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

Tomato Questions #01

@ Mike - Yeah, I'm sure you're correct. I will certainly make a few wrong choices and maybe a few lucky ones, but I want to give my n00b hands the best chance of success! :lol:

@ POTAWIE - Can I not access this via the 'net? I'm sure I can find a spot in the US that has a very similar climate to mine...

Failing this, I guess seeds can be bought and swapped on the various forums?

Thanks for the input, fellas!
 
No, I can't even access seedsavers from Canada, although we do have another version. Maybe there is a seed exchange near you
 
They definitely aren't out to make money, they are non-profit and use these funds for many great projects
Is there really a $100 minimum order now? If so that is rediculous. It used to be a $35 dollar membership and a few dollars(or more) for each variety requested but it appears that you don't even have to be a member anymore. Maybe that's where the minimum order comes in
It also looks like they have an overseas section now too:)
 
Ciao Huntsman-

I think the first thing you might consider doing is decide how many plants your garden space can support. How much time do you have to spend in the garden tying up plants and watering? What will you be doing with your tomatoes (eating fresh, canning, giving away, selling, salads, sandwiches, you get the idea)? Do you like huge ones or do you like cherries, elongated paste ones for making sauce or smallish salad-sized ones? Also, do you have the space to grow really tall plants (>2 meters) or would you be better off with short ones that can be grown in containers on a balcony? From that data, I can help you narrow your choices a bit more.
 
Ciao Sorellina ~

Good point! Fail to plan = plan to fail, and all that...

  • Quantity - Not sure yet how big they grow, but using 1m x 1m x 1m per plant, perhaps 15 - 20 plants.
  • Time - 30 mins around 8am daily, and three hours on Sundays. Work full time as does my poor wife, so would prefer something with low maintenance, if that's not being lazy...
  • Usage - Showing off (:lol:!), pastes/purees/ sauces, fresh eating. Hadn't considered selling, but might be necessary.:shocked:
  • Preference - Not crazy about tiny ones, prefer chunky ones, but really don't have much to compare to over here...:(
  • 2m is no problem for height.
  • Reason for interest - Aiming at being more healthy, and paying less for far more. (Also this forum has made me crazy! ;))
Thanks for your interest!
 
Huntsman,

I have my plants considerably closer and it has worked out well - they shade the ground so I don't need to do any weeding to speak of. Rotary tilled between the rows once this spring and raked dirt around the plants (not unlike hilling potatoes).

Learned from a forum member (5Star, maybe?) about the Florida Weave, a method of staking the plants. Very effective and time-saving.

You should have plenty of time to take care of them until harvest season. Even then, 30 minutes would be quite enough to pick them but it takes time to make pastes, purees, sauces, preserve juice, etc. Last year, I worked several nights until 10 or 11 pm putting up juice.

Mike
 
Ciao Huntsman-

Ok, now we're getting somewhere. Like Michael said, you should be fine with 30 minutes per day for maintaining 20 plants. Large indeterminate tomato plants require staking, so whatever option you go with, cage, wooden stake, Florida weave, etc., you will still need to play with your plants a bit to keep them under control. Some people do let them sprawl, but in my opinion, that's asking for more disease, bugs, and rot.

If I were to give you some varietal suggestions, I'd have you stick with some good sauce tomatoes (big pastes), a few large beefsteaks for bragging rights and sandwiches, and a few hearts, which are also very meaty with few seeds. I'd throw in some non-red colours so you can experience the rainbow of tomato options. PM me and I'll put together a wee parcel for you.

When do you start your seeds down there? Now-ish? If I were to offer another tidbit of advice, it would be to take good notes on everything you do from the seed-starting mix you use, all of your dates (sowing, potting up, transplanting, harvesting, pulling plants), how often you water and how much, all that data will help you learn what works and what doesn't. By next year, you'll be in good shape.
 
wordwiz said:
Huntsman,

I have my plants considerably closer and it has worked out well - they shade the ground so I don't need to do any weeding to speak of. Rotary tilled between the rows once this spring and raked dirt around the plants (not unlike hilling potatoes).

Learned from a forum member (5Star, maybe?) about the Florida Weave, a method of staking the plants. Very effective and time-saving.

You should have plenty of time to take care of them until harvest season. Even then, 30 minutes would be quite enough to pick them but it takes time to make pastes, purees, sauces, preserve juice, etc. Last year, I worked several nights until 10 or 11 pm putting up juice.

Mike
Click to expand...

Hey Mike!

I'll look up that Florida Weave idea - thank you. :)

I have most evenings free, so bottling, preserving etc will be a pleasure, not a chore - at least until after the first one's novelty wears off! :lol:

Sorellina said:
Ciao Huntsman-

Ok, now we're getting somewhere. Like Michael said, you should be fine with 30 minutes per day for maintaining 20 plants. Large indeterminate tomato plants require staking, so whatever option you go with, cage, wooden stake, Florida weave, etc., you will still need to play with your plants a bit to keep them under control. Some people do let them sprawl, but in my opinion, that's asking for more disease, bugs, and rot.

If I were to give you some varietal suggestions, I'd have you stick with some good sauce tomatoes (big pastes), a few large beefsteaks for bragging rights and sandwiches, and a few hearts, which are also very meaty with few seeds. I'd throw in some non-red colours so you can experience the rainbow of tomato options. PM me and I'll put together a wee parcel for you.

When do you start your seeds down there? Now-ish? If I were to offer another tidbit of advice, it would be to take good notes on everything you do from the seed-starting mix you use, all of your dates (sowing, potting up, transplanting, harvesting, pulling plants), how often you water and how much, all that data will help you learn what works and what doesn't. By next year, you'll be in good shape.
Click to expand...

Ciao Sorellina ~

Is 20 plants a good number? From your passage, I guess indeterminate is the way to go? Is daily attention a lot better than getting 'stuck in' one day a week? (Gotcha that they need to be tidied) Do you keep the leaves off the ground totally?

Your suggestions are wonderful, and I'd love to pm you, but your box was full recently. Is there space? (I'll try, of course!)

Starting of seeds? No idea, but we are striding into Spring now, with three weeks of cool weather left, so I guess I should start moving. :lol:
Tidbit is great, and I will certainly comply. Only way to learn is with some ammo, right?!
 
Ciao Huntsman-

Ah yes, the THP Inbox..my only gripe against this wonderful site is the tiny space allotted each person for keeping messages. I'm a paper and pen type. In truth, it's remarkable that I remember how to turn the computer on. I'm also one of these people who keeps every email. There you have it, my sins out in the open. I wish I had more inbox space and it fills up every second it seems. I deleted 3 so I have some space now. I hated to delete them, but I had to, so there you are.

I'm not going to tell you that indeterminate tomato plants are any better than determinates or even dwarfs. I've grown lots of each category and there are fabulous varieties in each one, it just depends on what kind of growing space you have. I like to grow out several determinate and dwarf varieties every year so I can recommend some to apartment dwellers who normally get stuck with few choices for gardening.

I would say 20 plants is a manageable number for someone like yourself who is new to growing tomatoes. Get your feet wet first and see what you can handle instead of getting over your head and winding up frustrated. I'd also agree that a little bit of time each day to wander through your garden and see what's what is better than leaving it to the weekend and doing catch-up, ESPECIALLY during times of huge growth when it's hot and dry. Tomato plants can grow a foot in a day sometimes, so if you have potentially tall plants, they can get away from you in a hurry during their peak growth. You posed a very good question regarding pruning. I do prune off the lower leaves of my plants, a little bit at a time until no leaves touch the ground. After transplanting, I let them grow about 2 feet before I start pruning to let them adjust to their new homes and do some major photosynthesis. I don't want to mess with that right away. Once they're happy and over 2 feet tall, I start to prune some of the leaves on the very bottom of the plants. I don't prune off the suckers, though. You will know a sucker branch because it will form in the armpit between a leaf branch and the main stem. It will also have small leaf branches of its own and eventually it will form buds, flowers, and fruit. It's a natural process of the vining tomato plant, so I leave it be and I end up with more fruit. I also mulch with straw throughout the bed to keep the surface dry, prevent backsplash of soil onto the leaves which can harbour viruses and other diseases, keeps the soil warm, and keeps weeds down. I haven't found a downside to using straw as a mulch other than sometimes your straw bale may have some seeds in it. I had one bale this year that was loaded with seeds and I ended up with a lot of sprouts in the bed, but even those are easier to pull up than your average weeds (and I can compost them).

So PM me before my inbox gets full again and I'll set you up.
 
Ciao Sorellina ~

Yay - success! Yep, deleting mail is like chucking out friends' letters sometimes, eh? I have the same problem on the various forae I frequent, and usually save the important ones to Word.

More good tips - thank you! Wow - I had no idea that plants could grow that quickly so I'll make sure time is allocated.

Have a fine day!
 
Sorellina, you can download your PM box if needed although I've never attempted it yet. Personally I've noticed with straw mulch that it needs to be cultivates often in wet weather or mold and fungi become a problem. I used to grow different types of mushrooms and often straw is a prefered medium. I'm sure you know what you're doing though:)
 
Ciao Derek-

You say that like it should be easy. Get in your little car, drive the whatever kilometres required to get here, hold my hand, and show me how. I don't do the download, upload, unload, overload, explode thing. :shocked:
 
Sorellina,

Go to your Inbox and put a tick in the boxes of the messages you want to download (or select all) then scroll to the bottom of the screen. Where it says: Selected Message, click on the drop down menu and pick Download as TEXT, then click on the Go button. You'll be asked for a place to save the file and a name for it (you can use the default that is given) and it will save the messages in a format you can open in Notepad, Word, Open Office or a lot of other programs.

HTH,

Mike
 
Sorellina said:
Ciao Derek-

You say that like it should be easy. Get in your little car, drive the whatever kilometres required to get here, hold my hand, and show me how. I don't do the download, upload, unload, overload, explode thing. :shocked:
Click to expand...

Mwahahaha! You gotta love this gal!
 
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