What kind of tomatoes will you grow this year?

#26
#26
Go aeiou said:
I'm fortuanate to have excellent garden centers around me. Cooks Vegetables on Lebanon pike in Hermitage. He gets plants/vegetables from the (Mennonite or Amish?) along KY border. Needham's in Mt. Juliet. Not sure where he gets his plants, but the quality is excellent with great variety. Also Bates on the North side of Nashville. It's a 30 minute drive from home but they have excellent plants.
I'm pretty much down to tomatoes and pepers now in two approx 12x4' raised beds, although I did plant lettuce and strawberry spinach recently. Firts time for the strawberry spinach. It dates back to 1600 in Europe.
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Had to look that one up. Sounds interesting.
 
#28
#28
kiddiedoc said:
Suggest for me a good varietal for growing in a patio pot.
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There are a lot of open pollenated dwarf varieties out now where the plants range for 2-4 feet, but you get full sized tomatoes.

Dwarf Firebird Sweet
Dwarf Purple Reign (Personal Favorite)
Dwarf Sweet Scarlet
Dwarf Tasmanian Chocolate

The list is huge. Seeds are readily available from places like Tomatofest.com, rareseeds.com, victoryseeds.com, and gurney's. Since you are patio planting, your seeding options are pretty easy.

For just running to Lowe's or Home Depot, you can typically find Better Bush. A container variety of Better Boy but will have a maturity window and be done. There may be some tending tricks to extend hybrid/determinate production. You can lso try a Celebrity variety. They typically hit around 4 feet, and would do just as well in a pot as in the garden. Celebrity is an all around good variety and quite popular. Even though it is a smaller determinate, you'd still want to be able to provide support for it.
 
#29
#29
GVF said:
Sprawling is the natural habitat for tomatoes, but I've not ventured away from the adopted staking. Even though I do straw heavily around them to reduce disease.

How was your production using this natural method, and did you keep plants going their own direction or did you just let them go, and then work your way in for picking? I have one of those large rectangle gardens. You have to be careful not to spend more on staking than you do growing.

did you see any increase in snect attraction letting them sprawl?
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No discernible change in insects.

Production growing along the ground was about the same. Weather plays a role so it's hard to say exactly what causes a change in production or how much change. I put Epsom Salt, bone meal, banana peel, organic fertilizer(tomato tone or Dr. Earth) and lime in the hole when planting. Fertilize about every 5 weeks during growing season.
The only insecticide I use is Diatamaceous Earth which I put on top of the soil before straw goes down. I might add more after a few rains. I have a bigger problem with birds, and usually pick my tomatoes before they turn bright red/pink so that I beat the birds to the fruit. I have used netting in the past, but it's easier to just share an occasional tomato with the birds. We always get more than we can eat, and we no longer can vegetables.

A tomato vine is easy to pick up and move if it is growing on top of straw. You can also trim the vines with scissors or pruners.

Now I use heavy duty metal stakes that are 5-6' high with tall wire cages. Yeah, most heirloom plants will grow to and hang over the top rung. I never pull up the stakes although I get only 5-6 tomatoe plants in a bed or 12-15 pepper plants. We eat more mild fresh peppers than tomatoes these days. I also freeze several quarts of mild peppers.

I don't know why I don't have a disease problem. With only two raised beds I swap the tomato and pepper crops in them each year. I think I've just been lucky.

I'm ready to plant. Well, I need plants and warm weather. Clean up garden, etc.20230316_111005.jpg
 
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#30
#30
Go aeiou said:
No discernible change in insects.

Production growing along the ground was about the same. Weather plays a role so it's hard to say exactly what causes a change in production or how much change. I put Epsom Salt, bone meal, banana peel, organic fertilizer(tomato tone or Dr. Earth) and lime in the hole when planting. Fertilize about every 5 weeks during growing season.
The only insecticide I use is Diatamaceous Earth which I put on top of the soil before straw goes down. I might add more after a few rains. I have a bigger problem with birds, and usually pick my tomatoes before they turn bright red/pink so that I beat the birds to the fruit. I have used netting in the past, but it's easier to just share an occasional tomato with the birds. We always get more than we can eat, and we no longer can vegetables.

A tomato vine is easy to pick up and move if it is growing on top of straw. You can also trim the vines with scissors or pruners.

Now I use heavy duty metal stakes that are 5-6' high with tall wire cages. Yeah, most heirloom plants will grow to and hang over the top rung. I never pull up the stakes although I get only 5-6 tomatoe plants in a bed or 12-15 pepper plants. We eat more mild fresh peppers than tomatoes these days. I also freeze several quarts of mild peppers.

I don't know why I don't have a disease problem. With only two raised beds I swap the tomato and pepper crops in them each year. I think I've just been lucky.

I'm ready to plant. Well, I need plants and warm weather. Clean up garden, etc.View attachment 541154
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I don't have too bad a disease or insect problem that comes to mind. Location is key. Exie lives on the other side of the smokies and gets the wind travel from FL. Her plants can catch anything. You and I aren't too far apart. Your raised beds also help a bit I suppose. I went with posts and string weave last year and my growth and production were better.
 
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#31
#31
GVF said:
I don't have too bad a disease or insect problem that comes to mind. Location is key. Exie lives on the other side of the smokies and gets the wind travel from FL. Her plants can catch anything. You and I aren't too far apart. Your raised beds also help a bit I suppose. I went with posts and string weave last year and my growth and production were better.
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Better than? Post and cages? growing on ground?
I haven't lived in a home where I had a large garden since 2003. Ha, I have trouble remembering yesterday so I really can't compare yield.
We give our neighbors tomatoes so---
 
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#35
#35
Go aeiou said:
Better than? Post and cages? growing on ground?
I haven't lived in a home where I had a large garden since 2003. Ha, I have trouble remembering yesterday so I really can't compare yield.
We give our neighbors tomatoes so---
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For me it was better than cages. My step son had been doing the weave and sugggested it to me. I found it easier to maintian, didn't have to go back and add tall stakes and stuff to hte top of hte cages when the plants got on into the season. It was easy to just add the next row off string. Maybe it was just a better growing year last season, but it was the best one I've had in a several years. I also use the epsom salt, but the best tomato season I've ever had was a dead fish in the bottom of the hole instead. Only feeding required for the season, and they went crazy (not the fish).
 
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#36
#36
I was really happy with the high trellis system I used last year for maximum air movement. Two changes this year: shorten the poles from 10' to 8', and don't get carried away and pinch off the apical tips (tops) while pinching back the suckers to maintain 2-3 main stems. lol

--the uprights were 10' tall last year, because they're electrical conduit, and that's how long it comes (or 5'.) Yes, several plants reached 10' and more, but I figured all along that 8' would be reasonable and wanted to be sure before the saw came out.

The stakes were for the determinate tomatoes (Romas, San Marzanos, etc)

June 30:
1679068129467.jpeg
 
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