16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

I haven't picked any of my Brandywine tomatoes either, They are slow going an don't produce as much fruit as some of the others but they are worth the wait, Zone 6 PA.

I believe that using an electric toothbrush on my plant's flowers aided my production this year ...

Does it have the exact same growing conditions as the other plants? Is it being shaded by the others? Did you plant it initially in a peat pot? Sometimes the roots don't grow out of those and end up growing around and around in the pot. Mine is a robust plant and just setting fruit now, but then I planted out late.

Hi, I am haveing the same issue, mine were grown from seeds, I have used the same bed every year, over the winter I till in good compost and horse manure (aged and chemical free) I had a horrible deer attack, the other plants had all been 5 ft and thriving lots of fruit, deer took them all down to about 14 inches, except the Russians, which were and still are about that high. Not in a peat pot. I planted them all at the same time, and even the ones in a different bed are the same. Could it be the seeds were too old? They were a gift and I did not look at the date.

Here you go - all the discussions on how to root cuttings.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Rooting cuttings discussions

Dave, just what I was looking for.
Thanks again,
Steve

Caryltoo, yes, it is correct brix number does change with temperature, weather etc. so one looks more on a trend as opposed to one single specific number. Brix widely used in winemaking I am told.
As for Rodale comment, many organic gardener's views and opinions as well as lawmaking policies were formed by readers of Rodale publications. I would put myself into group of biological gardeners, i.e. I would prefer not to be limited by " things of only natural origin" in my applications but using things around garden wisely with respect to living things in the soil and air.

Good luck Linda! I'd love to see your results at the end of the season!

Hi Carolyn,

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.. Let me start by saying that Elaine Ingham was one of the pioneers of the soil food web so she's always the go to. She didn't write "Teaming with Microbes" but does include it on her web page (soilfoodweb.com) as a resource. To quote a section of the description: "When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web"

Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis wrote "Teaming..." and a follow up "Teaming with Nutrients." Now if they're endorsed by Elaine I'm sure we can count their work as empirical or at the very least reliable.. An excerpt from chapter 20 (TWM) pg 172 discusses osmotic shock - describing how the high levels of salts in synthetic ferts literally burst the cell walls of soil microbes due to the higher salt concentration of the fert and the natural osmotic response.

It's an excellent read and I'm confident that you'd thoroughly enjoy it.. Be well =)

Here is a link that might be useful: Teaming with Microbes

I do use synthesized fertilizer but also use a lot of different manures, compost and other organic amendments along with it. So That should help to keep the microbes happy . -:)
I cannot see the microbes with the naked eye, but I see a lot of earthworms, (mushrooms in the spring) in my garden. So I am not feeling really guilty.

It can be done. It would be helpful to have borrow extra coupl of hands too.

ONE way is to sacrifice the old bucket. to do this you will need a good sharp knife:

1- Prepare a new container wit 3-4" potting mix at the bottom.
2- cut the bottom of the bucket (~ 1 inch)
3- Now lift the plant in the bucket/with the bucket, (leaving the bottom behind) and place it in the new container.
4- Cut the bucket length wise and remove the piece/s.
5- fill soil around the root bulb up to the previous level or higher if there is room.

That's exactly how I have been transplanting the ones in the big, flimsy plastic pots that I can cut with scissors. I wondered if someone could do that with a bucket, but I think I would end up cutting myself. It looks like there are multiple ways to do this if I really need to in the future. As I said, this is a yellow pear plant I'm not attached to, but for future reference this is all good information.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for posting about how to ship tomatoes. You chat came up right away when I googled my question and I have just discovered and joined Garden Web.

So I sent three heirloom tomatoes to San Diego today from Sacramento. The sad news is that today is Sunday and mail pick-up will not happen until tomorrow 3pm. That said, things move pretty quickly around California and I am hoping they will arrive by Tues or Weds.

I will post an update.

I packed in newspaper as suggested in a very sturdy box. Did not use the styrofoam peanuts although I had those but was wondering if they had toxins that might impact my tomatoes or the moisture content of the package? Oh, I did include a lot of fresh oregano from the garden.

Razzleberry

I think more important than wrapping , (or as important) is using a sturdy box, that will resist collapsing. Also make sure they don't rattle in the box.

Thank you seysonn for thinking of us.

seysonn - Yes I agree with the Nitrogen being available temporarily.. The problem might arise for some people if there is a high nitrogen source (like manure) which remains most of the time. I think IMHO its a better idea to use water soluble Nitrogen fertilizers and then switch to slow release tomato fertilizers (they have less Nitrogen) for the last 3-4 months of growing.

By the way the slow release tomato fertilizers also work great for containers. Most people experience BER in containers, however I haven't had one by using slow release tomato ferts. They also contain Calcium which may account for it. Also in containers, keeping the plants steadily watered (via drip etc) may also play a role.

First to make a correction on Tania's page,link below.

Brown Berry was not first offered at Sahin ( correct spelling) seeds in the Netherlands, it was bred by them. The owner at the time was Kees Sahin, whom I knew well, and they also bred Bloody Butcher and a few others that some folks would recognize.

I don't remember seeing any comments about this one not being true to type, but I do know it was stable from the get go, so any problems with offtypes I would think relate to the specific seed source(s).

Did any of the folks mention where they got their seeds for Brown Berry from?

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Brown Berry

I have two plants of Choc Cherry and they are doing well and producing lots of large round fruit that I think tastes grrrrrreaat! I had Black Cherry 2012 and 2013 but no luck.

Tomato russet mite can be introduced on certain flowers, I think petunias are a common one. They are not visable to the naked eye but will cause green branches to wilt. If you google it you will get good info and pix.

Lower branches wilting can often be due to insufficient amount of moisture in the soil. Companion planting should not pose a problem as long as you provide enough food and drink.