even tho I told you it was a good early tomato, but I ended up sowing some seeds, so it's going back in the garden!
This is a newbie, no season reject. What I am never going to do is plant tomato seeds that come on ebay in "kitchen garden packs" of many vegetable seeds. I have no idea what the variety is at all. Asked seller, he replied "organic". Thanks for nothing, friend. So I have plants that are growing so slowly my teeth ache and I have no idea if that is because they are small plants overall, or I'm doing something wrong or if this is normal an I'm being impatient. No way of asking for advice because I have no idea what variety of tomato advice I need. Henceforth, no tomato seeds purchases without total pedigree or at least the "ASL" version of tomatoes - "Bush/dwarf, Determinate/Indeterminate, size, blah, blah"
I only wish I'd read growing information and realized there were so many tomatoes and that it mattered which ones I grew. Now got new seeds of cherries and Romas and etc and I give the reluctant seedlings a glare several times a day wondering whether to uproot and trash or keep my non-violent facade and find out and email that seller to prevent headaches for other unsuspecting buyers.
I am surprised no one has asked this yet.
How hot has it been there?
If it has been over 95 or so for a couple of weeks after the initial fruit set then the fruit tends to stunt. They will ripen the small size they are. I have had this happen more times than not. It continues to happen with the larger fruited ones in my garden.
There were a few days of not as hot weather, and the humidity was lower. So some set some fruit. The 100 degree heat kicked back into full swing. results were golf ball sized tomatoes from plants that until the heat hit were giving half pound plus sized fruit. Cherokee Purple, and Black Krim did it the most. German Johnson gave some that were a tad bit bigger than the others, though they were still way undersized.
Thanks all for your help! I am learning so much from all of you :). I do believe it is a black cherry and I am really happy to have found this one accidentally. We all love it and I plan on growing again. I haven't been online much due to fighting a bug invasion in my tomatoes. I am trying to save them.
And trust me, DTM's are sheer guesstimates.
Mostof the DTM's for OP's that are offered commercially are taken from the SSE YEarbooks, and even there for a single variety there's a range given for it since it depends on where and when a variety was grown, what the season was like in a particular season, etc.
I never gave a specific DTM for any varirty for anything I grew but I would give a range for earlies,midseason and then late ones.
Those seed vendors who produce their own seed usually use a DTM taken from one season,
Same situation with F1 hybrids IMO.
Carolyn
As if that weren't bad enough^^^, plenty of the plants from the big box stores are probably not grown from seed at all, but rooted from cuttings.
With cuttings, they use the same DTM from transplant on one hand, yet sometimes, depending on inventoy turnover, it can already be flowering when you get it. A transplant can fruit in a bit over a month in that case.
PC
This post was edited by PupillaCharites on Mon, Aug 25, 14 at 20:33
Are you getting a lot of Siamese twin tomatoes from them? Or is it just me?
I'm getting a lot of weird looking tomatoes on Steakhouse, Porterhouse, and Brandy boy.
Like this one in the link below.
Here is a link that might be useful: Ugly Tomato
I got a late start on planting my own Steakhouse 7 inch starts from seed on 5-16-14. The pic below shows the first and biggest sample. I am 6 ft tall and the steakhouse tomato plant is 7 ft at the time of this pic and about 8 ft now (8-27-14) and still growing. The tomato is 1.5 lbs, and the succeeding ones are about 1 lb each. I do not pinch suckers, and grow them in wire cages, in Tennessee. My 10 ft corn is in the background.