The official TOMATO thread

[MeatHead1313]

Tomato seedlings all got transplanted into 6 inch pots today. I have coastal pride orange, lime green salad and stupice from neoguys seeds, and black seaman, pink queen, manx marvel and Irish tomatoes from Penny's seeds.

 
Danko's are enjoying life. 

 
Even have our first flower about to open

 

[Phil]

Stay in touch. I'll have some seed to send you at the end of the season.

Buzz, 
 
I can send you seed now, but I think it's late for your summer. Let me know if you me to send some seed for your fall planting.

 
Much appreciated, Neoguy. I think I'll wait until next year though and try to get a little edumacation about what else is out there first. Salsas and sandwiches are my favorite ways to eat tomatoes. I grew up on creole tomatoes, so my world is pretty small right now.

 

[JJJessee]

I was visiting friends this weekend who do a big tomato plant out for their farmers market and scored several varieties to add the few I've already sown and the ones I'll sow in early April.
 

 
I re-potted them all into 2.5" pots along with 3 Green Zebras I sowed as a test for a seed germination soil blend I'm tweeking around with.
 

 
so the list stands at
 

 
plus I've got what is probably a Cherokee Purple or a Thessalonikki that volunteered out of some potting soil that sprouted  with my January pepper sow. Despite not tending much to it early on, it's getting big. I've already pruned a off a fork and a spray of flower buds.

 

[Kyox89]

Gotta love this thread.

I'm trying to grow some myself.
Bought some black krim and black prince seeds online along with with a packet of unnamed seeds from a local supermarket. Still waiting for them to germinate.
Hoping for the best because its difficult to grow tomatoes here.

 

[Rymerpt]

Thanks for all the pics guys.

 

[Burning Colon]

sowed my 2014 tomatoes March 20. everything is up and just starting with second leaves. here is my list:
sungold F1
sungold F2
sun sugar F2
sugar snack F2
honeybee F1
sweet raisin(tomaccio)
black zebra
green zebra
macedonian(penny)
ethiopian(penny)
black triefle(penny)
black krim
purple cherokee
nebraska wedding
german striped
red brandywine
mackenzie mix(surprise, hoping for white wonder)
 
ground cherry(man are these small!)
 
this will be my second year planting sungold f1 & f2(seeds saved from f1). there is a taste difference, for those that can taste the complexity of sungold f1, which i can, the f2 does not have that complex flavour.....but, those that are indifferent always select f2 as the better tasting tomato saying the f2 is sweeter. i don't get sweet with f1's but i do get 3-4 different flavours that attack my taste buds differently, i find quite pleasing.
 
i am growing green zebra again....just to get rid of the seeds. green zebra has a jello like texture that i just hate. the black zebra came about from my green zebra seeds... imagine that, sowed green zebra from a retail package and one of the plants turned out to be black with stripes and had a superb flavour, no snotty jello texture either!
 
i have cut black cherry, black from tula and lemon boy from my future grow lists as there flavour just didn't cut it, all too mild for my liking.
 
future tomatoes: paul robson & gardener's delight. apparently these 2 have excellent flavour, gardener's delight is readily available, i just never researched in the past and paul robson just came up on a google of top 10 best tasting tomatoes.

 

[Kyox89]

The black zebra came about from my green zebra seeds... imagine that, sowed green zebra from a retail package and one of the plants turned out to be black with stripes and had a superb flavour, no snotty jello texture either!
 

Very interested in your black zebra. Would like to see pictures if possible!

 

[Penny]

Good luck with them.

 

[Burning Colon]

 
 
Very interested in your black zebra. Would like to see pictures if possible! 

Shikin,
 
i'll most likely post pics once the plants start producing fruit, mid August. i still am under 3-4feet of snow with 0C temps. good news is the greenhouse is getting hotter during the day. 37C at 1pm my guess it will hit high 40's C by 3pm. then by 10pm back down to 0-5C(if it can hold the heat).
 
but you are right, this strange black zebra showing up out of a packet of green zebra seeds surprised me both good and bad. good that i got to try a tomato that i have researched in the past and save the seeds, bad in the fact that i paid a premium for green zebra and it can show a lack of quality operations at "the cooks garden seed company"; will i always second guess purchasing any other packet of seed from them? i am excited to see if the saved seeds keep producing the black variant or revert back to green.  whoa, exciting times!

 

[John1234]

i am growing green zebra again....just to get rid of the seeds. green zebra has a jello like texture that i just hate. the black zebra came about from my green zebra seeds... imagine that, sowed green zebra from a retail package and one of the plants turned out to be black with stripes and had a superb flavour, no snotty jello texture either!

 
That's good info The only mater seeds I have to plant are "Black Zebra", from a disreputable grower so we shall see haha.
 

Very interested in your black zebra. Would like to see pictures if possible!

 
Ahaha! Ask and you shall receive.
 

 
I've got notebooks worth of info on this guy so far.

 

[Kyox89]

Wow! Thanks guys! For some reason i am drawn towards the black tomatoes. Will be regularly checking in to see updates!

Also.. My black prince seeds have sprouted! Very excited about that but also disappointed that the black krims did not germinate. =(

 

[meatfreak]

My maters are going to the poly tunnel tomorrow, no plant out yet but that will happen around the end of April. They have been outside day and night for almost 2 weeks now.
 

 

[JJJessee]

My official tomato wave has begun.
 

 
~190 seed planted 3 days ago. 
About half the pots have a hook or more.
 
For plant out.....
 I've got a 100' row that I'll probably put two plants per hole like Stefan(i believe) has had luck with.
Plus I may have up to 65' x 4' raised bed space available, should still have plenty of extra plants.
 
Most of these are the samples my friend gave me.
 

 
I had originally planned on doing these for 4-6 weeks in 2.5" pots. But I'm re-thinking that plan.
 

One is in coir and one in my almost-humus oak leaves that I'm feeding organics teas.
 
at < 4 weeks these little monsters will suck a pot dry in less than a day. So I up-potted them to 3.5" deeps today, but I don't think I have near that many pots or space available for a large portion of 190.
 
I'm predicting tomato riots.
Keep your doors locked.

 

[filmost]

Can any one clarify the idea behind planting two plants per hole? Everything in reading says one plant per hole.

Also what is the spacing like?

 

[Burning Colon]

 
 
Can any one clarify the idea behind planting two plants per hole? Everything in reading says one plant per hole. 

not sure where you got your rules......but they are wrong! tomatoes are a hardy plant and can be batted around. after planting seedlings in single cells, i ran out of room and had to double up. this, because i am going on holidays and have a 70 year old neighbour looking after the plants. in order to keep the plants confined to a local area, under my lights, i had to double up and move the plants to multiple cells. they can easily grow a foot in height before having to be separated. ya, the roots will fuse but again they are so hardy that pulling them apart just tells them that you love them.
 
i am off for holidays, to hawaii in the morning, perhaps when i get back in a week i can post pics showing their progress.

 

[filmost]

not sure where you got your rules......but they are wrong! tomatoes are a hardy plant and can be batted around. after planting seedlings in single cells, i ran out of room and had to double up. this, because i am going on holidays and have a 70 year old neighbour looking after the plants. in order to keep the plants confined to a local area, under my lights, i had to double up and move the plants to multiple cells. they can easily grow a foot in height before having to be separated. ya, the roots will fuse but again they are so hardy that pulling them apart just tells them that you love them.
 
i am off for holidays, to hawaii in the morning, perhaps when i get back in a week i can post pics showing their progress.


Do you think two plants in the same hole in-ground would work, or would yield suffer?
My official tomato wave has begun.
 

 
~190 seed planted 3 days ago. 
About half the pots have a hook or more.
 
For plant out.....
 I've got a 100' row that I'll probably put two plants per hole like Stefan(i believe) has had luck with.
Plus I may have up to 65' x 4' raised bed space available, should still have plenty of extra plants.
 


What's your spacing like? Will you be pruning?

 

[JJJessee]

I do plant them out at two at one spot but not in the same hole. Like 4-5 inch apart. I tested with this method last year and it worked perfectly. You have more yield from the same m². I let the soil dry out and then gently shake of the excess ground and separate the roots. Sure you might have some damage sometimes but luckily they can take it.

 
 

Yeah, I had some excess plants last year and someone that grows over 600 varieties each year suggested I should give it a try. She always plants out 2 at a spot so why not. I must note that you do have to strip off the leaves so that you have around 7-8 ones in the top. Otherwise the humidity might get to high between the 2 plants. I trellis my plants, last year I use natural (hennep) rope but that's not strong enough once the plants are starting to load up with tomatoes. It broke and I had to replace it with PP rope. So this year only plastic which is also much stronger and I can use it again next year.
 
I do once they are getting near the roof of my tunnel

 
 

Do you think two plants in the same hole in-ground would work, or would yield suffer?

What's your spacing like? Will you be pruning?

 
Hey, Filmost. I'm following Meatfreak's lead on this two per hole protocol. My guess is the yield per plant may suffer, but the yield per location would increase. Other factors could come into play that may skew the result though too, like soil fertility, disease, ????. So, if you have plenty of plants and limited space, it makes good sense. (I hope).
 
I'll be allowing 4' minimum between plant locations and 4-5" between the two plants per location, and yes, I'll prune. and tie to brace wire stretched between the row ends and supported by metal T-posts along the way. My concern is the plants may not achieve the height they would be capable of. You have to stop somewhere. Besides, getting to 6' tomato plants may be a pipe-dream at this point anyways.

 

[filmost]

 
 
 
 
 
Hey, Filmost. I'm following Meatfreak's lead on this two per hole protocol. My guess is the yield per plant may suffer, but the yield per location would increase. Other factors could come into play that may skew the result though too, like soil fertility, disease, ????. So, if you have plenty of plants and limited space, it makes good sense. (I hope).
 
I'll be allowing 4' minimum between plant locations and 4-5" between the two plants per location, and yes, I'll prune. and tie to brace wire stretched between the row ends and supported by metal T-posts along the way. My concern is the plants may not achieve the height they would be capable of. You have to stop somewhere. Besides, getting to 6' tomato plants may be a pipe-dream at this point anyways.

 
Haha, I had three 5' plants last year, sorta by accident though since I didn't know what I was doing at the time. Well I guess your answer sorta answers a question I threw up on a another thread of planting one plant every 6 inches or so. Lets see what happens!

 

[filmost]

So it turns out I have some green stuff growing at the bottom of the if my tomato cups (semi-clear). Is this a problem?

 

[JJJessee]

I vote -Probably Not.
They will only be in there a few more weeks, right?