How big is your garden and how many tomato plants?

TugHillDog · Jul 2, 2013

25' x 60' approx.
80+ tomatoes of various varieties; momma has a food mill and likes to make sauce!
About 60 potatoes in two rows, some hot peppers, a few squash, cabbage, assorted flowers and a a bed of rhubarb and horseradish. Just started a batch of strawberry-rhubarb wine!

clemsonfor · Jul 3, 2013

I put hay in my garden it keeps 90% of the weeds down and the ones that make it are easy to pull.

I need to fertilize again, but i picked the first tomato last week, and have gotten about 10 so far. SOme have something that ate bad spots in them? birds maybe, and they have rot from those spots. They have not been the best so far, not sure if i am eating them to soon or if they are someof the other varities that i normally dont plant. Better than store tomatoes but not my best. Hope the rain this year has not changed the flavor..like watering that acid taste down or something?

DFB · Jul 3, 2013

Mice and Voles like to hid in garden hay can make a mess of tomatoes close to the ground and Crows are notorious like for pecking holes in ripe tomatoes too. I've had plenty of experience with both!

RandyBell · Jul 3, 2013

DFB said:
Just ran the weedwacker thru my garden and around the plants...works better than a hoe!

You are braver than me! I like the idea but the though of my out come wouldn't be pretty!

Barry 1 · Jul 8, 2013

Yesterday,after 4 days of rain,the sun came out and COOKED my tomato plants. Only a couple survived,the rest are limp and wilted,and look worse today. Got a few of the green beans too.It was that kind of sun that feels like a fire on your back and I noticed my solar system was putting out way more amps than normal.Anyone else have this problem?

jinman · Jul 8, 2013

Barry 1 said:
Yesterday,after 4 days of rain,the sun came out and COOKED my tomato plants. Only a couple survived,the rest are limp and wilted,and look worse today. Got a few of the green beans too.It was that kind of sun that feels like a fire on your back and I noticed my solar system was putting out way more amps than normal.Anyone else have this problem?

YES! Every day in July, August, and the first two weeks of September in Texas. I'm watering my garden every day. When it gets over 100 F for a few days staight, all the watering in the world won't stop the plants from wilting/cooking. I've put 40% shade cloth over my 50+ tomato plants and they are producing like crazy with huge fist-size tomatoes like none I've ever grown before. They are big, pretty, with no defects. I finally think I've stumbled on a formula that works. Now my kitchen is a salsa and spaghetti sauce factory.

troutsqueezer · Jul 8, 2013

The tip of the iceberg. Picked these recently.

Hate to make you folks up North feel bad because I know many of you are 4 to 6 weeks away from ripe tomatoes but this is what me and the wifey had for dinner last night.

creekbend · Jul 8, 2013

Our "Maters" are falling off the vine, because of the frequent daily rains. The "Cukes" are doing well though.

jinman · Jul 8, 2013

troutsqueezer said:
Hate to make you folks up North feel bad because I know many of you are 4 to 6 weeks away from ripe tomatoes but this is what me and the wifey had for dinner last night.

You must be light eaters. There is obviously only enough for one person in your photo.

:laughing: I'd post a photo of all my tomatoes, but it would just be a similar photo with different colors cabinets and counter-tops in the background.

How do those big yellow tomatoes taste? I'm fond of the cherry tomatoes with lots of acid and sugar. My yellow pear cherry tomatoes are very mild and remind me of the flavor of improved Porter tomatoes with low acid. How would you compare the flavor to the red varieties?