winter tomatoes

[boxofrain]

I was at the garden center yesterday and they had "winter tomatoes,have fresh tomatoes for your thanksgiving table" The varieties that I bought were "stupice" and "glacier" Does anyone here have any experience with growing those varieties this late in the season? Any advice? I have them in large containers on my patio, full sun, in summerwinds potting mix. Thanks!

[brewerjamie15]

In Milwaukee, WI. about the only tomatoes I'd be getting out of my garden would be bags of frozen tomatoes if they were stapled to garden stakes.

Anyhow, Please let us know what you find out about winter tomatoes. I've not heard of that before.

[cynthia_h]

Even in the Bay Area, there's nothing anyone can do about sunlight, even if the weather does continue to be warm, and tomatoes fade with reduced sunlight in the fall.

My girlfriend grew Stupice tomatoes this year. They started ripening about August 7th or so (I was watering her garden while she was away, so I know this date). If you want to try growing them, go ahead! They tasted absolutely terrific.

But even Sunset recommends April/May/June planting for tomatoes in Bay Area zones. They only recommend year-round tomato growing in Hawaii.

I think your "local garden center" (OSH?) is trying to make a few bucks off of gardeners, who are known for our eternal optimism. Westbrae Nursery, in Berkeley, just got in their fall starts, and tomatoes are NOT among them.

Maybe your local gardening center knows something that Sunset doesn't.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

[boxofrain]

My tomato plants are doing lovely! They are about 18 inches, and have about 3 little green tomatoes and lots of yellow flowers each!! I am very hopeful and excited to see if they continue to do well. I would love to have home grown tomatoes so late in the season!

[cynthia_h]

Wow! Gotta check up on tomatoes for late growth, because my seedlings--which finally got big last week, during the heat wave--are now over a foot tall.

I guess I *will* go to the trouble of doing my best to keep 'em alive until Thanksgiving, just in case...

But they're San Marzanos and Romas.

Definitely keep us posted! To me, at least, this is headline, breaking news!

Cynthia

[boxofrain]

Wow! The tomato plants have gotten soooo big! The little green tomatoes on them are really growing, and there are about 7-8 of them on each plant! There are also several clusters of flowers on each plant. So far, the weather has been pretty warm, today it was about 85 or so, so I hope the tomatoes will continue to do well as it cools. I guess we will see!

[lss]

Thanks for this topic. In Palm Springs yesterday I bought 3 different seedlings from my local nusery to plant in a roughly 5x5' planter. I'm online now to learn what to do and what to expect. Keep us posted.

lss