maglia rosa
 

seems like the maglia rosa does'nt want to get with the program yet!--lol

I'm growing Pink Tiger this year which iirc is the indeterminate sister line to Maglia Rosa. The plants are super compact, it is amazing... lovely short internodes. (Yes, small tomato plants are beautiful to me!!!) :yes: They aren't quite as early as most of my toms this year. I sort of expected that because the others I've grown were, well, California dreaming you know, we are not the SoCal and arriving at this shore can be a shock to a tomato. ;) They don't know how soon it will be over, either! :?:
Well I had to run down to the greenhouse and look. The first petal has just fallen today but no pea sized fruit yet. There are two clusters in flower and the third is unfurling buds. The distance between first and second cluster is about 3, certainly less than four inches!!! :shock::yes: If it is up for setting all those fruit it would be crazy fruitful for a small vine! LIKE!!! :love::lol:
Can't wait to see the fruit as they are so pretty. :cute:

They don't have any backbones, hard to trellis, but they also want a lift somehow.

There are also lots of roots emerging along the main stems on my plants. So I cut out the bottoms of a couple of plastic pots and placed them around the stems, then stuffed more potting soil into them, just to see if that's what they are asking for. Similar to the Brits' "ring culture".

First time last year and loved it but did not give it the best spot. It was 'chubby' so sat
fine under some others that were single stem and pruned, taller neighbors.
Lost track of it until some good mid-season fruit i almost missed being easily distracted
mid-season with all the harvesting....

Better spot this year, 4 plants, in-between GGWT on a good early all day sun location.
Sunrise it gets.

Yeah my two I grew for the first time this year are short and floppy too, one in ground and the other in a pot. I much prefer Blush over Maglia Rosa, the skin is not as thick, but alas I did not grow any this time. Next year Blush will be back. :yes:

Maglia is a."semi determinate".
Pruned it will behave more like an.indeterminate, but will still be pretty short compared to what you are used to in an indeterminate.

I guess Green Tiger didn't get any of those short genes. The plant is rather tall. Production seem like it will be poor, not a plant made for one stem pruning, but we'll see.

A number of years ago, when we were just starting to develop our own new varieties, we used Maglia Rosa as a workhorse. The flavor was great, and a few rows of Maglia Rosa in our field worked out great. Production was early and heavy, but we were NOT pruning. They were left to form low bushes.

Later, we fell out of love with it, largely because in a system where most plants are trellised, it is a pain. It is difficult to trellis, as has been mentioned. It also has wispy foliage, and that stresses people out, when it is compared to other more typical varieties.

The other issue was one of pests and disease. When Maglia Rosa is in a decent sized field where it is amongst other tomatoes, its dense foliage and high level of branching make it a disease magnet.

Lately, however, we have changed our opinion again. We now appreciate Maglia Rosa for what it is, and what it can do. This is partly because we now know that many growers use Maglia Rosa as an early workhorse variety in diverse fields where its early productivity and flavor are valued, and the risks of disease (and being a disease magnet) are lowered.

I think it is probably best grown as a bush, as trellising is probably a waste of time with the variety. In times when heavy rains and other factors promote disease in the row, if it is planted as a low-input bush, it may make sense to just plow it under, and try again next time.

Of course it is also good as a container variety.

Maglia Rose does well for me in a small, Dollar Store, collapsible cage! I love it :)

Linda

[QUOTE=NewWestGardener;647609]There are also lots of roots emerging along the main stems on my plants. So I cut out the bottoms of a couple of plastic pots and placed them around the stems, then stuffed more potting soil into them, just to see if that's what they are asking for. Similar to the Brits' "ring culture".[/QUOTE]

Mine also has a lot of root primordia. I was wondering whether it was the wet weather we had until recently, but it seems like it's a trait of the variety.

Mine are blooming their little heads off now and have some fruit on them. They're quick to wilt in the heat, but otherwise, they've been heartier than they look. Their wispy, wavy, weeping appearance is growing on me.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/1UmlQv5l.jpg[/img]

I'm planning an aeroponic grow, in sewer pipe about 3-4' off the ground. I'm thinking Maglia Rosa will be perfect. I want the vines to only go up a foot or two, and then hang down over the sides of the pipe.

I think the flavor of Maglia Rosa suffers if the plants are too wet.
Through a poor choice of substrate last season everything was very wet here. Maglia flavor was so so under those conditions. I look forward to trying it under better (dryer) conditions.
I think you are right about the habit being suitable though.

Mine show no signs of disease whatsoever. The one in the pot is growing better, and only needs one of those cheap tomato cages that are for small plants. The one in the ground is propped up by a single central stick tied to main stem. I have propped up the floppy lower stems with lots of hay. Good flavor, good production but the skin is very thick, could be other factors affecting that.