16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
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¦
Unfortunately all black lights are not created equal. I have a black light and the hornworms glow bright green against the non-glowing foliage. I got a whole lot of the very hard to find small ones off last night. But this was my 4th UV light and the prior ones did not work. The "black light" bulbs (either incandescent or fluorescent) with the black coating - worthless except for fluorescent Elvis posters. The little LED flashlight the TSA uses to look at your driver's license? Also worthless - puts out WAY too much visible light. What you need is the type that you can use to make fluorescent minerals fluoresce. These are made from special quartz bulbs (glass filters out UV) and a fairly expensive black filter (again, made out of quartz glass) and a power supply - battery or otherwise. These will cost either a lot, a whole lot, or a really whole lot. I think mine was $80 Although I have seen UV flashlights now used for scuba diving at night which I haven't looked up so they may have decent LED ones now but the key is still the expensive filter that blocks the visible light and lets you see the relatively faint glow.
What you want are short wavelength ultraviolet lights. The LED ones don't get any shorter than medium wave. I don't have much experience using UV on hornworms, but this message thread intrigued me. I found a hornworm and tried my LED UV light on it with no effect.
After reading fotogreg's post I did some research. I use to have one of the mineral-grade UV lights when I was a kid. It was bell shaped with a flat filter that could be removed. It was AC only and cost 15 dollars. (Candy bars were a dime at the time.) You could remove the filter and smell the ozone being generated by the mercury vapor bulb. It came with a clear piece of plastic that you could use to filter out the short waves and see a dramatic drop in the number of things that would glow.
The take away from my first UV lamp is that shortwave filters are flat and cannot be bent. The filter is used to remove visible light. The filter is the most expensive part of the UV light.
The mercury vapor bulbs are mass produced to use in sterilizers. They are mostly quartz, but there is one made by Philips that uses borosilicate glass (Pyrex).
The mercury vapor bulbs produce ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 253.7 nanometers. This is bad for your eyes and will cause sunburn.
There are many mineral-grade UV lights for sale on eBay. They are usually low wattage with a small filter window. Another use for UV lamps is in a fixed mineral display. These will be higher power and designed to run for longer periods. There is one home-built lamp on sale that is 100 watts and described as a "UV death ray!" It uses the best UV filter available, the Hoya U325c.
I am considering buying a $45 UV lamp from this seller:
UV Lights Biz 2012
Note that these lamps become less efficient over time. (> 10,000 hours or so). The quartz in the bulb absorbs mercury and starts blocking the UV. The filter starts blocking UV, too, though a process called solarization.
Deebie
The tomato is still o the vine.
As a result of my cancer, I have difficulty in swallowing. It has just been in the last month that I have been able to eat really soft and smooth foods. I have getting all of my nourishment by a feeding tube and Ensure. It sure is nice to eat beans, applesuace, pudding,,mashed potatoes, cheese soup, and others. Every new bite for me is a new taste experience and is exciting. Two years ago, I weighed over 349 lbs. I got down to 180 lbs a couple of weeks ago. But God has other plans and I have been able to gain 9 lbs this past week. It is amazing how fast your body forgets how to swallow, and how fast it can come back. I am truly blessed to be able to write this today and tell others, I am cancer free and You can be too. I have great doctors at MD Anderson. Twelve rounds of Chemo and 12 weeks of radiation and we beat the cancer. The recovery has been slow but gardening has truly helped' My goal is to pluck a cherry tomato off the plant, plop it in my mouth, bite down, and experience that tomato explosion in my mouth.
I still get upset at myself at time but a little "time out" in the garden definately helps.
Please keep posting about your tomatoes,becuse I am so anxious to learn more. I did plant some herbs for my winter garden.
It's a great variety George and I'm glad you shared it with me so I could have my seed producers do the seed saving, and I could offer it to others elsewhere and I did send it for trial to a couple of places I think, fingers crossed.
Carolyn, who just checked Tania's site but no listing for it yet. It almost always taked a few years from when someone commercial can up th eseed production and offer a variety.
Thanks Carolyn,
It has been a wild ride since I first corresponded with you in March 2013. Her daughters are pleased with the attention that has been given to the tomato their mother grew and I can just picture the smile my aunt must have seeing what has been done so far. And we all owe you our thanks with all you have done in the introduction of the tomato to people outside of my area.
George in Colorado
Bump and more
I am also growing one of these.
I think the "cherry" in the name is most inappropriate. The fruits on mine are 1.5 to 2 oz and still not ripe yet. I planted mine way too late. The fruits are the size of Matina , Silvery Fir Tree and Bloody Butcher fruits. So NO cherries here.
It is a compact bush type. I like it a lot so far. But have to wait and taste the fruit. It make an excellent container/patio plant.
So this is the moments of truth. Let's see how yours are doing and do taste.
This post was edited by seysonn on Fri, Aug 15, 14 at 9:39
The Moment of Truth.
Finally I got the first ripe fruit from my HCR.
As I have said it before, the word "Cherry" here is most ridiculous. The fruit weight exactly 4 oz, bigger than Bloody Butcher, Matina, Stupice, Early Treat and it is 12 times bigger than Sun Gold.
Here is a picture. It is the red one in the front of Ananas Noire and CP next to some cherries.
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