• Everything other than hot peppers. Questions, discussion, and grow logs. Cannabis grow pics are only allowed when posted from a legal juridstiction.

Could my plan be starting???

W

wordwiz

It's not a secret - by 2013. a year before I turn 60, I want to be growing tomatoes commercially, albeit probably as a part-time endeavor. Not just during spring and summer but 12 months a year. My goal may have taken a very positive and big step forward.

I located a piece of ground that is being maintained as a "holding area" by a community. At some point in time - three years, ten years, 20 years, it will be used to widen a highway. But at least not for the next two years and probably not the next five. About a half-acre, nearby, protected by a fences. I talked with one official about leasing it and his initial thoughts were it is a great benefit.

It will be a great test. About 3,000 plants if it is 1/2 acre. Should give me an idea about the time needed, production I can expect, expenses incurred and hopefully profit made. Then I can decide about the future.

Mike
 
Hey brotha! Thats sounds like a great plan! I hope it works out for you and would love to see some pictures of the proposed area!
 
Here's part of the message the Village Manager sent to the Mayor, Law Director and the head of Public Works. I like the wording about urban agriculture, since there may be grant funds available:

Personally, I like the idea. I don’t think that there would be liability to the Village, it would take away our obligation to maintain the property, and the idea of urban agriculture is one that I could easily get excited about.

I'll try to get pics of the property tomorrow.

Mike
 
great news Mike...you are going to have to hire help with 3000 plants don't ya think?
 
AJ,

Definitely for harvesting! Will probably have to hire someone to plow and disk the ground (twice). I should be able to transplant them all, even if it takes three weeks. Staking them, using the Florida Weave will be somewhat of a job but it would only need done twice. Keeping weeds out should not be hard.

I know it will not be easy - I used to raise tobacco and it is a more labor intense crop.

Mike
 
I got an e-mail from the village today. The only remaining hurdle is getting the zoning changed (not a lot of area is zoned agriculture in Cincinnati!). I want to get some soil samples and actually measure the area.

The officials like it because of the possibilities it can lead to - in theory, a large, year-round tomato growing facility and distribution facility.

Mike
 
I think I'll be going into the tomato business soon too and my imediate concern is what to grow. I don't want to grow crappy cardboard grocery store tomatoes but rather something productive with excellent flavor that might have a higher value to customers. I also think I'll avoid extra large toms since they can be a pain to support and fruits are frequently blemished. So far I'm probably aiming towards a good mid-sized tom.
So I guess my question is, what types are selling well for you Mike? or what types would most people be interested in buying, large, medium, small, different colors, shapes?
I should have another greenhouse up before the snow falls, and I have to get things thought out and organized before mid winter to get this all going properly
 
Derrick,

My best toms are Red Delicious - it a heirloom. Good size (10-12 ounces), taste great, good production per plant. I also like Celebrity, but that's based more on reviews than experience (I have about 25 of them I am growing now). They have good disease resistance. A strange one that has attracted a lot of interest and that is just starting to ripen is called Red Stuffer. The plants are loaded with Bell Pepper type of maters. They are mostly hollow on the inside with few seeds. I plan on selling them at a premium, especially to restaurants. One more that may be worth looking at is called Trust. A fantastic reputation among GH growers, strong disease tolerance and are said to produce for 8-9 months. I have trouble germinating seeds, though. My normal success is 85-95 percent, depending on the type of seeds. With Trust, I'm at about 45 percent. At 60¢ per seed, plus shipping, the germ rate ought to be much higher.

Best of luck to you!

Mike
 
I'm not sure if there are different varieties of Delicious tomato but the one I'm familiar with is not famous for its flavor, and I don't believe its an heirloom either. Is it possible that there is another smaller, heirloom variety

"Delicious
77 days, indeterminate
Introduced by Burpee after years of selection from ‘Beefsteak’
Plant produces good yields of gigantic red meaty tomatoes. This tomato still holds the World
Record at 7 plus pounds. Very few seeds! Excellent for salads, tomato juice, and canning.
Perfect slicing tomato. Crack Resistant. United States Department of Agriculture, NSL
34215. My Source: E&R"
http://www.thelovelyjanet.com/tomatoes.html

This one is labelled as an heirloom
http://store.tomatofest.com/Delicious_p/tf-0138.htm
 
There are at least two strands out there. Rareseeds.com lists it as a 90 tomato and shows pictures of the top cracking. Victory seeds lists it as 77 days and their pictures are like my experience - round, flattened top, few seeds. It is an heirloom, both on Victory's and Randel's sites.

Taste is subjective - the people I've given this tomato to, as well as me and my family, love it.

Mike
 
Sorry for the thread drift but I find this strange

I'm now thinking these are all the same since they are all red indeterminate beefsteaks with similar descriptions other than size.

Rareseeds is the same description except its 90 days instead of 77 on other sites. I just can't figure out how it can be an heirloom with a description like this

"90 days. This tomato was developed many years ago by Burpee's from "Beefsteak" tomato, after 13 years of selection for smoother fruit. This really big tomato produces huge 1-to 3-lb fruit that are fairly smooth for a giant tomato, and, as the name implies, these are delicious! In 1986 it set the world record for weight, with a giant 7 lb 12 oz fruit!"
http://rareseeds.com/cart/products/Delicious_Tomato-320-33.html
 
Heirloom - a misnomer at best.

Siletz, developed by Dr. Baggett (sp?) from Oregon State is considered an heirloom. Its cousin, Legend, that he developed a couple of years later that is a few days earlier, a tiny bit larger and has disease tolerance is not an heirloom.

99.44 percent of people don't give a rat's behind about heirloom or hybrid and if the truth is to be known, as long as the mater tastes real, and not something ripened by gas, they are thrilled. I would look at plants that offer productivity and high disease tolerance. Great Taste is not a priority - among buyers, at least IME.

Mike
 
Not yet Chris, just hoping to start a new tomato greenhouse this winter/spring but I'm still in the planning stage right now
 
I don't know about your climate, Potawie, but from early January to the middle of February the sun basically disappears. You will need at least eight hours of 35,000 lux (3250 footcandles) intensity or supplement with artificial lighting.

Mike
 
I don't know if you remember, but I gave you the same advice last year Mike :)
I'll be starting plants indoors and probably starting the greenhouse late winter
 
Yeah, you did. But I was so encouraged by the readings in September, October and November, I figured I could survive the sun drought. Was doing fine until just after Christmas then it was Mother Nature turned the switch off!

I'm still trying to find out how strong and how much light I need just to finish them up. I'm starting some today and they should start producing fruit in the middle to late October.

Mike
 
Doing some more planning in anticipation of next year. One thought that crossed my mind was that in addition to tomatoes, all restaurants use onions - maybe more of them than tomatoes. Did some Googling and found a couple of varieties ideal for Ohio. I could sacrifice one row of tomatoes - about 100 plants, but grow 800 onions. While they will not produce as much revenue per square foot, they require much less work.

Mike
 
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