Tomato Flavor In The North

[Raffles]

Originally Posted by beefsteak

I'm not sure what you mean by North, but we have some of the best tasting tomatoes I have ever had, and these are beefsteak varities which are not early. zone 5 nw Pa. My dad always grew marglobe and rutgers, which are not early either and they were very good!

I'm in the lower part of the North East Kingdom, a short drive from Canada. We have a short growing season with not that many hot days and too many days that do not get out of the high 60s.

I think the people that suggested I build a hoop house or the like are correct but, I'm still interested in finding more varieties that will not only ripen but will produce a better flavor in my climate. Your zone 5 would be a tropical dream for any gardener around here.

[I]Vermont has a humid continental climate, with warm, humid summers and cold winters that are colder at higher elevations. It has a Köppen climate classification of Dfb, similar to Minsk, Stockholm, and Fargo.

Vermont is known for its mud season in spring, followed by a generally mild early summer, hot Augusts, a colorful autumn, and its particularly cold winters; the rural northeastern section (dubbed the "Northeast Kingdom") often averages 10 °F (5.56 °C) colder than the southern areas of the state during winter. The annual snowfall averages between 60 inches (152 cm) to 100 inches (254 cm) depending on elevation. The annual mean temperature for the state is 43 °F (6 °C). It is the seventh coolest state in the country.[/I]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont#Climate

[rsg2001]

For "early" season I favor Sungold cherry tomatoes (they beat the TGS "estimate" of ripe fruit 57 days from planting outside, by a week. On regular size tomatoes, 6 weeks after planting my two Eva Purple Balls have 30 tomatoes on the way (8 are starting to 'lighten' indicating ripening is coming soon). Oddly, Cherokee Green is quite advanced, also with 25-30 tomatoes en route but still a long way to go. (I'm also growing Cherokee Chocolate and Cherokee Purple, and each of those have 5 en route.

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by Raffles

There was an older guy a few miles away in Hardwick who could grow any variety he wanted. As long as he started them so early they had set fruit by the time he set them out. Even planting deep he still had big plants.

i don't know what you define as "started them early" but i start my seeds 4/5 to 4/10, grow them under shop lights, by the 1st week in may they go into 2 quart pots and go into the garden on memorial day very root bound but typically with flowers. so you don't have to start them in february to have flowers at transplant time. you do need to grow healthy plants. mine are typically 15-17" tall with stems at the base about 3/8" in diameter. i don't over fertilize to get these results, shop lights really grow good plants and getting them outside to harden off in the sun finishes them nicely.

tom

[Raffles]

Originally Posted by tjg911

i don't know what you define as "started them early" but i start my seeds 4/5 to 4/10, grow them under shop lights, by the 1st week in may they go into 2 quart pots and go into the garden on memorial day very root bound but typically with flowers. so you don't have to start them in february to have flowers at transplant time. you do need to grow healthy plants. mine are typically 15-17" tall with stems at the base about 3/8" in diameter. i don't over fertilize to get these results, shop lights really grow good plants and getting them outside to harden off in the sun finishes them nicely.

tom

This was many years ago but I want to say he was starting them in mid Feb. Transplanted deep the plants were already over a foot tall and starting to flower. The ony other thing I remember about it was his wife looking at him like he was insane. I suspect most of their small home was full of tomato plants for months.

[cleo88]

Interesting, what tom says - I have heard that if you put a tomato plant in the ground that has flowers on it, that the shock will make the flowers drop off, and that you should actually remove flowers before replanting.

Tom, are you saying that you put plants in the ground with flowers and those flowers ultimately generate fruit?

[ddsack]

I never remove flowers on my tomato starts before putting them in the ground, and I start them the last week of March, normally set out the last week of May or first week of June. They are good sized, and usually I have to pot them up an extra time, because I want them to remain in active growth and not let the root ball get too cramped. My theory is that the plant finds it faster to send out new roots from a loose shorter root system, then to spend time unfolding dense root coils and growing new roots along the stem, which it does just fine given time. My soil is cool in the spring, so I try to help the plants along if I can, and I like to put large, stocky plants in the ground. Sometimes the blossoms drop off by themselves after planting - no big deal - but often they go on to produce early tomatoes. With as short a production season as I have, even a couple of weeks makes a big difference to me.
These tomatoes were ready to eat on Monday of this week.



Actually, the Lauerers were from a plant cutting taken last fall that I overwintered in the house, potting up progressively, so they are kind of a cheat, since they are not this spring's seedlings. I don't limit myself to earlies, in fact most of my tomatoes are mid to late season. Some crummy cloudy summers they may not all get ripe, but it's worth a chance. Last year I sure could have used high tunnels. This year we have plenty of heat.

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by cleo88

Interesting, what tom says - I have heard that if you put a tomato plant in the ground that has flowers on it, that the shock will make the flowers drop off, and that you should actually remove flowers before replanting.

Tom, are you saying that you put plants in the ground with flowers and those flowers ultimately generate fruit?

yes, i never saw them drop the flowers until fertilized. but transplanting tomato plants on memorial day with flowers, never harmed anything. i used to pick off flowers but then i realized i wanted tomatoes asap not more tomatoes in late aug or early sept when i was getting a lot anyway.