Best Advice for Getting a Ripe Tomato

[Eventually]

Steve, I forgot to ask, when do you usually start your plants?

[digitS']

For tomatoes that will eventually go in 4" pots before going outdoors, seed goes in soil about the 1st of March, Eventually. Starting the final week of February has been my habit for many years but these lingering springs have made it problematic. For most everything, there will be a 2nd sowing about 2 weeks after the 1st. Some of those plants may be left in 4-packs until planting out.

However, I can usually get everything out by the 15th of May. That hasn't been possible the last couple of years!

Steve, I loved the picture of your hoop house! Can you tell me how you anchor the plastic on?

Your hoop house is definitely protected, unlike mine. I have a 1/4 that is just an open field without any buildings around it. There aren't any trees either, just quack grass So, basically, when the wind starts up it roars through my field. I am hoping that metal pipes that can't break will help keep the structure upright this year.

I looked up my elevation today, and was pretty shocked to see Plummer is at 2,700 ft. I'm 300 feet higher than I thought!

Yikes!!!

I think your experiences with pepper success should guide your tomato growing. Yeah !

Rebar stakes are driven down at the corners of my hoophouse and baling twine crosses over the top. The edges are held down with a truckload of bricks. The plastic is tacked down with lathe around the window & door. The frames are 2 by 4's and, altho' they aren't very square & level , they are fairly well attached into the ground.

The hoop house is uncovered by late June but I have sometimes left the hoops there for vines to climb on.

Steve

[Eventually]

Thanks for the planting info. I have found the last couple of years to be much cooler and takes longer to get plants into the garden, too. It definitely affects when I plant my seeds. Glad to see I am pretty much on target with when to start most things.

Why do you plant a second batch of tomatoes? I guess I just always thought that I should be happy with what I get the first time around because there wouldn't be time to mature anything after the first batch.

Jennifer

[filmnet]

In have not let mine set on plants to ripped for many years, wait to long here in North East. I have learned to pick as soon as I/2 has a color. rippen inside with a banana or apple in brown bags. Otherwise like my neighbors they want them to rippen on plants. To me no different now and I get 11 hr of strong sun, they get very little and they rot. Last year and early disease so all plants died by September so I picked over 30 lbs off early

[digitS']

. . . Why do you plant a second batch of tomatoes? . .

Oops, missed that question, Jennifer.

I grow plants for other gardeners. They don't always get the ones in the larger containers .

As a nervous nelly, some of the pressure is off if'n I know that those younger plants are around as backups to the 1st sowing .

Steve