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Tomato Talk

GrumpyBear said:
I'm pretty sure blossom end rot is just a symptom of calcium deficiency, check the micronutriends in you fertilizer.
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Yes, it is a calcium deficiency, but it can occur when there is plenty of available calcium. It happens around here when the weather goes extremely hot and we have frog drowner thunderstorms in the evenings. I mulch and try and even out the watering by giving them some early in the day, but that nasty holding down a job business gets in the way, and then sometimes blossom end rot just happens.
 
GrumpyBear said:
frog drowner?
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A folksy expression to describe a very hard rain that drops a couple of inches in a short time. Usually a thunderstorm, but not always. As in "It rained so much at my house last night the frogs drowned."
 
i guess we just call it heavy rain here... we certainly get it tho, they were coming really regular the year before last and ever since we have not been able to get rid of the moss it washed in.
 
Canuck,

The best way I have found to grow tomatoes is to stake them (unless you have unlimited room and don't mind throwing away some fruits). My uncle use to do this and had to use a ladder to pick some of them - and he was well over 6' tall!

Not counting cherry tomatoes, everything I read says a decent indeterminate plant will produce a bushel of tomatoes if taken care of.

Mike
 
I got some seeds from TomatoGrowers today. German Pink, Large Pink Bulgarian and one I am really curious about - Giant Belgium. Suppose to grow to about two pounds but have been known to weigh 5 pounds. My office is on a street that gets a decent amount of foot traffic (and a lot of afternoon sun) so I might as well try growing one there once I get a good seedling. If I can get one to sprout and grow large enough to transplant quickly, I can probably beat the hot afternoon sun.

Mike
 
Belgium giants didn't grow the best for me last year with only medium sized toms. I'll try it again but not this year. Probably better in warmer climates.
 
Canuk Pepperhead said:
Ok reading this guess tomatoes span out as much as peppers...What would be a good tom for me to grow this year big with flavor...thx
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The choices are even more difficult then peppers....
Also the amount of sun and heat will greatly impact the taste so you got to try them at least 2-3 years before making a final decision to keep growing it or choosing a different one.

This is a good start:
1) one early : Sophie's choice
2) one late : Brandywine OP (Great taste, late tomato, not very productive)
3) one large : Kellogg's Breakfast OP
4) one cherry : Sungold F1
5) one to can/sauce : Opalka OP
6) one black : Cherokee Chocolate

Other good ones :
Aunt Gertie's Gold
Cherokee Green
German Red Strawberry
Black Cherry
Cherokee Purple
Omar's Lebanese
 
Belgium giants didn't grow the best for me last year with only medium sized toms. I'll try it again but not this year. Probably better in warmer climates.
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Ah, but these toms were developed in OHIO, which just happens to be where I live! I'll be disappointed if I cannot fill a skillet with a slice of a green one to fix for my wife.

Mike
 
I'm starting to get some tomatos on my little Redrobin plants. I'm growing a few different determinate varieties this year that fit under fluorescent lights. I'll be starting the rest of my tomato seeds in the beginning of March.

 
Not me. I hate cherry tomatoes. Probably because someone mislabeled them at a nursery and I planted 12 of them one year. Can you say thousands of tomatoes!

Mike
 
Rule about eating Cherry Tomatoes:

Do not bite into one using your front teeth with your mouth open! They tend to shoot juice.

Mike
 
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