|
|
|
Tomatoes 2008
|
will be available shortly. 2006 Results We tried something new in 2006. My friend had given me a copy of Dr. Carolyn Male’s book 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden, which, by the way is certainly the best source of information about everything related to the growing of tomatoes. From her listing of 100 Heirloom Tomatoes I was able to obtain seed for over 70 of the varieties and several of our Master Gardeners and myself started these seed and had plants available for the Spring 2006 Plant Sale. The sale results were great but the comments from the various Master Gardeners and other sources was somewhat mixed as expected. Many gardeners found a variety that they thought was very good but there did not seem to be a consensus. I got favorable comments on WinsAll, Heidi, Big Rainbow, Pink Sweet, and several others. My own favorites were Big Rainbow, Eva Purple Ball, Pink Sweet and Ugly (not in the 100). Again the heirlooms did not produce the volume of fruit I feel they must to justify growing them. In my own garden we had a heavy hail storm in late May which set my plants back at least one month. Eventually the bush varieties in the 18 gallon rope totes were my best performers along with the cherry tomatoes (Sun Gold, Juliet, and Snow White). Tomato Seed Sources My favorite tomato catalogues for 2007 are
the following: I have Marianna’s Heirloom seeds again this year’s because it appears to be a very good source of heirloom varieties. Each of the other catalogues has more than 300 varieties and offers the best selection of both hybrid and heirlooms. (Marianna’s offers only heirlooms.) If you like to start your own seeds you can buy seeds in packets larger than the 30-seed packets from Tomato Growers and Totally Tomatoes for a reasonable price otherwise you will need to buy as a commercial grower. Although your last year’s seed normally seem to germinate just fine, to be on the safe side you should order new seed each year. Starting Your Seeds Don’t get into a hurry to start your seeds, but it is very hard to wait until mid-February or March to get started. Sow tomato seed six to eight weeks before it is safe to plant them into your garden (after the last frost and after the soil temperature is above 50º). Try to have your tomato plants ready to plant into your containers and garden between mid-April and mid-May. Use shallow flats or containers filled with sterilized seed-starting soil mixture. (I have had the best results with Ferry-Morse seed-starting mixture.) Optimum soil temperature for tomato germination is between 75º and 80º. I use an old heating pad covered with plastic and set the 11” x 22” water tight starter tray with the 72 cell insert with a clear plastic humidity dome to hold in moisture and heat. The heating pad set on the lowest temperature setting seems to be just right. The tomato seed will sprout in five to seven days in this environment. As soon as the seedlings emerge locate them in the sunniest spot available. Seedlings grow best at temperatures of 60º to 70º and 12-16 hours of sunlight or grow lights. My environment is a glassed in south-facing porch with fluorescent lights about 3” above the small seedlings. At about four weeks the plants will form their first true leaves and can be transplanted into individual pots. For this I use the commercial flats (11” x 22”) with 32 2 ½ x 3 ¼ compartments or a commercial flat with 18 compartments and Styrofoam cups (12oz. or larger). Be sure to put holes in the bottom of the cups so excess water can drain. At this time a good commercial potting soil is recommended. Early in April the plants can be moved outside. I use a cold frame about 3’ x 8’ made of 2” x 12” timbers with a sliding door on the top. In order to reduce transplanting shock, seedlings should be gradually conditioned (hardened off) for about a week prior to being set out into your garden. Start off with just an hour or two of exposure to the outdoors at first, then increase time slowly until you are leaving them outdoors day and night. Planting into your garden or Containers Sometime near the first week in May (in the northeast heights) it is time to put your hardened-off plants into the garden soil or into your planting containers. Be sure the garden area has been double dug and the soil is loose and ready for your plants. Rows should be 30” to 42” apart and plant spacing in the row at 24” to 30”. I add back-to-earth compost with sulpher to my garden plot every year, adding about one sack for every 5’x 5’of garden area. For my container plants I use the 18 gallon plastic rope-tote containers with three large holes in the bottom and filled with 100% potting soil. (Any good brand, although I prefer Sunshine LCI mix available at Greenhouse and Garden Supply Company.) When planting the tomato plants into the garden or into containers I put ¼ cup Epsom salts, about 2 cups of alfalfa pellets and about ½ cup of a balanced slow-release fertilizer under each plant. I use tomato cages made from the remesh used to reinforce concrete about 20” in diameter. For determinate tomatoes I use 36” tall cages and for indeterminate plants I use 60” tall cages. I also add 18” of 6 mil Plastic around the bottom of the cages for protection from the wind and cold. Favorite Varieties of Tomatoes As in prior years I had limited success with heirloom varieties. I find that every year I tend to plant some of the same varieties of hybrid tomatoes so these must be my favorites. The tomato varieties always in my garden are Sun Gold, Juliet, Snow White, San Remo and Al Cavis. The only source for the San Remo seed is Marianna’s Seeds. I still think my best tomatoes are grown in containers and the Bush Celebrity and the Bush Big Boy were certainly the best of the container varieties. Master Gardeners Demo Rio Grande Garden The varieties for the demo garden for 2007 are eight varieties only available from Totally Tomatoes. There will be five plants each of Old fashioned Goliath, Goliath Hybrid, Early Goliath, Bush Goliath, Sunny Goliath, Italian Goliath, and Ultimate Opener. The Bush Celebrity and the Carnival Varieties for 2006 were very good early but seemed to develop some virius and had to be pulled in early September. 2007 MILLENNIUM DEMONSTRATION GARDEN by Julie Saiki and Janice Glover In 2007 the Millennium Demonstration Garden, operated and maintained by Albuquerque Area Extension Master Gardeners, grew different varieties of Goliath, a hybrid tomato which is reputed to have high levels of disease resistance. Seven varieties of Goliath tomatoes were planted including Bush, Italian, Cluster, Sunny, Old Fashioned, Early, and Original as well as Ultimate Opener, a close relative of Goliath. Which varieties ranked the best in both production and taste? Two tomato varieties stood out from all the other tomato varieties. The Original Goliath variety produced the biggest average fruit, while the Early Goliath variety was judged in a taste test to be the best tasting. Each of these tomato varieties received the highest ranking. While Cluster Goliath had the most fruit per plant, it was not impressive when the weight of the fruit was factored in. The lowest producer was Bush Goliath. Bush Goliath is a short plant with dense leaves and leaf shading may have affected fruit production. In the following chart, the tomatoes are ranked by fruit production*, taste and a combination of fruit production and taste. A lower number is an indication of a higher or better ranking. RANKING ACCORDING TO TOMATO PRODUCTION* AND TASTE
*production is based on the average weight and the average number of tomatoes per plant. In the 2007 Millennium Demonstration Garden, two major diseases struck the tomatoes. In late June, an Early Goliath tomato plant developed purple veins, curled leaves, and a pale yellowish color. This was confirmed by NMSU to be Beet Curly Top virus. The virus is carried by the beet leafhopper which winters over in weeds such as mustard. In early July, an Ultimate Opener tomato plant that was thought to have Curly Top virus, was sent to NMSU. The diagnosis came back as Tomato Spotted Wilt virus, which is carried by thrips. Signs of this virus include young leaves turning a bronze color, leaves developing small dark spots, and plants appearing wilted. Tomato plants from the 2006 Demonstration Garden were also initially thought to have Beet Curly Top virus. Larry Littlefield, retired plant pathologist and AAE Master Gardener, sent samples from ten diseased plants to his former colleagues at Oklahoma State University where DNA studies were done. Samples were also sent to NMSU. All samples sent to Oklahoma State and NMSU were reported negative for Beet Curly Top virus. In retrospect, the tomato plant samples from the 2006 Garden which were sent to Oklahoma State and NMSU probably had Tomato Spotted Wilt virus. A review of previous data indicates that Tomato Spotted Wilt virus was present in samples sent to NMSU earlier in the 2006 growing season. Plants infected with either Beet Curly Top virus or Tomato Spotted Wilt virus have similar signs. This data might indicate that Tomato Spotted Wilt virus may be a more common problem in Albuquerque gardens than previously thought. A total of 2,341 tomatoes were harvested during the 2007 season at the Demonstration Garden. Tomatoes were donated to St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church, The Storehouse and St. Felix Food Pantry in Rio Rancho. In addition, the Demonstration Garden contributed 529 tomatoes to the 1st Annual Tomato Fiesta. Heartfelt thanks go to the many volunteers who made this garden a resounding success. The coordinators of the Demonstration Garden would like to recognize Joe Holdridge and Joran Viers for their significant contributions to the 2007 garden. Joe started all the tomato transplants and offered support and growing tips through out the growing season. Joran Viers, Extension Horticulture Agent, served as the garden advisor through out the year and kindly reviewed this article. Thank you to Joran and Joe for all their help in making the 2007 Millennium Demonstration Garden a success. Sources for Purchased Seeds: Each of the above catalogues has over 300 varieties and offer the best selection of both hybrid and heirloom tomatoes. Although the older last year's seed normally seem to germinate just fine, to be on the safe side you should order new seed every year. Starting your seeds Everyone says don't get in a hurry to start your seed but after January it is very hard to wait until mid-February or March to get started. I try to have tomato plants ready to plant from early April until mid-May. You should allow eight to ten weeks before your planting-in-the-garden date to start your seeds. Start seeds only in a sterile seed-starting medium. I have found that the Ferry-Morse seed starting mixture available at Lowe's is the very best. The seed will sprout in 5 to 7 days in the proper environment. The proper environment is 80°constant temperature. I use a heating pad set at the lowest temperature inside the house near a heating vent. Once the seed has sprouted it is important to give them plenty of light and to lower the environmental temperature to about a 60° to 70° range. My environment is a glass south-facing porch and fluorescent light about 4' above the small seedlings. At about 4 weeks the plants will form their first true leaves and can be transplanted into individual pots. For this I use the commercial flats with 32 2 1/2 'x 3 1/4' compartments or a commercial flat with 18 compartments and Styrofoam cups (8 oz. or bigger)/ Be sure to put holes in the bottom of the cups so excess water can drain. At this time a good commercial potting soil is recommended. Early in April the plants can be moved outside. I use a cold frame about 3' x 8' made of 2' x 12' timbers with an old sliding glass door as the top. Prior to planting into your garden the tender plants must be hardened off. This means that they must be strong enough to withstand outside temperature. This is accomplished by putting the plants outside for about a week prior to planting and returning them to the cold frame at night. Planting into the garden Sometime near the first week in May it is time to put your plants outside into the garden soil or into your planting containers. Be sure the garden area has been rototilled or double dug and the soil is loose and ready for your plants. the soil temperature should be 50° or above. I use back-to-earth compost with sulfur in my garden plot every year, adding about 1 sack for every 5' x 5' of garden area. For my container plants I use 100% potting soil (any good brand although I prefer Sunshine #1 available at Greenhouse and Garden supply Company.) When planting the tomato plants I add 1/4 cup Epsom salts, a coffee can of alfalfa pellets ( I use horse but the smaller rabbit pellets work just as well) and about 1/2 cup of a balanced slow-release fertilizer under each plant in the garden. I use exactly the same when planting into my large 22 gallon plastic containers. Since the plants are very tender when you first put them out I use tomato cages around each plant. I also add 18 inches of plastic to the bottom of the cages to protect them from excess wind. My tomato cages are about 36" tall for my determinate or bush tomatoes and at least 60" tall cages for my indeterminate tomatoes. Favorite variety of tomatoes Over the years I have tried many varieties of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes. Over all these years I have had very little success with the heirloom varieties. The taste of heirlooms is certainly very good but the productions is always very small. I have also found that over the years my favorite variety of tomato changes and that other people's tomato taste may differ from mine. For that reason I am hesitant to recommend tomato varieties. My recommendation is to try several varieties every year. eliminate the least favored and add new varieties every years. This year 2005 I will be growing Bush Goliath, Bush Early Girl, Bush Celebrity, Better Bush, Bush Big Boy, Sweet Baby Girl in Containers. In row One, Early Girl, Early Goliath, First Lady II, Gurney Early Hybrid. In row 2, Juliet Hybrid (2), Sungold Hybrid (2), super sweet 100. In Row 3, June pink heirloom, German stripe heirloom, Maryanne peace, Bradley Pink, and Al Cavis. In Row 4, San Remo (2). Better Boy (2). Celebrity. and Beefmaster.
03/05/2009
03/05/2009 |
|
Go to nmmastergardeners.org/ to find these and other articles in a pdf. format that you may use to print out a book with much of this material from that web site. Those articles, however, may not have been modified since they were originally printed in 2001.
Copyright |