Early Girls Ripening
Planted 10 ealry girl plants this year and they are 4 foot tall and I just noticed today my first red tomato. Anyone else getting fruit yet.
So far the only ones ripe are the Juliets.... Other 3 types have got big green ones but none blushing yet 
Expected that tho... The little ones are always faster. Do you like the early girls? I only tried them once & wasn't crazy about them but I wonder if it wasn't partly a very wet spring that made them less tasty??
Expected that tho... The little ones are always faster. Do you like the early girls? I only tried them once & wasn't crazy about them but I wonder if it wasn't partly a very wet spring that made them less tasty??
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
No ripe tomatoes yet, just green ones, but you are in GA, so that's not a fair comparison. 
I wouldn't think in GA it would be unusual to have ripe tomatoes this time of year. I'm in Ohio, my last frost date is mid-April, and I usually get my first ripe tomatoes mid to late June. From how my tomatoes look now, I am on track for that again.
I quit growing Early Girls, because they really didn't seem to ripen up more than a few days ahead of the regular ones, but were small (sort of in between cherry tomatoes and regular ones) and not that flavorful.
I wouldn't think in GA it would be unusual to have ripe tomatoes this time of year. I'm in Ohio, my last frost date is mid-April, and I usually get my first ripe tomatoes mid to late June. From how my tomatoes look now, I am on track for that again.I quit growing Early Girls, because they really didn't seem to ripen up more than a few days ahead of the regular ones, but were small (sort of in between cherry tomatoes and regular ones) and not that flavorful.
I can still remember when the Early Girl was a new introduction and featured on the cover of the Burpee catalog. I was struggling in an even more challenging tomato-growing climate than what I've got to contend with now. I was several hundred feet higher during those years.
It was difficult to resist but I can usually discount something "new & improved" for a few years
. What it came down to for me at that time was just growing Sub-arctics . . . thinking about going back to that variety kind of brings on a wave of depression 
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For years & years now, I've grown a few Early Girls. I have a neighbor who won't grow anything else. I can completely understand his loyalty; he's always been successful with them.
Various cherries are earlier in my garden than the Girls. That didn't used to be true, however. The only cherry that I knew about was Large Red Cherry and it couldn't beat Early Girls. But, I wouldn't want to give up the cherries that I have now. Aaand, there are a few heirlooms that are early enuf, that I can grow. Big Beef is right in there and has been almost since its introduction. Still, I'm happy to have several Early Girls and the flavor suits my tastes, as well .
Steve
It was difficult to resist but I can usually discount something "new & improved" for a few years
. What it came down to for me at that time was just growing Sub-arctics . . . thinking about going back to that variety kind of brings on a wave of depression .For years & years now, I've grown a few Early Girls. I have a neighbor who won't grow anything else. I can completely understand his loyalty; he's always been successful with them.
Various cherries are earlier in my garden than the Girls. That didn't used to be true, however. The only cherry that I knew about was Large Red Cherry and it couldn't beat Early Girls. But, I wouldn't want to give up the cherries that I have now. Aaand, there are a few heirlooms that are early enuf, that I can grow. Big Beef is right in there and has been almost since its introduction. Still, I'm happy to have several Early Girls and the flavor suits my tastes, as well
.Steve