Tomatoes 2025

[Decoy1]

In my case @Decoy1 I'm not really after vigor so much as I am speed, especially in years like this where we had such cold temperatures until June. Growing outdoors, if I have any set backs like an early fall or a late start to summer (and heaven forbid if those two happen in the same year) I want the plants to get moving toward making tomatoes asap. I'm one of those tomato growers too that ripens all on the vine, never off. That said though, given my 'lazy' cages where I do no work on the plants, if more vigor equals more tomatoes I'm open to that as well.

Understood. Just to pursue this to the bitter end (!), have you observed that planting deeper, in whatever way, encourages speed? Is there an argument for thinking that the plant might put its energies into forming new roots rather than producing flowers and fruit? On the assumption that a trigger for fruit production is reproductive stress, then making the plant too comfortable and secure might work against fruit production?

The above is just a tentative thought. But I know that my spares, often just overlooked in a tiny pot, produce small fruit quite early.

 

[R2elk]

have you observed that planting deeper, in whatever way, encourages speed?

My experience is that tomato roots go no deeper than 8". The deeper the hole the cooler the surrounding soil temperature causing a slowing of growth while they grow new roots higher up in the warmer soil areas.

Planting before the soil temperature is 60°F also slows growth.

 

[flowerbug]

...The above is just a tentative thought. But I know that my spares, often just overlooked in a tiny pot, produce small fruit quite early.

for us (because we only plant the same type if we can get them) i've found that early stressed plants produce more BER fruits first - after the plants are established and growing well then the fruits are usually then fine until towards the end of the season.

we have a combination of issues which get our plants pretty much no matter what i try to do to avoid it.

first the plants may be attacked by the hornworms which reduce foliage cover for the fruits.

second there is the disease which sets in and the leaves start turning brown and then falling off.

and then at last when the regular cooler weather and heavy fogs and even more dewfalls settle in more it means more spots and compromised fruits which may be ok enough to eat if needing more trimming around the cracks or blemishes, but the quality declines.

i don't worry about any of this because after so many years i've found out the plants are producing enough that it is ok to lose some and i don't want to spray the plants.

 

[heirloomgal]

Understood. Just to pursue this to the bitter end (!), have you observed that planting deeper, in whatever way, encourages speed? Is there an argument for thinking that the plant might put its energies into forming new roots rather than producing flowers and fruit? On the assumption that a trigger for fruit production is reproductive stress, then making the plant too comfortable and secure might work against fruit production?

The above is just a tentative thought. But I know that my spares, often just overlooked in a tiny pot, produce small fruit quite early.

Years ago I did a test of sideways vs deeper planting with a couple varieties and the sideways planted tomatoes were considerably bigger in a month's time, and flowering more quickly. I think the main reason side planting seems to speed things up is increased warmth in the upper layers of soil, because the soil gets colder the deeper I go. My experience with young plants flowering under stressful conditions is they may fruit earlier, but those yields are always poor as the plants are typically too small when it happens. This happened to me last year with the bean Robert Hazelwood, it had some kind of stress just after planting and so flowered very early, and even produced and dried bean pods but it was very few seeds, a handful. This is also why I don't let peppers flower until they are a good size, it really limits my yields.

 

[Branching Out]

Orange Dream is a new micro-tomato for me this year. I started 22 seeds on March 12th, with the thought of sharing a bunch of seedlings with friends. Germination was good, however one by one many of them succumbed, kind of like a tomato version of Survivor. In the end only nine plants made it to maturity-- but are they ever cute. Lovely little 15cm(6") green domes with pretty trusses of small cherry tomatoes. Our forecast is for hot weather for the next two weeks, so I am confident that the fruits will ripen to orange. I will be carefully saving seeds from the tenacious few that made it to the finish line.

 

[heirloomgal]

Orange Dream is a new micro-tomato for me this year. I started 22 seeds on March 12th, with the thought of sharing a bunch of seedlings with friends. Germination was good, however one by one many of them succumbed, kind of like a tomato version of Survivor. In the end only nine plants made it to maturity-- but are they ever cute. Lovely little 15cm(6") green domes with pretty trusses of small cherry tomatoes. Our forecast is for hot weather for the next two weeks, so I am confident that the fruits will ripen to orange. I will be carefully saving seeds from the tenacious few that made it to the finish line.

They truly are a tiny variety! Very cute!

What do you think it was that was knocking the plants off? I ask because I had a similar thing happen with the mini-dwarfs 'Fat Frog' this year. It was odd, I lost all but 2 seedlings in the end. A friend once mentioned to me about micros that they can be more prone to fungal issues, and I wonder if this might be it?

When you taste Orange Dream, please do give a flavor report

 

[Branching Out]

What do you think it was that was knocking the plants off? I ask because I had a similar thing happen with the mini-dwarfs 'Fat Frog' this year. It was odd, I lost all but 2 seedlings in the end. A friend once mentioned to me about micros that they can be more prone to fungal issues, and I wonder if this might be it?

When you taste Orange Dream, please do give a flavor report

Interesting question. The foliage of micro-dwarf tomatoes is dense and often contacts the soil, which would certainly invite disease. And it's not like you can just trim off all of those lower leaves, as they are sometimes the only leaves on the plant. Perhaps improvements could be had by growing a large number of seedlings and selecting for those that have their leaves a little higher on the plant-- or by growing out the tallest of the bunch, which may be able to manage with a light pruning of the lowest leaves?? Alternately, having a layer or grit on the surface of the potting mix could help to keep the lowest leaves cleaner and drier. I think these very small plants could be ideal for those who garden on balconies, so finding an excellent cultivar for sharing with the local seed library is one of my goals. It may take a few years of trial and error to get there though. (And once these fruits ripen I'll report back on the flavour of Orange Dream.)

 

[flowerbug]

Interesting question. The foliage of micro-dwarf tomatoes is dense and often contacts the soil, which would certainly invite disease. And it's not like you can just trim off all of those lower leaves, as they are sometimes the only leaves on the plant. Perhaps improvements could be had by growing a large number of seedlings and selecting for those that have their leaves a little higher on the plant-- or by growing out the tallest of the bunch, which may be able to manage with a light pruning of the lowest leaves?? Alternately, having a layer or grit on the surface of the potting mix could help to keep the lowest leaves cleaner and drier. I think these very small plants could be ideal for those who garden on balconies, so finding an excellent cultivar for sharing with the local seed library is one of my goals. It may take a few years of trial and error to get there though. (And once these fruits ripen I'll report back on the flavour of Orange Dream.)

i wonder if they are a tomato geared towards dryland production? having low growing and compact plants may be a great help under arid and hot conditions.

 

[Branching Out]

Here's another interesting dwarf tomato called 'House.' Evidently it can be grown indoors during the winter (have yet to try that.) House is about 10" tall.

The large tomatoes pictured are Canestri, and Italian cultivar gifted to me by an older Italian woman who's been growing them for years. Love the ribbing that's developing on the fruits.

And the occasional plant in my garden has water drops on the leaves in the morning, on days when there is no dew. I've noticed this on one or two types of tomato, and last year on Mennonite Sorghum. I wonder if there's a name for that.