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Tomatoes 2008
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2007 Results We are still recommending Dr. Carolyn Male’s book 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden which is certainly the best source of information about everything related to the growing of tomatoes. My 2007 tomato crop was good but not spectacular and from my conversation with other tomato growers their results were very average, also. The cooler June weather seemed to delay the early crop and then the very hot July seemed to cause the tomato blossoms to not get pollinated. My tomatoes were at their prime in early August but did not seem to bear as long as usual. One of the successes of 2007 was a tomato variety Big Zac. Ron Jobe and I had very large tomatoes weighing up to 2 ½ lbs. and exhibited them at the August Tomato Fest. Also, at the Tomato Fest we sold tomatoes harvested from the Rio Grande Garden, my garden and other Master Gardeners gardens and made over $700 for the Master Gardeners. Tomato Seed Sources My favorite tomato catalogues for 2008 are the following: Tomato Growers Supply Company Totally Tomatoes Marianna’s Heirloom Seeds P.O. Box 60015 334 West Stroud St. 1955 CCC Road Ft. Myers, FL, 33906 Randolph, WI, 53956 Dickson, TN, 37055 1-888-768-3476 1-800-345-5977 mj@mariseed.com Tomatogrowers.com Totallytomato.com Mariseeds.com I have Marianna’s Heirloom seeds catalog listed again this year’s because it appears to be a very good source of heirloom varieties. This catalog appears to be only an online catalog for 2008. 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.) The Totally Tomatoes catalog for 2008 has offered four new hybrid varieties which add TSWV (Tomato spotted wilt virus) to their resistance. These varieties are Capaya ( a 6-8 oz determinate), Sophya (a 9-11 oz indeterminate), Talladega (a 8 oz determinate) and BHN 444 (a 4-6 oz determinate). I have ordered seeds for all of these varieties and will have very limited plants available at the April Plant Sale, maybe. If you like to start your own seeds you can buy seeds in larger seed packets from Tomato Growers and Totally Tomatoes for a reasonable price otherwise you will need to buy as a commercial grower from their catalogs. Although your last year’s seed normally seem to germinate just fine, to be on the safe side you should always 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. If you are interested in planting by the most favorable moon sign the Old Farmers Almanac say these dates are 4/7 to 4/16 and 5/31. Use shallow flats or containers filled with sterilized seed-starting soil mixture. (I have had the best results with Ferry-Morse seed-starting mixture usually available at Lowes.) 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. This year Ron Jobe and I are going to try starting our seeds in plug trays (280 cells to the tray). This way you do not disturb the root system when you move them to the larger containers. I will also replace my San Remo with the Pompeii variety sold by Renee’s Garden and available in our garden center shop. 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 and add additional light if possible. 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 and a very small amount of slow release fertilizer can be added to the bottom of the container. 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 (large horse pellets or small rabbit pellets) and about ½ cup of a balanced slow-release fertilizer under each plant. I mulch both my garden and container tomatoes with about 3 inches of Back to Earth compost. I use tomato cages made from the remesh used to reinforce concrete about 20” in diameter for both the garden tomatoes and the container tomatoes. For determinate tomatoes I use 36” tall cages and for indeterminate plants I use 60” tall cages. I also add 18” of 6 mil clear or white 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, various Goliaths, Celebrity 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 demo garden for 2008 will be limited to two
tomato varieties. Our old standby Celebrity will be the hybrid variety and an
heirloom variety Sioux will be the Heirloom variety. We will also plant two
varieties of summer squash probably one a yellow zucchini and a traditional
green zucchini. The purpose will be to try to control some of the virus
problems we have had in the past. Additional Information My prior tomato experiences on how to grow tomatoes is available online at gardeningfromthegroundup.us and clicking on Joe’s tomatoes. Joe’s Tomato Varieties for 2008 My 2008 garden will consist of the following varieties: Containers (4 Bush Big Boys and 4 Bush Early
Girls) My reasoning for selecting these varieties is they were developed
originally as indeterminate tomato varieties hybridized to bush or determinate
and therefore should retain some of the character of their indeterminate
varieties such as continuing to bear fruit until frost. Row 2 Row 3 Row 4
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