16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
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
Hi Woodside
See this thread by growneat, who wrote the book on the subject. A little bit down, fused blossoms are discussed and that Supersteak is genetically inclined to produce them. You may grow some large tomatoes.
PC
Here is a link that might be useful: Giant Tomato/Fused Blossom thread
OK Seysonn, whatever.
All I'm saying is that your original picture is not what most folks get,and I've linked to Google IMAGES below to show that
It's also the place where you got some of your pictures to bolster your original contention.
Again,whatever,
Carolyn
Here is a link that might be useful: Google Images pictures
No Seysonn, not definitely Hillbilly.
Lots of Germans immigrated to the US between the late1800's and the 1920's and settled in PA and VA and WVA where they worked in the steel mills and in mines.
They also settled in NC and SC and GA and many moved west, so such bicolors were also found in OH and IL and Indiana as well as other places since some of the Germans settled in TX as well.
I have a good friend in W VA and he's introduced I think three bicolors now, named after the persons he got the seeds from. I can't remember the names,but he SSE listed all of them.
So not definitely Hillbilly at all.
Carolyn
Fred, I saw your same question elsewhere but will answer it here.
When ferentations are set up all kinds of stuff can get in,it's the fungi and bacteria we want for a good fermentation but almost any kind of flies can land and lay eggs, leading to maggots, the larvae.
No, it doesn't help to put cheesecloth or anything else over the fermentation container b/c then spores, which you want, can adhere to that, etc.
We're gardeners. We can take removing the hornworms and stomping on them, we can take squishing the orange eggs of Colorado Potato Beetles on the undersides of leaves, for yes, we are gardeners, and we aren't intimidated by maggots.
After I process the seeds and dump them on a plate to dry, I tip the plate to remove most of the water, which the maggots need to live, and sit there and spend some quality time watching them die. ( wink) Nope, I don't do that but they will shrivel up and die.
Carolyn
My concern is mostly fruit flies. But it is easy to prevent it. I cover with paper tissue and put a rubber band around it.
As far as the bacteria, they are there in the air and I don't think it matters when it comes to fermenting seeds.
BTW: I am fermenting 3 batches right now.
Did you find the name of the pear shaped tomato you questioned in July 2013? I, in August 2014, bought a couple at the farmers market in Hyannis, MA. My searching leads me to double helix farm in Arkansas and a variety, 100 pounds. They are delicious and I hope we can find seed to grow them in Vermont.
Is this similar to the one you posted?
Here is a link that might be useful: image and description of the tomato 100 pounds
What Steve shows at his website called 100 lbs is typical of many varieties that are called piriform shaped and I'll try to link to just one quiclly.
Link at the bottom.
Big bottom with ribbed sides tapering towards the top.
There are many of them known, both reds and pinks, with more specific names than just piriform/
A lot of them have Albengo as part of the name and mosr originated in Italy or Spain.
Carolyn
Here is a link that might be useful: Red Piriform
BBarnard, if "Central Florida" means the Orlando area, you can't do better than to search this forum and the FL Gardening forum for posts by Silvia ( her screen name here is whgille).
Her success with all gardening is amazing.
Also, here's a useful guide from the U of F about when to plant all kinds of veggies in different areas of FL:
Here is a link that might be useful: U of F IFAS planting guide
Hi Dave and Conchita, I don't disagree with either of you, but have a little experience summer growing in zone 9a with equal passion ;-) It is more of an 1/4 full versus a 3/4 empty attitude. I used to live in subtropical Florida (zone 10) and I have no idea how tomatoes would do there but it is quite different.
Hi B, I am similar to Wildwood, FL, so if you come back, please let us know where you are. The difference between St. Cloud (start seeds middle of August) and Ocala (start seeds middle of June) is huge yet both are in Central Florida. Tomatoes can be made happy on a small scale if you adapt your techniques to them, and not the reverse.
Try again right now and you'll have a fall crop without the difficulties and everyone will be happy. I started my seeds August 14 and I'm really mad I hadn't done it in mid-July. If you try again right now, you will do well. Start the seeds in the shade and when they are 3 weeks old give them morning sun and then shade You will be in great shape when when they are 5-6 weeks old and by then give'em the full sun you know they need. If you can keep a plant healthy like I managed to do and it is flowering going into September, you can get the best production possible since by then the Sun becomes your lifeline and we're the Sunshine state...no one else can get such fall explosive growth in the continental US and that is what makes Imokalee the capital of tomatoes.
I started this plant around late May and here is the tomato above that was tiny on Aug 17, now on August 23:
But as I mentioned a lot of blossom drop, and as my Floridian peer Conchita mentioned, there is a lot of pest pressure once you get a few to set, Just like you and your wife sadly found on that tomato plant in this image of the sad sight today 23 Aug:
In Florida,, seriously, you can drive 20 miles from me and get an Ocala climate and 20 miles another direction and get a Daytona climate which for the tomatoes are as different as night and day. While many places will generalize, the best thing to do is use a few more seeds from the dollar store if you're not too serious. I do think your plant needed more Sun, but that that was not what did it in - it isn't worth fixing as others have said.
Happy Growing
PC
This post was edited by PupillaCharites on Sat, Aug 23, 14 at 14:14
I am also growing Stupice and Jaune Flamme this year.
Jaune Flamme was pretty early with nice size and decemt taste. I might grow it next year.
Stupice - which IâÂÂm growing because A LOT of people said they are awesome - were late and small yield. DonâÂÂt know the taste yet since in late August they are still green. I will NOT grow them next year. Maybe IâÂÂll change my mind if they have a fantastic taste, which I highly doubt.
4th of July: huge disappointment: late, small, not tasty. No way I will grow them again next year.
Most likely I will skip too the early tomatoes. I agree that cherries are way better, some are early enough and tasty too, until the medium-big show up.
But, I will still do a little research because some recommend other earliesâ¦
Thanks. I do believe it is early BER since it only occurs on the blossom end and I have found some with full BER. I will have to condition my soil better for next year.
Blossom End Rot (BER) generally initiates from the point of blossom. That point is like human belly button. When the fruit cannot close and seal it, air and with it bacteria get in there and start rotting.
see a typical BER in this image.