San Antonio Tomatoes

[Farmette]

My sister is moving to the "hill area" near Kerrville, TX..I guess that is near San Antonio. She wants to grow tomatoes. They move in the 3rd week of Sept. Here in WI, our season will be winding down. At what point will the season be there? She has asked me to help her with this as far as when to plant, what varieties, etc. I have thought about taking cuttings from some of my plants and rooting them here to plant down there. Any Texans or others with any insights on this?
Thanks
Chris

[sheysd1]

Hi Farmette!.....I really can't help but I would be interested too as we are moving from SoCal. to The Austin area of Texas, probably Round Rock, soon as well. I would like to know what to grow and when to grow as well.

[Keiththibodeaux]

She would be just a tad cooler and drier than here. September would be too late to plant tomatoes, but there will be a ton of other stuff she could plant. Check this out. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/p...able_guide.pdf

Unlike the coastal areas of Texas, the hill country has a much drier climate with low humidity. The summer temps are very high and they have been experiencing a severe drought this year. In North Texas, I am one climate zone lower numerically than Kerrville and I plant out in early March. I would think mid February would miss all the late frosts in Kerrville and Round Rock. Unlike the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and a few other areas, the Hill Country is more cattle country than farming country resulting in a lower density of insect pests. The dry climate should limit the fugal problems with many tomato varieties.

I've had a very good season growing a mixture of common open pollinated plants like Black Krim, Mortgage Lifter, Hillbilly, Brandywine Pink and a few others. Many I grew were thought to not perform well in the early heat of Texas, but the early plant out provided sufficient time for blooming, fruiting, and maturing. I also had a very good year with some select hybrids like Big Beef and Super Fantastic. Normally vendors in specific areas market the varieties of plants that perform well in the area.

For some reason, I tend to avoid the most common hybrids like Big Boy, Early Girl, Celebrity, and Better Boy. I don't know why I don't like to grow them, but I don't.

I prefer to grow from seed, but if your sister is moving to Kerrville, she probably won't have time to grow from seed the first year. Most of the Big Box Stores like Walmart, Home ★★★★★, and Lowes; market garden plants grown by "Bonnie". I am not really a fan of Bonnie plants, but I have to admit their computer data base allows them to ship the varieties which perform best in specific climates to the outlets in those climates.

Ted

[Farmette]

Thanks for all your replies. Ted, are you saying that you think if she could find plants, my sister might be able to grow some now before frost sets in. I think that may be about Dec. Do you plant a second crop?

Home ★★★★★ and sometimes Walmart sell some varieties for fall planting. I think Home ★★★★★ will have some either late this month or early in September. December is way to late for planting tomatoes in Texas. The Rio Grande valley area can grow some warm climate vegetables through the winter. We usually get our first hard freeze in mid to late December with some really significant snow storms. Kerrville rarely gets the snow, but they do have some hard freezes. I usually harvest all of the green tomatoes still on the vines in early December and then let them ripen in a cool, dark place. We normally eat our last ripe tomato in early January.

I'm growing a few varieties from seed for fall planting. I'm also growing a few plants from cuttings for fall planting. Most of my fall tomatoes come from plants grown in the spring and protected by shade cloth through the heat. They produce new growth, blooms, and fruit in the fall.

If Home ★★★★★ has the Goliath variety in either the hybrid indeterminate or bush type, plant those. They always perform well for me in the fall because they grow and bloom well in the late summer, moderate heat and produce a lot of good tasting tomatoes.

Why does this editor put five stars in place of the word "★★★★★"?

Ted

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by Farmette

My sister is moving to the "hill area" near Kerrville, TX..I guess that is near San Antonio. She wants to grow tomatoes. They move in the 3rd week of Sept. Here in WI, our season will be winding down. At what point will the season be there? She has asked me to help her with this as far as when to plant, what varieties, etc. I have thought about taking cuttings from some of my plants and rooting them here to plant down there. Any Texans or others with any insights on this?
Thanks
Chris

I grew tomatoes in Houston for 4 years, including spring and fall crops. Generally, I consider tomatoes mostly a novelty in the fall. You might get some good ones, you might not. When I return, I will only grow cherries in the fall.

However there are tons of things that grow very well in the fall in the Hill Country such as beans, cucumbers, etc. If I were her, I would get as organized as possible to plant a spring tomato garden next year.

There are lots of Texans on this forum, over 30 at last count, from Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, and everywhere in between. I think they'll all tell you that timing is absolutely crucial and planting on the right date can mean the difference between a bumper crop and just a few. Good luck and hopefully your sister will sign up!

You might also want to check out some of the articles on http://www.SETTFest.com/ that I and others have written.

[Worth1]

Here is a map of the areas you guys are talking about.


I live east east north Of SA in Bastrop Kerrville is north west of SA and Round Rock is north east of SA north of Austin.

There are distinct weather differences between all four of the areas.
I wouldn't plant any tomatoes this time of year because of the heat wave that is going on.

I live south of round rock about 30 40 miles and they will get a frost when I dont.
Kerrville will get colder than we do even though we are of the same latitude.
There is no right time of year to plant tomatoes here as every year is different than others.

Most of us down here plant out in the last week of February or first week of March and even then we can get a frost in late march.
Humidity is lower normally lower in Kerrville than it is In Bastrop and Round Rock.
But even then in a normal spring and early summer it can be up in the 90% area.

You need to put the tomatoes out at about 12 to 18 inches tall in the first part of march to get any results at all from many of the varieties you will be wanting to plant.
You will want to look at the native trees and see if they are starting to bud out this will be the time you want to plant.
These plants will tell you more than any of us can as for when to plant from year to year

They can put out buds as far apart as 3 to 4 weeks from year to year.

Worth

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=kerrvi...ed=0CDcQ8gEwAA

[Farmette]

Thank you all for your wealth of information. I didn't mean she would plant out in Dec., but was wondering if she could still plant in Sept., knowing they would have to be done by Dec. It sounds like her best bet is to get ready for spring, plan it now and come up with a way to keep the deer, etc. out of it.

[Dewayne mater]

Fall tomatoes have to go out no later than August one in DFW. Granted, we are a bit further north, but, the climates are not that different. I do think it is slightly cooler and cools more at night in the Hill Country and that should be a good thing in the long run. If it were me, I'd start my seeds on new year's day and put them out as soon as late Feb, but be ready to cover them on cold nights.

Dewayne,

I wish I could plant out on Aug. 1. but that 110 degree temp. seems to kill anything newly planted. We are a few degrees cooler now. They are only forecasting 102 degrees next week. I guess we have a cold front coming through. I will plant out the first week the highs stay in the 90's. That will probably be the last week of August or the first week of September. My seedlings and cuttings will be really large by then and should be ready to set a few blossoms. They usually produce well if we don't have a really early frost.

Worth, I have a lot of wild plum trees on my property which bloom every spring and put out leaf buds about one week later. It's not unusual for the blooms to drop and the leaf buds are killed back by a late frost. They don't put on a second set of blooms, but they do set more leaf buds. I've found watching the weather on television to be more accurate than watching the blooms and leaf buds.

Ted

[Dewayne mater]

Ted:

Don't know how August is going to work this year. So far, we've got a good bit of sun scald going on in spite of 50% shade cloth. The heat had been ridiculous. The plants haven't put on much growth since I planted out in late July. Looks like a race to the finish to have tomatoes that ripen before frost. Typical of the many difficulties of fall tomatoes.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by tedln

Worth, I have a lot of wild plum trees on my property which bloom every spring and put out leaf buds about one week later. It's not unusual for the blooms to drop and the leaf buds are killed back by a late frost. They don't put on a second set of blooms, but they do set more leaf buds. I've found watching the weather on television to be more accurate than watching the blooms and leaf buds.

Ted

They may be wild but they probably aren't native to your area, Texas and Mexican red buds oak and mesquite are a better choice.

I was going to post a warning about using fruit trees for the reason so many have different chill hours for putting out buds.

But to each his own.

Worth

Dewayne,

Black Krim, Black Cherry, Orange Minsk, Arbuznyni, Big Beef, Hillbilly, and a few other varieties have survived from my spring planting. I cut them way back and they have grown significantly to about four feet tall behind shade cloths. They are ready to bloom, but are waiting for cooler weather. The plants from my spring garden usually produce more tomatoes than those planted at the end of summer because they bloom and set fruit quickly. The plants grown specifically for the fall garden can't grow and bloom as fast, but usually produce some tomatoes before first frost.

Ted

[Keiththibodeaux]

I was taking notes in that old French Tomato growing video about the continued cutting back. Was wondering is one could keep a spring tomato functioning throughout the summer and into the fall that way.