Who says heirlooms aren't productive?

tam91 · August 4, 2015

Mine are really starting to get cranking - George Detsikas Italian Red and Brad's Black Heart

BigVanVader · August 4, 2015

Holy tomatoes Batman! Those GDIR's are loaded!

b54red · August 4, 2015

Wow that is a lot of fruit on each plant. That is a rare site down here in the deep south where heat and humidity really slow down fruit set particularly on some of the more sensitive heirlooms. We make up for it by being able to pick fruit from late May into November and even later some years.

Looks like you are going to have to make some sauce when you start picking unless you can really eat a lot of tomatoes per day.

Congrats on super production this year.

Bill

KarenO · August 4, 2015

excellent fruit set ! great work.
KarenO

Fred Hempel · August 4, 2015

Looks great!

tam91 · August 4, 2015

We had a crazy rainy summer up until recently. And plenty humid, but not real hot. I guess they didn't mind.

I've made some sauce some years - I like the oven baked one. But I use up a lot of extras baking Brokenbar's wine soaked sun-dried tomatoes - I love those.

haha and I'd better do something - I have 40 plants full of tomatoes

ddsack · August 4, 2015

Wow, Tracy! What kind of soil prep and fertilizer did you use? That is a fabulous harvest!

barefootgardener · August 4, 2015

Loaded!! Wow.. Great job Tracy
My GDIR fruit are just starting to blush..

Ginny

jhp · August 4, 2015

Wowwee! Impressive! Please do share your growing methods. That is some set of fruit!

Jen

ContainerTed · August 4, 2015

Now, looky there, Tam. You've done gone and told everyone about the big secret. All of them hybrid growers are gonna start feeling bad about their crops.

I just took an inventory and have 4 dozen quarts of thick tomato juice in the cans, two bushels of large beefsteak tomatoes ready to cut up, and four bushels ready to harvest from the garden. My neighbors are not accepting any more free tomatoes just now. And the 4 hybrid plants I bought for early tomatoes have all fizzled out. (And that's the real secret).

joseph · August 4, 2015

As far as I can tell, I won't ever feel bad about choosing to not grow heirlooms.

remy · August 4, 2015

Drives me nuts when people say heirlooms aren't productive! I blame it on Brandywine.

JamesL · August 4, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by remy

Drives me nuts when people say heirlooms aren't productive! I blame it on Brandywine.

Ain't that the truth!

And Congratulations Tracy! You are about to be Fast and Furious.

joseph · August 4, 2015

I suppose that it's a percentage thing... It seems to me that modern commercial hybrid tomatoes average about 40% more tons per acre than highly inbred heirlooms. That doesn't matter much to a home gardener. It matters a lot to commercial farmers. A few heirloom tomato plants can produce more than enough tomatoes for a home gardener.

If an heirloom is growing in conditions pretty similar to where it was originally developed, then happy day. But if an heirloom is grown in conditions that are far removed in time/location from it's original setting, then all bets are off.

If an heirloom is subjected to diseases that are common today, but that were rare when it was developed, then good luck with that. Modern hybrids tend to have resistance to a number of modern diseases.

RJGlew · August 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by joseph

... It seems to me that modern commercial hybrid tomatoes average about 40% more tons per acre than highly inbred heirlooms.

Hi Joseph,

Is this 40% uplift based on your experiences, or a commonly held view of serious producers?

August 4, 2015	#6
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	We had a crazy rainy summer up until recently. And plenty humid, but not real hot. I guess they didn't mind. I've made some sauce some years - I like the oven baked one. But I use up a lot of extras baking Brokenbar's wine soaked sun-dried tomatoes - I love those. haha and I'd better do something - I have 40 plants full of tomatoes __________________ Tracy

August 4, 2015	#7
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,226	Wow, Tracy! What kind of soil prep and fertilizer did you use? That is a fabulous harvest! __________________ Dee **************

August 4, 2015	#10
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	Now, looky there, Tam. You've done gone and told everyone about the big secret. All of them hybrid growers are gonna start feeling bad about their crops. I just took an inventory and have 4 dozen quarts of thick tomato juice in the cans, two bushels of large beefsteak tomatoes ready to cut up, and four bushels ready to harvest from the garden. My neighbors are not accepting any more free tomatoes just now. And the 4 hybrid plants I bought for early tomatoes have all fizzled out. (And that's the real secret). __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch Last edited by ContainerTed; August 4, 2015 at 07:02 PM.

August 4, 2015	#12
remy Buffalo-Niagara Tomato TasteFest™ Coordinator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Z6 WNY Posts: 2,354	Drives me nuts when people say heirlooms aren't productive! I blame it on Brandywine. __________________ "I wake to sleep and take my waking slow" -Theodore Roethke Yes, we have a great party for WNY/Ontario tomato growers every year on Grand Island! Owner of The Sample Seed Shop

August 4, 2015	#2
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Holy tomatoes Batman! Those GDIR's are loaded!

August 4, 2015	#3
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Wow that is a lot of fruit on each plant. That is a rare site down here in the deep south where heat and humidity really slow down fruit set particularly on some of the more sensitive heirlooms. We make up for it by being able to pick fruit from late May into November and even later some years. Looks like you are going to have to make some sauce when you start picking unless you can really eat a lot of tomatoes per day. Congrats on super production this year. Bill

August 4, 2015	#4
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,929	excellent fruit set ! great work. KarenO

August 4, 2015	#5
Fred Hempel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Sunol, CA Posts: 2,723	Looks great!

August 4, 2015	#8
barefootgardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Zone 4b Posts: 1,291	Loaded!! Wow.. Great job Tracy My GDIR fruit are just starting to blush.. Ginny

August 4, 2015	#9
jhp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Danbury, CT Posts: 472	Wowwee! Impressive! Please do share your growing methods. That is some set of fruit! Jen

August 4, 2015	#11
joseph Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Cache Valley, N/E of The Great Salt Lake Posts: 1,244	As far as I can tell, I won't ever feel bad about choosing to not grow heirlooms.