Planted some tomatoes

[Arkaybee]

sixdogs and jonyyuma

See the pdf at this LSU Ag Center site http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/1A445217-3622-4161-ACF9-C0F28FC6E753/59038/pub2433commvegetableBWLOWRES.pdf
and go to page 64 where you will find descriptions of pruning and the staking technique I use. The KING SUCKER is the sucker just below the first flower cluster and it quickly grows to become as large as the parent stem. Apparently it receives a boost of growth hormone stimulus related to its location below the flower cluster. Note that the pruning recommended is slightly different for DETERMINATE and INDETERMINATE varieties. (DETERMINATE varieties are genetically programmed to terminate in a terminal flower cluster and grow no higher. INDETERMINATE varieties continue to grow until something stops them and they will root anywhere on the stem that touches the ground--they are really vines.)

SUCKERS are the new branches or stems that grow out from the upper side of the axil between the leaf branch and the main stem. Each one will become a fruit bearing stem if left to grow, which, while producing more fruit on the whole plant, will reduce the size of the individual fruits. I remember my father (who loved to grow tomatoes) would sometimes remove all suckers and almost all the flower clusters to try to grow a giant tomato fruit and he grew some that weighed in at over three (3) pounds. So there is definitely a correlation between the number of suckers/branches and the fruit quantity and size.

jinman

NO, I don't sort by variety for sales but most customers ask about the varieties and so we have a discussion about that and sometimes I can show them differences.

BTW, we are having our church small-group meeting at our home tonight and we're going to try and quench their appetite for garden-fresh, homegrown, sliced, skinless tomatoes with big trays of them and then send each of them home with a bag of tomatoes to enjoy the rest of the week. I think we will have a full (about 10 folks) turnout tonight from what I hear.
We take the skin off by dipping them in boiling water for about 10 secs. and then quenching them in cold running water and "slipping" the skin off easily. Much better that way for my palate.:thumbsup:

Usually we try to have a corn on the cob and tomato harvest feast during the season but due to the dry spring I didn't get the corn planted (but I have some in the freezer from last year:thumbsup Nothing like fresh picked sweet corn "in the milk" and vine-ripened tomatoes:licking::drool:.
Better luck next year, I hope.:thumbsup:

 

[jinman]

Arkaybee, I don't know about you, but I'm worried about our early heatwave causing the indeterminate Early Girl tomatoes to stop setting fruit. They drop blooms above 95 degrees and my outside thermometer said 104.4F yesterday at 5 PM. I think my determinate Pik Reds and BNH 64s will do okay, but I planted mostly Early Girls for a long fruit bearing season and they just may get too hot. Your Jet Setters are very similar. I have some bloom set spray, so I may try that if I don't see fruit setting properly.

Oh BTW, I've noticed that the Early Girls stop producing in hot weather, but the vines still grow. If you keep them alive, they will reward you with another good crop in the fall right up to frost. It takes some determination to water plants not making fruit, but knowing they will eventually start setting again is motivation enough to keep watering.

 

[Duffster]

Or a toast and tomato sam'mich:thumbsup:

Nah, a sammich ain't a sammich without..................BACON. :thumbsup::laughing:

 

[DJ54]

Of course some green ones sliced thin, with coating mix of choice, fried to a golden brown, lightly salted, as a side to about anything..., sound pretty tasty too..!!

 

[Haoleguy]

Arkaybee, I don't know about you, but I'm worried about our early heatwave causing the indeterminate Early Girl tomatoes to stop setting fruit. They drop blooms above 95 degrees and my outside thermometer said 104.4F yesterday at 5 PM. I think my determinate Pik Reds and BNH 64s will do okay, but I planted mostly Early Girls for a long fruit bearing season and they just may get too hot. Your Jet Setters are very similar. I have some bloom set spray, so I may try that if I don't see fruit setting properly.

Oh BTW, I've noticed that the Early Girls stop producing in hot weather, but the vines still grow. If you keep them alive, they will reward you with another good crop in the fall right up to frost. It takes some determination to water plants not making fruit, but knowing they will eventually start setting again is motivation enough to keep watering.

Jinman - Have you ever tried using shade cloth on plants to cool them off a bit from the direct sun? I'm wondering if one of the Agribon fabrics or one of the heavier shade fabrics would give your tomatoes some protection. I used the Agribon AG30 with success inside a very hot greenhouse this Spring to slow down plants and keep them from bolting and burning up....Gary

 

[jinman]

Gary, I thought of that, but the shade won't stop the "in the shade" temperature which is 100+ on a daily basis. Shade would keep sun off the top branches only because the plant shades itself normally. If anyone has tried this and it worked, I'd sure be willing to try, but my gut feeling is when it is 102 out, it won't matter much. Of course, I could be very wrong.

 

[Haoleguy]

Gary, I thought of that, but the shade won't stop the "in the shade" temperature which is 100+ on a daily basis. Shade would keep sun off the top branches only because the plant shades itself normally. If anyone has tried this and it worked, I'd sure be willing to try, but my gut feeling is when it is 102 out, it won't matter much. Of course, I could be very wrong.

Jinman - I'm not sure you have been to the Aggie Master Gardener website ... Texas Master Gardener Program . It has lots of useful information including a study in OK that showed that shading benefited tomatoes one year but not the next.....http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/vpm/vpmoct96.pdf ..... Their conclusion was there was no improvement. Full paper here .... http://www.lane-ag.org/pubs/vegetables/113092-RUSSO.pdf . One thing I came across, which I thought was interesting, was that heat set tomatoes have to be in the sun and not shaded for them to set fruit following bloom. Not something we have to worry much about around here. .....Gary

 

[sixdogs]

For the roadside tomato sales we're talking about here, what kind of prices are being charged?

 

[jinman]

Jinman - I'm not sure you have been to the Aggie Master Gardener website ... Texas Master Gardener Program . It has lots of useful information including a study in OK that showed that shading benefited tomatoes one year but not the next.....http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/vpm/vpmoct96.pdf ..... Their conclusion was there was no improvement. Full paper here .... http://www.lane-ag.org/pubs/vegetables/113092-RUSSO.pdf . One thing I came across, which I thought was interesting, was that heat set tomatoes have to be in the sun and not shaded for them to set fruit following bloom. Not something we have to worry much about around here. .....Gary

Thanks for the links Gary. They seem to bear out what I thought was the case. Tomatoes want direct sunlight for best plant growth and production, but they sure perform best in the high 80s and low 90s. During extremely long season hot spells, I just figure on having reduced fruit and have to have more plants. This year we had so many plants damaged by high winds when they were less than 1' tall that some were reset three times. We lost 1/3 of our plants to wind before they could toughen up. Some of our plants have the small tomato cages with larger cages added later when the plants got big. We even tried 5-gal buckets with the bottoms cut out for full surround protection and lost two plants due to wind whipping the plants against the insides of the buckets. Now, it seems that the heat will also take a toll. Even so, I'm sure we will have many more tomatoes than we can eat and will make lots of friends and family happy with a bag of homegrowns.

 

[Haoleguy]

Jinman - Wow wind damage to tomatoes even with bucket protection. One thing I did this last winter to save a 2 rows of herbs from winter cold was to make small house like hoops from EMT galvanized conduit(very inexpensive), then place Agribon AG30 row cover over them and snap into place with plastic clips. The reason I mention it is that we had incredibly persistent winds( >50mph ) this past year which I expected to shread the row cover to pieces and then expose the herbs to killing winter cold. The row cover help on through the winter with no problems and in fact jump started our herb beds this Spring. Not sure how big your area is or the strength of the winds but it might give your plants a little protection. Just saw the weather reports for the Texas area for the upcoming week and it seems that you guys are in for a protracted heat spell. We are on an extended cool & damp cycle. Warm weather plants(tomatoes, tomatillos, chiles) generally having a tough start. Potatoes, garlic, onions, peas, beans, leafy greens, and herbs are going strong. One parsley plant has a family of eastern black swallowtail butterfly larvae at several different instar stages that I'm leaving be until they pupate and then metamorphose to the final butterfly stage. Nature gets you one way or another....Take care, Gary