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gixxerific
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Location: Wentzville, MO (Just West oF St. Louis) Zone 5B

All about tomatoes next year!

I have 30 plants now in my modest garden. Nest year I think I figured out a way to grow more with out being choked out like they are now. They are fine it is more me that is choked out trying to get to them.

I tried the part shade growing this year with a square of tom's than fingers off of those. Yet it is hard to get to some of them, when will I learn? Next year I think I will plant all along my fence and the sides with fingers out of that every now and than, that way I will actually be able to get to the plants. I haven't figured it out but I should be able to get as many and more plants next year. I still have a long time to figure out the good and bad points.

So if you have seed and want to trade I am ready, I will have more at the end of the season as well.

Bring on the tomatoes. :P

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Stella Blue
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Whew, I thought I was the only one planning for next year already. Meet me in the seed swapping forum for some possible trades.

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soil
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I bought some seeds for next year 2 weeks ago lol

mattie g
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Location: Northern VA, USA -- Zone 7a

I'm realizing more and more that I just may never be able to like raw tomatoes. I'll still grow them for sauces and salsas, and for my wife to eat (and to give away, of course), but I'm not going to be quite as excited to grow them as I was this year. I was really hoping some fresh heirloom varieties would change my feeling on it, but no such luck.

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soil
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its ok, I used to hate raw tomatoes. now I love them.

mattie g
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soil wrote:its ok, I used to hate raw tomatoes. now I love them.
About a week ago, I tried a raw tomato for the first time since I was probably 5 years old - little pieces of a Brandywine and a BK. Didn't like it at all. Then I made Caprese Salad for friends this weekend out of the same. I tried it and didn't like it one bit (and I love mozzarella, balsamic, and basil), but my friends inhaled it like they hadn't eaten in weeks!

I'll keep trying, I suppose. They look so delicious, but when it comes to popping them in my mouth...urgh.

richard64
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Location: N.E. Mississippi

mattie g wrote:I'm realizing more and more that I just may never be able to like raw tomatoes. I'll still grow them for sauces and salsas, and for my wife to eat (and to give away, of course), but I'm not going to be quite as excited to grow them as I was this year. I was really hoping some fresh heirloom varieties would change my feeling on it, but no such luck.
I feel and grow tomatoes for the very same reason... Yuk, I hate raw tomatoes, but I grow them for the wife and kids...

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rainbowgardener
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Always hard for me to understand, since I love homegrown tomato fresh off the vine, bite into it like an apple, more than anything. But my honey barely tolerates them, raw or cooked... I use tomatoes in small amounts, because I really can't cook without them, but it is a great grief to me that my beautiful homegrown tomatoes aren't enjoyed more and I have to be so sparing with them. More for me I guess!

Different strokes....

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digitS'
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Location: ID/WA! border

I think I may be reaching the age when I begin denying that I'm old . . . Dislike for tomatoes in my childhood, surely that wasn't all that long ago.

I strongly suspect that the tomatoes available to me when I was a child were ALL what we now call heirlooms. I didn't like them. I can still pull up a mental picture of them at the store. My parents didn't grow tomatoes.

Somewhere along the line, I developed a taste for tomatoes. That probably began with the cherries - bite-size fruit, not a big slice of a beefsteak. It is kind of funny that for many years, I was unaware that there were more than 1 variety of cherry tomatoes. Only last year did I finally decide that growing a couple plants of Large Red Cherry was not worth taking the space from more modern cherries. It is good to know that I've got the seed if I want to put this old friend back in my garden. (Did I say "old" :shock: ?)

Color seems to be closely associated with flavor. The golden cherries are wonderful to my taste buds! I've still got the reds and tried a pink this year but for anyone who is curious why some of us love tomatoes (& he or she doesn't), I suggest growing Sungolds.

Soon, you may have SunSugar and Dr. Carolyn along with red & pink cherries to accompany them - as I have in the garden! Then there are the red, pink, yellow, and orange varieties of larger tomatoes out there!

Steve, a happy tomato grower :D .

DeborahL
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The only toamtoes I remember from childhood, (late 50's and early 60's)
are cherry tomatoes from the grocery store.
Now I'm not crazy about cherries but I LOVE thick slices of beefsteak !
And it's wonderful picking a tomato, salting it and scarfing it down right there outdoors !
Yep, different strokes....

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gixxerific
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Location: Wentzville, MO (Just West oF St. Louis) Zone 5B

Red tomaotes. Bah humbug! :lol:

Once you go black you never go back. :P

richard64
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We prefer the GWR's here over the blacks!

ruggr10
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Location: Brunswick, Maine

Oh Man! I love raw tomatoes! For lunch I had a chicken sandwich with tomatoes that are still outside on the vine. Running out of time here in Maine as the nights have hit high 30s a couple of times. I don't want to go back to store bought!!!

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soil
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how did you have a sandwich where the tomatoes are still on the vine.

DeborahL
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I bet he wrapped the sandwich around the tomato ! Now there's a purist ! :lol:

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Tilde
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DeborahL wrote:I bet he wrapped the sandwich around the tomato ! Now there's a purist ! :lol:
:clap:

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PunkRotten
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Location: Monterey, CA.

I am planning to grow 3 plants in Spring and 3 plants in fall. But I have a long list of tomatoes to choose from. And the list keeps growing. I am gonna have to give it a good thought on what to grow from my list.

DeborahL
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Three plants this fall? I've never grown tomatoes through winter. Fall is when I throw out old plants.
I'll be interested to know how the fall ones work out.

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PunkRotten
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Well people have told me it will work. Plus I have read on some sites where they have planting guides by zone and they show a spring and fall planting for tomatoes. I have a black cherry tomato I started 1st week of September from seed and gonna see how it goes. It is about 4 inches tall and has about 2 sets of leaves now.


I guess the trick is to get some tomatoes started in pots ahead of time then as your Spring tomatoes die out transplant the new plants for fall. That is what I am gonna try next year. You may have to prematurely kill your tomato plants. That is what I did this year. I cleared out 8 tomato plants so I could start early on my fall crops. Thing is I started a little too early on them but I got a little lucky.

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PunkRotten
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PS: It might help a lot to grow early maturing tomatoes too. These Black Cherries I started mature around 65 days.

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gixxerific
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In S Cali that is probably doable, in my neck of the woods if they aren't inside they are gonners in a few weeks or so.

You go PunkRotten I will be interested in how this turns out for you.

Me and a few others on another site are going to see how growing dwarfs inside only using window light goes this winter. I already have sprouts and am hoping for a good return of course. I will also be growing a few under lights in the basement, some dwarfs and some of whatever. I wish I had a greenhouse.

Gonna be an intersting winter and an even more intersting spring/fall.

On yeah some peppers are coming in as well. :wink:

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PunkRotten
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I am growing Micro-Tom tomatoes in the window right now too.

DeborahL
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I hope you'll post pictures of the Micro Tom when the fruits are ready. I would like to see "real" pictures, not just catalog ones.
The catalog says that Micro Toms can grow and bear in a tea cup !

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PunkRotten
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We'll see. Right now it is really tiny. It is getting its second pair of leaves. I have it in a 6 inch pot though, but I heard 4 inch would be alright. But I will definitely take some pics. Also when I get some extra seeds I wouldn't mind sending some to people to try.

DeborahL
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I'd love some seed ! Glad you're planning on pictures too.

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PunkRotten
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See, its just a tiny thing



[img]https://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c86/punkrotten/938_1806.jpg[/img]


[img]https://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c86/punkrotten/938_1807.jpg[/img]



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