elevenplants
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Location: alabama

Update on my heirlooms....

Here is my monster, the Genovese Costoluto. I can't keep count of the maters on her anymore, I stopped counting @ 25:

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-47.jpg[/img]

One of the many clusters on the Genovese:

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-49.jpg[/img]

The Genovese, the in-ground Brandywine, and the Beefsteak....nasturtiums in the foreground:

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-48.jpg[/img]

One cluster on the Beefsteak:

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-50.jpg[/img]

These are just a few. I would take more pics but am suddenly busy as the proverbial bee! lol. BTW, HG, my in-ground Brandywine FINALLY has put on some fruit, but they're as yet too small to photograph. The hanger, in the meantime, is still doing very well, and the Amish Paste hanger has some small fruit now.

Rebecca

James282
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Beautiful! I went out to stake my plants better with my wife, and lo and behold we had several clusters forming that we didnt know about! I had been looking at the plants every day from my 6 foot tall perspective, but when I got down to tie them to the stakes I found several fruit hiding! It was quite a pleasant surprise. Keep the pictures coming!

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Rob
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I'll definitely try the Genovese next year.
This year (Zone 7 Arizona), my Beefsteak and Black Krim have completely exploded (loaded with toms), my Soldacki is moderately producing at best, and my Brandywine has yet to set a single fruit (though it is nearly 5 ft tall).

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hendi_alex
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Fantastic looking fruit and plants! Genovese is definitely going on my short list to try.
Last edited by hendi_alex on Wed Jun 10, 2009 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

elevenplants
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Location: alabama

Thanks, everyone. :D Nice to have one's efforts admired. @ Rob, my in-ground Brandywine just set it's first fruits in the past couple of days. Maybe it's a trait. My German Tree tomato finally set fruit, also, just found it this morning. I was seriously considering yanking it if it didn't do something, cause it takes up a ton of space. It must have felt my intentions. :wink: My Russian Blacks are also doing very well, producing at a good rate, not as much as the Genovese....Beefsteaks puttin' on pretty well, too....Cherokee Purple and Carbon appear to have stepped up production as well, and my Black Cherry and Yellow Plum are both "hanging full", as they say. I cannot WAIT to have a salad out of the Black Cherries and Yellow Plums together, won't that be lovely?? Of course, I'll post pics. :D @ James: Isn't it fun to find those first fruits? It's like an Easter egg hunt! @ Alex - I only hope the Genovese fruit tastes as good as she is looking right now!

Happy day all.

Rebecca

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hendi_alex
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Let us know how the Genovese taste test goes!

James282
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Yes, the taste test is the rub isn't it?

So I have a confession...my plants are yet to produce a ripe tomato, and there havent been any at the farmers market...so I picked one from an Early Girl at the Gardening Center and ate it on the spot :shock:

I was so surprised by my actions that I confessed immediately to the owner. I offered to pay, but she just laughed. I think she let me slide because I have spent thousands of dollars on plants, shrubs, and trees since I moved into my house 2 years ago...I guess this tomato was a little discount :)

GardenerGirl
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Ha! I have been tempted to do that kind of thing, James. When I went to my garden store yesterday for a new fertilizer, they had all these tomato plants in 3-gallon pots, and they all had enormous green fruits on them. I am sitting at home with around 4 flowers on one of my cherry tomato plants, and nothing on anything else. The temptation to blow $22 on one of those plants almost got me.

This is definitely impatience season for me. ;)

LadyBlacksword
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Location: Mooresville, NC, USA

Any chance of you saving seeds to trade from that Genovese?
I'd love to try it next year, but I've never seen seeds for that variety.
LJ

Haesuse
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Location: Birmingham-AL, USA

elevenplants wrote:The Genovese, the in-ground Brandywine, and the Beefsteak....nasturtiums in the foreground
and some basil in between, it appears!!!

it all looks beautiful. great job.

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Rob
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LadyBlacksword wrote:Any chance of you saving seeds to trade from that Genovese?
I'd love to try it next year, but I've never seen seeds for that variety.
LJ
Good idea! Count me in...

eshenry
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Location: Tennessee

brandywine and other german type tomatoes are generally slower and lower bearing than other tomatoes.
In my experience, the cherokee purple, amish pinks and pastes, and black krim have been the exception to the lower and slower rule.
I still grow brandywines just because I have family and friends who love the flavor and request them often.

elevenplants
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Location: alabama

I will be saving seeds from all my tomatoes, and will be happy to share. However, I did find my seeds online, @ Thompson and Morgan, I believe. Yes, here's the link:

[url]https://www.tmseeds.com/product/431[/url]

I have fruit on every single one of my 20+ plants now. The Brandywine and German Tree were in fact the last to put on. My Cherokee Purple and Carbon and Russian Black are filling in quickly.

Rebecca

James282
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Rebecca,

Have you grown this many plants before? What will you do with all the excess you are sure to get? My wife and I are raising 8-10 plants this year and she is overwhelmed at the prospect considering we had too many tomatoes for us on 2 plants last year! We plan on learning some preservation techniques, but I am just curious if you have any info on how much you can/preserve per plant or anything of that nature. Thanks!
James

polydactyly
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Location: Austin, Texas

That variety looks beautiful! After seeing the link, I just wanted to reach into my computer screen and grab one :P I have a few varieties also:

Celeb.
Ruetgers
Yellow Boy
Green Zebra
Ark. Travelers
Patio (on the porch)
Mr. Stripy

I will post pics as soon as the little buggers are bigger :)

I heard a way to preserve tomatoes is to smoke them in a slow smoker, I have a friend with a recipe, but haven't written it down yet. If anyone is interested..

James282
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How is the taste of patio? I am tempted to get one because aesthetically the idea of tomatoes on the porch seems nice...but it seems like a variety bred to live on a patio might sacrifice taste. any ideas?

polydactyly
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I will be sure to let you know. I just got it a week ago, but it already has lil' guys on it, so I think it's doin' alright. I have some strong bee attractants in my yard, so I hope it does well. What kind of 'maters do you have? :)

James282
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Location: New Jersey

I have Green Zebra, Purple Cherokee( both very young, was a secondary planting), Brandywine(4 ft tall, many blossoms, no fruit yet), Old German(4 tomatoes, lots of flowers, 4 ft), Yellow Pear(5 ft, lots of blossoms, 5 fruit), Sungold(6 ft tall, too many tomatoes to count, but none ripe), and a black cherry(7 ft tall, 12 tomatoes, lots of blossoms), and some seedlings that sprouted from last year which are either 4th of July or Sweet 100, but both very small.

James

elevenplants
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Location: alabama

@ James: Yes, I have grown this many before. I freeze, make (LOTS OF) sauce, and do a lot of dehydrating, both in my Nesco and in my homemade drying box. I have 2 boys still @ home, and my husband, and me, and we ALL love tomatoes and anything that can be made from them, so really, it isn't that many. Of course, if I do end up with extras, there's always somebody with a hand out. :wink:

Here's a pic of my first Yellow Pears, pulled this morning:

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-51.jpg[/img]

I would say there are roughly 150 fruits on this particular plant. To tell the truth, all my plants are apparently in some kind of wild race now, every time I go look there are more and more. I couldn't count the ones on the big Genovese if my life depended on it, some are so well hidden. And I have three of the Genovese, the one I pictured is only the biggest. I would say it is well over 6 feet now, and growing strong. It's a real challenge keeping it tied up and off the ground!

Rebecca

:D

Haesuse
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Location: Birmingham-AL, USA

same here, rebecca. my plants made it through the non-stop rain of may just fine (I think superior draining, high quality potting mix, in a bucket, helped a lot there). now they are taking off. my husky cherry red is about 6 feet tall and has well over 100 fruit on it. my bush goliath is a good 5 feet tall, and has 50+ MASSIVE fruit on it. and my patio tomatoes are bushy as ever, but have 30+ tomatoes on them, too.

and my peppers are just ridiculous. I've already harvested 20+ 4" jalapenos, and there are 20 more on it now. my cayennes have 50+ peppers all just waiting to turn red. my tabascos are just under 5 feet tall (didn't know peppers would even grow that tall), and have 10 or so peppers, and 50+ blossoms. my 2 bullhorn peppers (planted 6 weeks later than the rest) are also doing fantastic in their tiny little 1 gallon pots.

!!!

elevenplants
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Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:23 pm
Location: alabama

Maybe us Alabama folks just have a touch. :wink:

Rebecca

p.s. Gonna be down Sat/Sun for City Stages.

Haesuse
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I'm still trying to decide whether to go or not. soooooooo many people, and a forecast of 90% humidity and 95 degrees, makes me think not.

elevenplants
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Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:23 pm
Location: alabama

Here's a little pic of my first Genovese Costoluto ripening on the vine!

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-52.jpg[/img]

Rebecca

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applestar
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Wow elvenpants! :wink: You're climate -- AND the tomatoes -- is certainly ahead of mine! Mine are mostly marble sized, a few walnut sized. CANNOT wait!

I remember growing those GC's a while back. Deep lobes and that virtical browning and cracking was a constant problem. If you wait for full ripening on the vine, fruit flies get in. (I think now, I would just pick them when 1/2 way ripe and ripen indoors in a netted basket.) Hope yours manage OK. Hmm... I wonder extra calcium/cat facing remedy would help?

Have you been reading the thread about curled up leaves? I was speculating that maybe heirloom varieties tend to do that more -- have you seen any evidence of that in your group?

elevenplants
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Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:23 pm
Location: alabama

Strangely enough, there are only two of the GVC that have that vertical scar...the first two that put on! The others are perfect. It's my understanding that the deep lobes are a trait of this variety. In fact, the only problems I see with any of the fruit on any of the plants is some cat-facing on the hanging brandywine. And the only leaf curl I have is on one beefsteak variety that's in a container. I'll be providing pictorial proof of perfection as we go along. :wink:

Rebecca



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