16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

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.

Oh, seysonn and michael, thanks so much for asking questions and answering. Until very recently my knowledge about this topic was minimal. Hopefully will make some other people rethink their gardening practices.

Not to jinx myself but significant improvement noted in fungal bacterial spread at my community veggie gardens. 2 applications of aerated compost were foilar and one soil drench with mycorrhiza. 2 days later after last Compost application after the rain applied actinovate foliar.
So far so good, has been for about a week. Noted more blooms, top growth all clean and deep green.

I changed things up this year, and for the first time have no BER. I planted only Better Boys, and since they were slow growing at first, I planted rather late in a spot that years ago had been a compost heap for yard clippings and leaves. It was very dry soil, so I watered every other day at first. When the plants were a good foot or two tall, I whirled crushed egg shells from one or two dozen eggs in water and poured it on my 4 plants. I have always had BER on the early crop, but not this year. Since we live in the coastal southern California dry climate, I control the water. Just harvesting the Better Boys, and I am not impressed with the texture and flavor of the first few.

Here is my two cents:

I don't quite believe the idea of adding eggshell to supplement calcium.
1) It needs the soil to be acidic to dissolve calcium carbonate in eggshell into soluble forms for plants to absorb. So if the soil is very close to 7 or above, they will remain solid and plants won't use it.
2) Soil should have a lot calcium. Calcium is an abundant element.
3) Natural water has a LOT calcium. Even in tape water, there are about 50 microgram of calcium per liter. Natural water has MUCH more.
4) If I wanted to add eggshell to soil, I probably will soak it with venegar first to dissolve some eggshells. I tend to think it takes forever for nature to dissolve eggshells.

Jimmy, I think you may find it very useful to read the link below,a recent thread that makes a lot of good points about BER, I posted on July 4th, and you'll also recognize some names of folks here who do post quite often.

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: BER

For the first time, I have had no Blossom End Rot this year. I planted the tomatoes late in an area that had been a compost heap years ago. The soil was very dry and I had to water frequently, every other day. After a couple of weeks, I ground up the egg shells from about one or two dozen eggs and whirled them in the blender with water that I then poured over the 4 plants. I have added crushed egg shells a few times since then, but not blenderized ones. Something did it.

LeslieSison wrote: > Hi, I went to Home Depot yesterday and bought a tomato tree that is about 2 feet tall already. There were flowers blooming and small buds of fruit that's coming out.

I transplanted many 2 feet plants before. Actually ALL my transplants are 1 ý - 2 ft. high. Most of the times with flowers and small fruits 1âÂÂâÂÂ+. And always everything was⦠ok.

> We have decided to transplant it to a bigger box yesterday.

How BIG is the box ? What tomato variety did you buy ?

> And today it is wilting.

Wilting can have A FEW causes.

One - as others said - is the transplanting shock. Just provide shade, especially between 12-4 pm, and in 3-4 days hopefully everything will be ok.

Make sure you water thoroughly, I mean SOAKING. Every other day. Until water comes at the bottom of the box. When itâÂÂs 90â F outside, soil in boxes dries very, VERY fast. Btw, what soil did you use ?

Another cause could be a disease. I donâÂÂt think itâÂÂs the case, but to be sure fungicide ASAP. This year I decided to use the organic Copper Fungicide (Bonide) and my plants look very nice and healthy. Until now, no problems whatsoever - knock on wood.

Apply the fungicide once a week, better after a rain - never before - so check the weather forecast. Apply the fungicide on the top AND under the leaves. I use SoloâÂÂs ý gl. sprayer, which has a multi-directional nozzle for spraying from all positions.

LeslieSison wrote: > â¦i also see some insects on the leavesâ¦

2-3 days after you applied the fungice, use some organic Garden Dust (Safer) [OMRI-listed] against insects. Ortho insect killer is NOT organic, and I wouldnâÂÂt recommend it to you.

Also, cut the dry (lower) leaves. Make sure to mulch the soil in the box, to avoid splashing rain water on the leaves, which can lead to diseases.

Leslie, can we see some pictures ?

How WilberâÂÂs âÂÂ18 branchesâ technique worked for you ?

Oh Daniel,

That was a good one. Thanks for the link! Ha ha!

I wouldn't want tomatoes that tall, or ones that produced THAT MUCH fruit (LOL).

Linda

I feel like here in Philly we have had relatively good tomato weather - intermittent heavy rains, not too hot. I did not yet get the horrible mid-summer blossom drop that usually stalls all tomatoes.

Yet my t'maters are not great, I can only chalk it up to culture and genetics trying to figure out what went wrong with some plants.

I live just North of Columbus, OH. Out of 80 tomato plants, I probably have around 30 that have survived. Way too much rain! I pretty much had this problem last year so I planted tomatoes in two different locations and about 10 in large containers. I will have plenty to can, I think. It is just a shame to see beautiful tomato plants die. I raise them from seed and they are really, really nice when I put them in the ground.
I think my garden needs about (5) semi loads of top soil to raise it up about 12 to 18 inches.

I just wanted to note that if it is a systemic disease it wouldn't be Root Knot nematodes or Fusarium, since both of those are not a problem in areas where the ground freezes deeply each winter as it does in CO. unless of course there's a heavy snow cover which insulates the ground temps

I'd possibly vote for Verticillium, with most of the time leaves wilting on just one side of a plant and can and does overwinter.

Carolyn

FWIW, here's the feedback from my friend on his gardening methods.

My gardens are raised planting beds, amended soil every year, tomatoes never planted in the same bed 2 years in a row. Plants are pretty close together, about 24â apart. This is the only plant that is having issues. All other plants are 100% healthy, planted the same way, and have an identical, automated watering schedule.

I donâÂÂt think itâÂÂs an issue of a damaged stem. That happened as I was planting when I pinched off the lowest branches and the plant has grown just fine for weeks. The brown spots on the stem now go down to the ground. The whole plant has a yellow-grey hue now, and itâÂÂs basically a goner.