almost time for full blown tomato harvest

[Lonesomedave]

all of a sudden, my tomatoes have really tuned it on

my cherry tomatoes, sunsugar and black cherry, are producing so many we can't keep up with it

my big tomatoes have started to ripen also....i have a big, beautiful black krim that's only a couple days away from ready, and my brandywine and cherokee purples all have some that have started to turn....fingers crossed, no disease or problems yet...i believe this is going to be my best harvest in years

hope i haven't jinxed myself....

/dave/

[PinkPetalPolygon]

Yaay!! I am glad to hear it.

My stuff has just begun ripening in my personal garden!! Been chucking a few fresh tomatoes into stuff here and there but nothing major yet. When it rains tomatoes it'll pour though!

The best of luck to you!

[cousinjordo]

Dave that's awesome! I'm just south of you in Williamson co. and my tomatoes are the size of baseballs currently but none are ripening yet. I set them out in the middle of May. When did you get them in the ground?

I've been pulling green beans, carrots, jalepenos, cayennes and red potatoes like crazy though!! See me progress thread in my signature.

Do you have any pictures of your garden? Would love to see it!!

[gumbo2176]

Well, between steady rains, high humidity and a mild winter that has allowed pests to explode in the garden, I once again am losing way more tomatoes to the compost pile than I'm bringing inside. Over half my tomato plants are suffering some fungal issues and will be pulled to try to stop it from advancing. I said this last year to my wife that I was done with tomato plants when 3 out of 4 ripening tomatoes split open due to heavy rainfall, but I'm just a glutton for frustration I guess and put in over 2 dozen plants late this spring.

I am now convinced that tomatoes are not going to do well in my garden with 3 bad years in a row and not enough space to properly rotate the crop to help alleviate the issues I'm having. Next year it will be more beans and peppers and I'll get my tomatoes on the roadside when they come ripe and ready to sell.

[Lonesomedave]

gumbo...man, I'm sorry to hear that.....wish i had some cure for you

jordo....yeah...look in the forum of vegetable photos etc, where you just posted, under the title of "here we go"...that is some pictures from about a month or so ago

/dave/

[Allyn]

Oh, I'm jealous. My tomatoes are just about done for the summer. I picked a few stragglers today, but there aren't many green tomatoes left. Even the heat-resistant varieties are giving up under the oppressive heat and humidity of our summers. But! Next month I'm going to be starting seeds for fall planting. Woohoo!

Gumbo, hun, can you start your plants earlier so they're done before June? I start mine in January and put them out at the beginning of March. You're close enough to me that I imagine we're getting similar weather.

[Lonesomedave]

jordo.....sorry, i just noticed your question

i got them out, end of april, beginning of may....took my chances and didn't get burned this year...

/dave/

[lakngulf]

So glad, Lonesomedave, that you tomatoes are coming in. Always touch and go but great to get them to ripe. I have been picking several each day Amos Coli, Lush Queen, and Cherokee Purple......hmmmmm good

Good luck with continued picking.

[gumbo2176]

Oh, I'm jealous. My tomatoes are just about done for the summer. I picked a few stragglers today, but there aren't many green tomatoes left. Even the heat-resistant varieties are giving up under the oppressive heat and humidity of our summers. But! Next month I'm going to be starting seeds for fall planting. Woohoo!

Gumbo, hun, can you start your plants earlier so they're done before June? I start mine in January and put them out at the beginning of March. You're close enough to me that I imagine we're getting similar weather.

Allyn, I usually do get my plants in earlier in the year than I did this year, but the weather wasn't cooperating this time around. We had lots of rain and it was impossible for me to turn the ground over that wet and then try to pull rows to plant. I was at least a month behind my normal planting time. Seemed every time it was just about dry enough to run the tiller and turn over the soil and composted material, it would rain cats and dogs and the wait would begin all over again.

But, that's gardening for you. If it was easy and consistent in results, more folks would likely do it.

[lakngulf]

Well, between steady rains, high humidity and a mild winter that has allowed pests to explode in the garden, I once again am losing way more tomatoes to the compost pile than I'm bringing inside. Over half my tomato plants are suffering some fungal issues and will be pulled to try to stop it from advancing. I said this last year to my wife that I was done with tomato plants when 3 out of 4 ripening tomatoes split open due to heavy rainfall, but I'm just a glutton for frustration I guess and put in over 2 dozen plants late this spring.

I am now convinced that tomatoes are not going to do well in my garden with 3 bad years in a row and not enough space to properly rotate the crop to help alleviate the issues I'm having. Next year it will be more beans and peppers and I'll get my tomatoes on the roadside when they come ripe and ready to sell.

Hate to hear that Gumbo, but I have "been there, pulled many". I finally concluded that my main issue was Southern Bacterial Wilt, that happens mainly in hot humid environments. Plants would be four feet tall one day, loaded with tennis ball size tomatoes, and then wilt away the next day. Boom, gone. I did eat a lot of fried green tomato sandwiches, though.

I am with you in that rotation is too difficult, so I opted for big containers.



I fill the bottom third with oak leaves, and then fresh top soil from some farmland about an hour away. I grow tomatoes one year, then try again the next year. If plant dies then I pull it and plant corn or okra. During winter the bad soil is dumped into another area of the garden for peppers, etc and the Pot is refilled for tomato growing.

[jal_ut]

"almost time for full blown tomato harvest"

Very nice. You are making my mouth water.

[Lonesomedave]

lakngulf....yeah, i go with containers too

man...love your big tomato cages...that's the real medicine...mine are just little store-bought ones that i supplement with four foot stakes to hold the weight

wish i had yours....

[Allyn]

I do mine in containers, too. I mound the potting mix up so the top is domed and put plastic mulch over them. That way they don't get top-watered when it rains. Even with all the rain we had this year, I didn't have a single split tomato.