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digitS'
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Re: 2015 Tomato Plants

Good photos of a great garden, Alex. This can't compare but just shows where my tomatoes are on a recent May morning. It shows the frost on the roof of the shed I built several years ago, against my back fence in the neighbor's yard:
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If I walk thru that door, I look out into the attached hoop house and here are the tomatoes (and several other things :wink: ):
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Yes, I have covered the central path with flats of things for the overnight hours. There are peppers, eggplants and zinnias, etc. in with the tomatoes. This morning is one of the few that I haven't had to have heat in there :).

A neighbor will take about 100 tomatoes, another about 60. The over-the-fence neighbor may want about 4 ... The remaining go in my garden or are sold.

Steve

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hendi_alex
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This may be the best start to the tomato season ever. Not quite as early compared to earliest ripe fruit production, but way more pounds of near mature fruit ready to start turning.

We have over 50 plants and most have several large clusters of nice sized fruit, depending upon the variety.

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digitS'
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This is why we are doing it isn't it, Alex?

It just takes an eye on a prize like what you've got there ...

:D

Steve

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hendi_alex
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For the past few years we have had gorgeous tomato plants in the second week of June, with most of them dead or dying by early to mid July. This year I stepped things up, figuring that I needed to have my main crop of ripe tomatoes coming off by mid June. That way if the plants die, the main crop of tomatoes will still make. I can't begin to describe how well that strategy is working! Plus, there has been an unanticipated consequence. We have over 50 plants that are just loaded with mature tomatoes that are ready to start turning and we are a good month away from the onset of disease season. What I had not counted on was the degree to which the second wave of tomatoes would set. The second wave is now half size or better and the third wave has quarter and bigger sized fruit as well. So it is looking like we will get at least wave one and wave two to produce high quality tomatoes and right now I give a better than 50:50 chance that the third wave of tomatoes will get full sized before the plant come into the stress of July heat, humidity, and disease. It is looking like our best potential season ever. On the chance that heat and humidity would be somewhat depressed in July, the harvest will be off of the chart!

Another part of this year's strategy has been to include about a dozen determinate tomato plants, with the though being that the plants would set the entire crop well in front of disease season. Those plants are heavy with fruit and will make a bumper crop. The plants could die now, and still at least 40-50 pounds of tomatoes would ripen.

The third aspect of fighting disease is also underway. I've cut suckers from my most prolific plants and am rooting them as replacements for when the early plants get into trouble. The suckers root in about a week and while rapidly growing in a morning sun only location, seem to usually be resistant to the diseases gotten by the mature full sun plants. Hopefully these succession plants will give us a harvest into September and October, perhaps as late as November. If so, we would have accomplished getting fresh tomatoes for 8 months.

Will post update photos from time to time.

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hendi_alex
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Decided to make an adjustment with my full sun container tomato plants. Even as planted in 25 gal to 35 gal containers, the plants still suffer from irregular water stress, constantly moving between dry and overly wet. I decided to make an adjustment this year. The plants are full sun on the east, but are partially shaded after noon or 1 p.m. This double layer of shade cloth with be replaced with a more appropriate 50% as soon as it can be ordered. The top third or so of the plants will be given full sun all day long. The shade cloth will protect most of the plant from the harsh afternoon sun and also of importance, will shade the black containers and the soil from most direct sunlight.

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applestar
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Amazing as always, @hendi_Alex :D

I really like that every year you try something different to improve and your growing techniques. I think we all need to do that. :wink:

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hendi_alex
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Trying the shade cloth is not without its risks. The cloth with act as a barrier to wind movement and may cause even more moisture throughout the bottom part of the plants. It will be interesting to see whether this adjustment is a net positive or is a negative as relates to disease. I've read that the shade cloth can decrease the temperature as much as 20 degrees, and I would think that would be an offsetting factor as relates to the combat of disease. Will update later as to how the use of shade cloth seems to be working out.

My in ground plants are really doing great this year, thanks to my chickens for their manure contribution and for the loan of their main run area. My rows in there run east to west. One advantage of that is that each plant shades the other from the afternoon sun. My container plants run north to south. May have to look at that in the future.

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lakngulf
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Good Job!

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hendi_alex
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Trickle has now become enough to stay ahead of our daily needs. Another week or two and we will be stocking the freezer!

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hendi_alex
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Banner year so far. The tomato table is totally full, even after freezing about eight pounds and giving several big ones away. The table usually gets this full around the first week in July. Just hope the disease continues to ignore the plants.

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sweetiepie
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:D Love it! What are your plans now? Canning? dehydrating?

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digitS'
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Nowhere close to anything like that, Alex :) !

I set out 4 more plants last week - filling my designated, 2015 tomato patch. Plants had all flowers removed. (One Bloody Butcher had several small fruits taken off.)

Some of the plants have recovered and begun to grow. The ones in backyard containers are doing the best. There were some bad winds and a couple of hailstorms but the damage, beyond transplanting shock, has been from fleabeetles. I also found 3 potato beetles on the plants. Sprayed with spinosad a few days ago.

Now, they have some hot days ahead of them :? ! There may be afternoons in the 90's and some high temperature records ...

Steve

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hendi_alex
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I plan on freezing about 50 pounds and drying about 35 pounds. The rest will be eaten fresh or given away.

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applestar
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Beautiful! I won't see a sight like that until mid-late July or maybe even early August.
Enjoy! :D

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lakngulf
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Ahhhh Nice! Do you think you could ship me a few of those big ones in the front? They would be nice in a mater sandwich.

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hendi_alex
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Those are already in the freezer! I used to give all the extra large ones to a friend, who seems to like all things big. The medium to medium small fruit suit the wife and me just fine. Now I keep most of the extra large fruit, as they make the prep for freezing so much easier.

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Great looking tomatoes! I hope mine turn out as well as yours.

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digitS'
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Earliest ripe tomato this season. Earliest ripe tomato ever.

Bloody Butcher. Often with the earliest fruit in my garden ...

We are having record heat. Triple digitS' tomorrow and Sunday, and there have been other record days this month. I have never had ripe tomatoes in June!

I wouldn't have tomatoes now but I missed the developing fruit when this Bloody Butcher was set out. The plant is growing despite my failure to trim fruit and flowers off when I moved the plant outdoors. The plant will soon be 4 months from seed.

Steve



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