Quote:
Originally Posted by Heritage
kimosoura,
Plants are looking great, thanks for documenting your progress. 
I have a couple of recommendations:
1. Maybe re-evaluate your staking method. The first year I grew Dwarfs I used a similar staking method and discovered I had underestimated the weight of a Dwarf plant when fully grown and loaded with fruit. The wind had blown over several plants before I used a make-shift (less than ideal) wire cage to support them for the remainder of the season. I've included a photo to show you the results and give you an idea of how the varieties you are growing will look at maturity. Possibly a triad of stakes around the buckets would be something to consider. Or, possibly, the containers you are using will make a much heavier base than the 5-gal nursery containers i used and you won't have a problem.
2. If your plants are in a protected area you might want to encourage self-fertilization by giving the trusses (with open flowers) a gentle tap around noon each day. The dwarf plants are stocky and without some wind movement they can sometimes be stubborn to set fruit. Also, like many beefsteak varieties, the dwarf beefsteak varieties will often have a megabloom as the first flower in a cluster. There is nothing wrong with the tomatoes these flowers produce but they are ugly and poorly formed. I pick off the megablooms so the plant can concentrate her energy on developing the other fruit.
Good luck, keep up the good work!
Steve |
Greetings Steve, thank you for such a helpful post. I've been busy watching Joaquin and am just now making it over to T-ville to reply.
I appreciate the photo of your plants; they certainly help me appreciate the size that I should be expecting from mine! I gave a lot of thought to keeping these containers from tipping over, and like you I also have my doubts about how well the current system will work. Problem is that even after all that thought, I haven't come up with a definite solution yet. They actually have significant wind blocks on all four sides, but when things get to blowing in a big way sometimes the blocking doesn't make a lot of difference. I think for now my best bet is to try to cobble together some sort of outrigger akin to what you are using... but possibly in the form of racks perhaps... maybe two sets of four? Not sure. One thing I do know is that being me, I'm likely going to wait until it becomes an actual problem before I do anything to fix it!
Due to these wind blocks, I have been giving the blossoms daily stimulation with a cheap-o toothbrush. Usually after work, sometimes morning too. Lunchtime isn't possible. Getting some decent fruit set considering the heat we have been experiencing the last week. I feel like it actually warmed up some compared to what we were having the last month or so.
Anyway, will probably put some more photos up this weekend. The plants are cooking right along, bigger by the day, and I'm already planning how I'm going to do it bigger and better next season!
Thanks again. -J
PS - will probably leave the megablooms for now, as I get a kick out of seeing what happens, but your point is well taken.