Anybody else eatin' maters yet?

[ndorfinmachine]

This is my first time being successful with healthy tomatoes. I just haven't had any luck in the past with them. This year I decided to try a couple of better boy plants in conatiners on my front porch. For the soil, I mixed half and half potting soil and composted cow manure. I fertilize them maybe once a week with aged chicken poo. And these plants look great. I have picked only three tomatoes so far, but they were really juicy. A little salt and pepper was all they needed. Anyone else chowing down on fresh tomatoes yet?

[TZ -OH6]

I'm looking out the window at the last frost of the year, but I have a couple of dwarfs growing in the windowsill that give me one ping pong ball sized mater per week just to remind me how bad storebought tomatoes really are.

[Haesuse]

i have 2 fully grown tomatoes on my bush goliath plant, that have been tempting me for a while now. if they don't ripen soon, they will become fried green tomatoes in no time.

also, my cherry tomatoes should have a dozen ripe within a week or two, if I'm guessing right.

oh, and i have 4 jalapeno's ready to pick. I'm just trying to let them get hot as possible, but not turn red. any day now.

[hendi_alex]

I've been eating 'Juliet' tomatoes for about two weeks now. Just a trickle of fruit however, maybe 15-20 tomatoes harvested so far. In about another week, my 'Sweet Cluster' tomatoes will begin to ripen. Then we should have an adequate stream of tomatoes coming in. It will be many weeks before the slicers start to ripen, but they were started much later than either the 'Julet' or the 'Sweet Cluster' plants.

These were among the last eight tomatoes that were picked a day or two ago. Photo is poor quality, sorry.

[Earl K]

I have been eating my sweet 100 for about a month now.Only picked one better boy and about 4 patio tomatoes.Definitely better than store bought.

[Royal Rebel]

no none yet but I have plenty coming in, I have my eye on one thats going to get the flour treatment very soon,

[tspilcher]

I am a new gardener. I always kill plants but this year I decided to plant a full on garden of tomatoes, Asian sweat peas, Jalapanos, green beans, squash, Celantro, bell peppers and Zucchini. I have done really good to get the tomatoe plants big (2 better boy plants). I have lots of flowers and tons of green leaves. I was thinking that I should have little green tomatotes forming up already, but I don't!! When and at what time should I be expecting tomatoes? I was told by someone that I should stop watering them, is that true? Also, Should I be keeping the water on the ground and not on the plants?

[Duh_Vinci]

Nope, not yet...

I found 10-12 little guys growing in clusters, but still long way from the harvest. Juliet has few, Tumbling Tom, few. Nice cluster of 6 on the yellow pear, few on Cherokee purple. But all varieties have flowers, so hoping that the next warm week would give a little jump start to most plants.

Regards,
D

P.S. First harvest of Champion radishes ready - does that count?

[2cents]

The first flowers are out on the mater plants in SW Ohio. It will be awhile till we catch up.

[Royal Rebel]

The first flowers are out on the mater plants in SW Ohio. It will be awhile till we catch up.

yea I know what you mean I'm in central florida it gets to hot here in the summer so its kinda in reverse when we plant I'm going to try and have them all year this year.. should be fun, to see how long they'll survive ...

[ljcoolj]

I need to move south............

[The Helpful Gardener]

Just not sure this is fair to Northern gardeners...

C'mon guys, we've been stuck indoors all winter, flipping through seed catalogues, and planning out the garden in digrams, and finally we can plant, we're putting our starts in the ground, watering and mulching... I just spot the first blossom (on the Pink Brandywine) and come indoors to this;... y'all eating 'maters.

Just ...(sob) NOT...(sniffle)...fair

HG

[hendi_alex]

I can't believe it, but I've got a couple of tomato plants that are above the top of my five foot cages, and have many more plants that are within about five inches of the top, and we still have another week left in May. My plants usually do not near the top of their cages until mil to late July. If the plants stay healthy, there is no telling how high they may grow this year, though the cages with extensions will go no higher than 7-8 feet.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Just keep rubbin' it in, Alex

My largest tomato right now would be the Brandywine (the Sweet 100's are catching up though, as both are just over a foot). I have already pushed the envelope with my planting time, WEEKS ahead of my frost date (only covered one night and it turned out I did not need to). But the tomatoes look great besides the dire pronouncements from the calendar club who said I will stunt them having them out early and cold like that. Anybody have any opinion or experience with this? This is truly my first time pushing the envelope like this, so I don't really know, and they have not been growing up much, but are sturdy, showing great vigor and setting flowers... it was a grand experiment that I am pleased with so far...

HG

[hendi_alex]

Nothing very scientific, just casual observation, but I don't think that the very early tomatoes, squash, cucumbers tend to last the whole season as well as those that are started at a more convention time of six weeks prior to planting date for tomatoes, and direct seeded for squash and cucumbers. On the other hand, I've been eating squash for over a week now, and have picked six or seven cucumbers in the past few days. Ate my first ripe tomato around May 2nd. That would never have happened without pushing the season by starting the plants extra early.

I counter any weakness in those extra early plants by having a larger planting that falls within the traditional guidelines. My early cucumbers are getting close to really heavy production, and my driect seeded ones are just up and have not started vining yet. I believe that they will give a great transition from when those early vines start to get tired. Most of my slicing tomatoes were started just six or eight weeks prior to the last frost date, so those should be good for the whole season.

[The Helpful Gardener]

With my shorter season, making the end of it isn't nearly as hard as it is for you, but I will keep track of bearing. Last year we had so little sun in summer (rainy), that I was harvesting greens the evening of first frost, so hopefully better ripening and an earlier start will help with that... but as I was thinking the other day, while covering plants that I was sure I was not going to have to, gardening sure can be humbling. Always more that you don't know than you actually do; every year is an experiment of sorts and every time you think you have it figured, a new wrinkle. But if you love learning like I do, there is no better hobby on the planet...

HG

[atascosa_tx]

I planted out in early March and dodged some bullets..freezes....but it payed off...
I've enjoyed several bhn 444's, 589, and 640s....but so far my fav has been the Prudens purple tomato.....
Picked it, sliced it...added a lil salt and lemon pepper...yummmmmmmmmm





I have several ripe Black Krims (another fav) and German Red Strawberry toms that are coming along...can't wait to try the GRS..

Happy Gardening

[Timlin]

I'm in a zone 2b in NW Ontario but seeded some tomatoes December 29th. They were under lights in the house until we could put them into the greenhouse. Just picked the first cherry tomatoes on the 18th......can't wait for the rest to ripen. THe full sized yellows are coming along nicely so we have our eye on them! Makes it all worthwhile when you taste that blast of flavour no boughten tomato can match.

[polydactyly]

Down in Austin, Texas...I have:

Yellow Boy
Arkansas Traveler
Sweet 100
Green Zebra
Mr. Stripy
Rutgers

...and you Yanks don't feel bad because this Texan has lots of flowers, but no maters

I am new to the gardening game, but all systems are go from things I have read.


"Those who fight monsters must be careful not to become one"
Nietzsche

[Rob]

Seriously, I am amazed by some of you fellas.
I'm in Arizona. Statistically I believe we get more sunshine a year than any other state.
Here, I'm considered a bit of a rebel by planting my tomatoes so early.
And still, I haven't gotten a ripe tomato yet.
Oh, yes.... my plants are loaded with GREEN unripe toms...
But I've yet to pluck a ripe red tomato.

Believe me, the second I do, I'll be posting a comment and pic...

[Sybil_Vimes(4a)]

Here in central MN my bush Early Girl has a couple flowers that are just opening, and my other unknown apparently bush indeterminate 'Tomato' variety (lesson to me, I won't be buying plants at a home improvement store again! I wanted a regular EG, not the bush variety, and this other plant appears to be some kind of brand new bush hybrid . . . not what I wanted at all! They didn't even give it a name, it comes from Bonnie, and they just called it 'Tomato') is producing flowers that are still green.

Three on each plant, so far, even though the plants are but a bare 12" tall. I worry about the size of the future tomatoes, if the tomatoes are in proportion at all, they'll be no bigger than golf balls . . . And if they're typically sized, gravity will mean that my plants will turn into groundcover . . .

Next year, I order plants from a proper nursery!

Sybil Vimes

[polydactyly]

ok, sorry everyone. I am not trying to upset anyone further, but I must have had an influx of bees or my recent pruning did the trick, but I have tomatoes in the front and the back yard as of today...feels nice. Good vibes and good luck to everyone who is waiting like I have been.

:spirit hands:

Billie

[DavidTigerFan]

Charleston, Sc here. I just had my first Old german start to turn. I must have 50 others on various plants just waiting. My Early girl is taunting me with a 4" green one.

[tin gizel]

I have a couple plants standing about 4 ft tall. They're growing like weeds....just started to bud.....hoping to see some mater's very soon.