Hello Everyone,

Last year was my first year growing anything, so I picked, tomato's. Well regardless of how easy they usually are to grow, I did a lousy job!!! I dont know if it was the type of tomato seed I bought, or my lousy taking care of! but I need to know, what kind of seed will give me a Huge, Nice, Don't care if its ugly, Tomato????? I thought thats what I bought last year, but it wasn't. There were really Little!!! Remember, I don't really know what I am doing, so please keep that in mind....

ninni

I always grow Brandywine Tomatoes and they are a large tomato and very good. They are are a non hybrid, so you can save seed from year to year. And some are ugly looking, but doesn't change the taste LOL. They get very tall and bushy, the leaves look like potato leaves. They produce well even if negelected, I had aphids take over them one year and still had a good harvest in spite of it, but the only thing that is the real pain is picking those green horn worms off at a certain time of year, picking them off is not the problem its finding them that is the pain. If you want to try some of these I have ALOT of extra seeds, just PM me with your address and I'll send you some.

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Thanks for everyones Input, it is definitely Needed! LOL!! About the Worms, Last year, I didnt have ANY worms, I'm not even sure what those green worms are that you guys are talking about. Do they hideout or something? Are the Big Enought to see or pick off??

ninni

quote:

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Contrary to what Comfrey has stated, the Brandywine tomato variety can be finicky and I wouldn't recommend it for a newbie

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I've never had a problem with Brandywine tomatoes. And like Comfrey said...the taste is amazing!!

You should also remember how "big" you want your tomatoes. A 2lb tomato is huge..definitely more than a meal tomato and unless you are feeding a family and I don't know about you or others but when I cut open a tomato, I like to use the entire thing. I don't like wrapping it up 'til the next day, and then rewrapping it, etc...the tomato gets mushy and I always have to cut off a slice for garbage. I suppose you could can them but most like to use a paste tomato for that purpose. Remember, it's what you prefer.

BTW, you should take a look at Comfrey's webshots. Her vegetable garden is amazing! So strong and healthy looking.

Comfrey...I PM'd you quite awhile ago to warn you that I'll be full of questions come spring time...be aware. You've been warned.

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One thing I found out last year is that if I through half decomposed compost on my tomato plants about halfway through the season it helps them produce bigger and more tomatoes. I plant to amend the soil big time with 50% compost where I'm planting the tomatoes this year. I have roma, tiny tim and grape in the ground as of today. I don't care for the extra large tomato because they are usually very juicy and I like the meatier kind. But I wish you the best of luck with whatever you grow.

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Thank You everyone!! I think the problem I had last year, had more to do with the soil I bought. My Mom said it looked Too Woody!??? I'm not sure if that meant the soil stayed wet and moldy or the wood soaked up the water and Made the soil too dry!!??
Different Varieties is an EXCELLENT idea!! I think I will try a Few Types this year!! Looking forward to getting the seeds from Comfrey!!!!

When should I start them?? Now, or wait a few weeks?

Thanks!!
Ninni

PS.... We are getting HAMMERED here with snow!(Southern NY)

ninni

Ninni, I'm in Zone 6 and will be starting mine the first week in April for transplanting out on Memorial Day weekend. But who know's....We got 25 inches of snow yesterday. I probably won't melt til May.

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John - Zone 6

I've also had great luck with Brandywines. They're often rated as the best tasting of all tomatoes, and I think that's true.
Weezie mentioned the Celebrity...I've had great luck with those, and they taste great, too. And they're a perfect size.
Ninni, I've bought soil like that before, and it had no nutrional quality. If you're growing in containers, you'll need excellent soil.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!

Did I mention that my grape tomatoes have sprouted. They are the first of the three varieties I planted. I am soooooo looking forward to having them this year. And the peppers and the flowers and everything. Woohoo I just love gardening.

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yeah, if I had to pick one, Celeb's would be it,
nice size, good taste, easy to grow...
*I like the beefsteak/master, etc types, but they are big plants, and BIG TOMATOES.. *

Someday, Julianna's gonna talk me into growing the others...when I move outta town and I have more room....

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

quote:

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Originally posted by njoynit:
Brandywine is a good beefstake type,but not easily found in my area(& done lost them seeds)

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I think Julianna had some of those kinds...
not sure if she still does..
but she does those heirloom varieties...

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

quote:

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Originally posted by comfrey:
We like mator sandwiches here,

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Well, thank you Comfrey. We like Comfreys also. {grin}

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Some days there is more laughter than others....Just depends on what/who you focus on....

quote:

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Originally posted by weezie13:

Do you know is the same true for that variety you mentioned..

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Yes it is Weezie. Big Beef was an All America Selection winner back in '93 I think. Tastes as close to heirloom as you can get in a hybrid. It's a different tomato than Beefsteak, but it is usually regularly availible at Walmart or Lowes as transplants. They sell seed for it everywhere too.

http://www.tomatogrowers.com/midseason.htm

Regarding the diseases in the soil, mulch the plants heavily with straw or something to keep the rain and water from splashing soil onto the plant's foliage.

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John - Zone 6

Weezie...I'm a little reluctant to do a lot of hybrids, 'cause these days I don't know what might be a genetically modified type, and I don't want pig genes in my 'maters, lol. But anything that has all those vfn, f2, on and on suffixes are going to be VERY tough. You probably know what those things stand for, right? (probably better than me.)

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!

Yes, and no, only what I've read..
**Realllllly wished I did know alot more..
like all that scientific stuff.. someday**

The VFN stand for something to the effect of
Verticillium Wilt, Fusarium and Nematode resistance.
*so, if you have those problems in your garden,
you can grow that type of plant and know that it is resistant to that stuff... so they say*
It catches up with the plant, but not as fast...***

They were terribly hard to pick off the vine...
I think they'd still be hangin' there if I hadn't of picked them off... whewwwwww!

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

That's funny. Some of mine were easy to pick, others, I'd break the vines picking. I don't remember which varieties did what, but I wound up using scissors eventually.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!

quote:

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Originally posted by weezie13:
I used my pruners!!!
Heyyyy, I'd go to bed with those things
if my poor husband would let me....

I have an apron I wear, from the time I get, to
the time I go to bed...
Pruners, clippers, snippers, kleenex's, twist~ties, 2 or 3 trowels, rubber gloves, ohh, geesh the things' packed to the nine's!!!

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We should do a thread on tools. I like Corona hand pruners, and I have a pair of Corona snips that are a cross between regular handsnips and scissors. They're great, but since they lost their edge, I can't get them as sharp as they once were.
I'l like to get a pair of those cool Japanes style garden scissors for dead-heading!

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!

I've had a lot of catastrophic losses over the years...extreme drought, alternately, extremely wet summers, one year a grasshopper plague that was so bad they stripped some of the trees of their leaves, so you can imagine what they did to my garden...Pests to numerous to mention. Last year was the first time I had so many tomatoes that I actually got tired of them, after eating 2 or 3 pounds a day for 3 months!
One variety I grew once was Black From Tula...what a pretty thing, and what flavor! I only got to harvest 2 of those before the plants were destroyed by grasshoppers! I love the heirlooms, and all the exotic names.
Ror one reason or another, my Mortgage Lifters didn't fare well, and I don't remember if I got to taste those. I've already got my seeds for those for this year, though!

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!

Weezie, it was one of those once in a century types of infestation. They called it a "plague of Biblical proportions." They would have found their way into pretty much everything. They ate all of the plants I had that are said to repel grasshoppers. They ate all of my plants, period. I had five varieties of sweetcorn, so I'd have sweetcorn all summer with ton's to give away. I had 2 good meals from the earliest variety.
I had 20 varieties of tomatoes, all started from seed. I got maybe 3 pounds.
I had someone tell me that they had eaten the nylon window screens off of their house.
I bought some Nosema (a.k.a Grasshopper Spore) from the only local nursery that even knew what I was talking about, and used it, and then discovered it was out of date by 8 years, and that stuff only keeps a few months REFRIGERATED!
I finally found some online (after much searching) at HYDROGARDENS, got some and treated about 2 acres. I also bought Guineas to free range. A month later the plague was over at our place, but there was nothing left of the garden. They'd eaten most of the leaves off of my cherry trees, even.
And that is just the story of one year here in good ole Oklahoma.
Remember, we're the Dustbowl state, and tornado alley...
It's always something!
But we can grow magnolias, crepe myrtles, and KILLER tomatoes here...and evidently camellias, too...
And it was 75 degrees here on Wednesday (23 today!)
We take the good with the bad!

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!

Ciao all, what a great thread, thanks for starting it (and I can't remember at the moment who it was).

Weezie's correct, all tomatoes have roughly the same pH..it's to do with the level of sugars inside the fruit that influences overall flavour. Some tomatoes when ripe are on the tangy side, some are full-bodied like a good Italian red wine, some are very mild (a number of whites and yellows come to mind). One person's favourite might not taste the same for you due to different climate, rain/sun, and also taste-buds are highly variable from person to person.

John in CT listed a number of excellent OP (open-pollinated) varieties and he's right, too..you grow these instead of hybrids and you're not only able to save seed and have them grow true from year to year, you're also potentially preserving someone's priceless family heirloom from disappearing off the face of the planet..and that's a good thing as a very famous housekeeping ex-con once said.

Comfrey, Black Plum is an excellent variety, in my opinion and I'd call it a semi-determinate because at least in my zone 5/6 garden, it wasn't the largest plant in the tomato bed, far from it. I think it topped out around 5' tall or so, much shorter than say my monster Aunt Ruby's German Green which reached over 8' tall by season's end. These tomatoes are excellent dried..plump them up with a bit of boiling water, then drain and cover with extra virgin olive oil and they'll last you all winter long in the fridge (if you don't scarf them all). We had them on pizza last night..YUM.

Njoynit, PM me with your mailing address if you'd like some Brandywine seeds, darlin. I've got plenty.

Oh, one more thing before I forget...some varieties of tomatoes retain green "shoulders" even when completely ripe. Dr. Wyche's Yellow and Black Plum come to mind as examples of this. It's just cosmetic. The more you gain experience in growing tomatoes that don't look like the perfect red cardboard globes you get at the grocery store, you'll be at peace with some funny-looking, exquisite-tasting heirlooms..Weezie?

Buona fortuna a tutti,
Julianna

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Alrighty Julianna,
You may end up talking me into growing them...
hehehe...

What kinds of the heirlooms are there that are
like the size or consistancy of a Celebrity and like a Beefsteak??

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

Tomato Siberian looked like a nice tomato...
Good sized..

Anyone had that kind???

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

I have tried both Bigboy and Betterboy without much luck.

The Betterboy's last year were ugly, all of them. I cut them up and froze them.

I started some Rutgers this year in peatpots. I am going to try some different brands this year.

I think most of my problem is the soil, it sets up like concrete. After many passes with the tiller I am finally able to get the tiller all the way down. I have a strip about 6' wide that is much harder then the the rest of the soil, this is right over a old gas line, so maybe it was packed down a bit. The line east and west.

Also I have a LOT of trash in the ground, mostly on the west end of the spot. I have picked up many handfuls of glass, metal, and plastic. I keep a plastic bucket out there just to put the trash in.

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.

I think it mostly compacts the soil at the depth the times bottom out at. Use a fork, spade etc. and stab around so it breaks up the "hardpan" caused by the tiller. Another problem with tilling is that it disrupts the "strata," the minute variations of bacterial, fungal and other colonies that are very happy where they are. That's why you should just loosen soil with a spade or fork before planting...it takes a little while before all those beneficials get busy again if they're tilled.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!

Yeah, I grew them, twice now...
Not a bad tomato.. easy to pick and the size wasn't bad at all...
I basically eat fresh or make salsa..
**I'm not into canning and stuff, just love a raw tomato**
I love Beefsteaks, but as I am the only one eating them *tomatoes* it's hard to eat a big huge one like that, all by myself.. *well, in the begining it's not hard, but when you're all tomatoe'd just about out, that's a big tomato to eat by myself, especially in warm weather and I do not like a cold, refrigorated tomato..

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/