Tomatoes for 2023

[digitS']

They are competing too much with each other for sunlight.

Here at home, I am noticing how the sunniest areas of the lawn have limited growth through all these days with hardly a cloud. But, tomatoes aren't Kentucky Bluegrass and they also need some room for the roots. They have grown tall, all by themselves without staking and are now collapsing with the weight of green fruit.

I was teased by DW about having so many tomatoes but there were several varieties that should have fresh seed saved and having only one plant is risky. Besides, the old seed germinated well soooo, I had a lot of starts and just squeezed them together.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

I never realized that happens with tomatoes. I thought it was mainly a bean thing. Certainly explains part of why container grown plants mature faster. What is puzzling is my big tomato was on a plant in a 12 inch square pot. I thought to grow big ones they need to be in ground.

the difference would be that you have just the one big tomato on that plant while a plant in the ground may have several to a lot more. in the gardens out back the Big Beef tomato plants i just scanned the other day were working on putting tomatoes on and increasing the size of existing ones that had already set. a 12 inch square pot would not have the root system or capacity to move that much moisture for so many.

 

[heirloomgal]

the difference would be that you have just the one big tomato on that plant while a plant in the ground may have several to a lot more. in the gardens out back the Big Beef tomato plants i just scanned the other day were working on putting tomatoes on and increasing the size of existing ones that had already set. a 12 inch square pot would not have the root system or capacity to move that much moisture for so many.

I think that’s how people grow giant pumpkins, one fruit per plant. But this plant has several more toms on it, not just the big one. Some heirlooms are just like that, big variations of fruit size on the plants.

 

[heirloomgal]

I really love fresh tomatoes in summer, a taste that can truly only be had by growing them. But it goes from 0 to 100 overnight and the tomato fatigue is beginning. I got lucky with my cherry tomatoes this year, one of them is a really sugary the other is both sweet & tart. Both taste columns.

Mirabelle Blanche, yellow and tangy. Remy Rouge, red, tiny and SWEET. Oval shaped dark pink is Una Hartsack. Decent, productive, not mind blowing. Was good on pizza, holds together better than the cherries.

The big one ended up here.

 

[Branching Out]

I mostly have just one plant growing of each tomato variety, however I kept four of Joseph Lofthouse's 'Yellow Chariot'. It is part of his breeding program, and is described as a cross between super-early 'Jagodka' and 'Yellow Pear'. What I like about this is that I get to feel like I am part of his tomato breeding adventure. One plant has pear form, one is as if you glued two chunky romas together, and the other two have a pleasing round form. They are indeed early by at least a couple of weeks. I placed them on a difficult hot, dry slope and they are managing admirably. I gather that he grows his crops without fertilizer or irrigation, so only the strong survive.

 

[SPedigrees]

I'm worried about my cherry tomatoes. I have about a zillion tiny green tomatoes, but the foliage of the plants suddenly appears to have something eating it. These are Candyland tomatoes from seed bought from Pinetree Garden Seeds. Last year I lost a lot of cherry tomatoes to frost, so I tried this variety which has a shorter growing season (55 days). If these tiny tomatoes fail to ripen I will be completely discouraged and may just not raise tomatoes at all next year. It seems always to be something after my tomatoes, which in the past used to be a fool-proof crop. A few years ago late blight got them, and since then it's been one problem after another. None of my plants are liking the continuous rain this year.

A couple nights ago deer feasted on some of my squash blossoms and baby yellow squashes. I sprinkled ground red pepper on those that remain yesterday, so hopefully if any deer showed up last night they would have tasted it. I'm thinking I'll drape some of my deer netting over the squash plants today or tomorrow. (As predicted, this morning more rain is falling, so it will have washed away last night's red pepper.)

My green beans alone seem to be growing and producing trouble free, growing in an area with better drainage and protected by netting.

 

[heirloomgal]

I mostly have just one plant growing of each tomato variety, however I kept four of Joseph Lofthouse's 'Yellow Chariot'. It is part of his breeding program, and is described as a cross between super-early 'Jagodka' and 'Yellow Pear'. What I like about this is that I get to feel like I am part of his tomato breeding adventure. One plant has pear form, one is as if you glued two chunky romas together, and the other two have a pleasing round form. They are indeed early by at least a couple of weeks. I placed them on a difficult hot, dry slope and they are managing admirably. I gather that he grows his crops without fertilizer or irrigation, so only the strong survive.

Were the Lofthouse seeds available in Canada!?

 

[heirloomgal]

I'm worried about my cherry tomatoes. I have about a zillion tiny green tomatoes, but the foliage of the plants suddenly appears to have something eating it. These are Candyland tomatoes from seed bought from Pinetree Garden Seeds. Last year I lost a lot of cherry tomatoes to frost, so I tried this variety which has a shorter growing season (55 days). If these tiny tomatoes fail to ripen I will be completely discouraged and may just not raise tomatoes at all next year. It seems always to be something after my tomatoes, which in the past used to be a fool-proof crop. A few years ago late blight got them, and since then it's been one problem after another. None of my plants are liking the continuous rain this year.

View attachment 59365View attachment 59366

A couple nights ago deer feasted on some of my squash blossoms and baby yellow squashes. I sprinkled ground red pepper on those that remain yesterday, so hopefully if any deer showed up last night they would have tasted it. I'm thinking I'll drape some of my deer netting over the squash plants today or tomorrow. (As predicted, this morning more rain is falling, so it will have washed away last night's red pepper.)

My green beans alone seem to be growing and producing trouble free, growing in an area with better drainage and protected by netting.

View attachment 59367

I find that if I start my tomatoes a bit earlier, say at 9 or 10 weeks before the last frost date instead of 8, I can harvest the tomatoes in time even if the weather is not ideal or there is an early fall.

 

[Branching Out]

Were the Lofthouse seeds available in Canada!?

Yes, via mail order from The Experimental Farm Network. I checked back in my receipts, and shipping was $15USD on a $50 order.

 

[SPedigrees]

I find that if I start my tomatoes a bit earlier, say at 9 or 10 weeks before the last frost date instead of 8, I can harvest the tomatoes in time even if the weather is not ideal or there is an early fall.

I always start my tomatoes in mid April in pots on my enclosed back porch. That's about a month and a half before the last frost. That variety I planted last year simply matures too late to escape the early frosts. I did get several bowl-fuls of tomatoes, so it wasn't a huge loss, just frustrating to see so many still-green tomatoes killed on the vine by frost.

I did learn something about the variety (Candyland) that I planted this year. Apparently these fruits are teensy-tiny and only reach the size of currants at maturity. I noticed yesterday that some of these miniature fruits are beginning to turn orange already, so my hopes of harvesting are renewed. I had been thinking it still remained for these tomatoes to at least double in size, but not so!

I covered the squash plants with deer netting yesterday, but I'm thinking now that the culprit has been an army of slugs rather than deer. Slugs are thriving in this new climate of constant rain. They are disgusting creatures!