2011 tomatoes started - Page 2

b54red · April 22, 2011

Went out about 12:30 and took some new pics of the same two beds of tomatoes and onions. It has been 11 days since those last pics were taken. So far I have only had to pull out one plant with TSWV and the fusarium wilt hasn't hit yet; but it should start showing up in the next week or two. I've had to tie all of the tomatoes up at least once except for a couple of determinates. Most of them are up to the lower bar of the trellis which is about waist high. The second bar is 5 ft and the top one is 7 ft.

The first tomato to set was Kosovo in the third picture. The second was Mazarini which has already set 3 and they are in the fourth picture. Spudakee has also set one tiny one.

The onions are really filling out and I have already started eating them. They really do seem to like being cuddled by the tomatoes.

Timbotide · April 22, 2011

Bill, What variety are the onions you
Planted with the tomatoes?

Tim

chancethegardener · April 22, 2011

That's a beautiful garden by the way, great job!
Are those green plants on the right side in the first picture broccoli? Isn't it too hot for them?
When did you plant your onions?

b54red · April 22, 2011

Tim, the large white onions are Bermuda's. They have done very well for me for the last couple of years and they keep so much better than the Vidalia types. The second bed has a mix of about half a dozen different varieties and colors that I order from Gormet Seed. Some of them only make small onions but have really great flavor and keep really good.

Chance, the plants to the right are broccoli and further down the bed are a few cabbages. I only have a couple of broccoli left that haven't made their main head and plenty have already been pulled up because their side shoot production is over. This has been a spectacular spring for broccoli and cauliflower. I have several bags in the refrigerator and have given a lot away. Cabbages haven't done as good for me nor did I get much in the way of Brussels sprouts this year. I am now prepared to go on my tomato, cucumber, onion , pepper and squash diet. The only thing holding me up is tomatoes and peppers.

sprtsguy76 · April 22, 2011

Nice minature dachshund, I grew up with two dachshunds. Nice garden pictures too. How did those BTDH seeds sprout for you Bill?

Damon

b54red · April 23, 2011

Damon I just planted them and it is too early to tell. When I received the seed from you it was fairly late in the season and so I'm going to try to plant them out in late May or early June. Last year one of the few tomatoes to do good for me that late was BTD Pink so I thought I would give BTDH a try. I started all of the seed you sent me since that is a very hard time for me to keep a new planting alive. If they all come up I may still kill them all with my late planting date. I didn't follow Carolyn's advice and started all of the seed you sent me. How did the seed I sent you germinate?

sprtsguy76 · April 23, 2011

Bill- all the of the goodies you sent me are on next years grow out list. It was really late here too for me and I'm totally full especiallly with being involved in the Dwarf Project.

Damon

b54red · April 24, 2011

I'm full too but that will change very shortly. I used to dream of a season of disease free tomato plants; but reality finally set in after about 20 frustrating years. I now accept the fact that my beautiful plants will start dying rather rapidly in the weeks to come. I will fight the diseases but it is usually quite futile especially with fusarium and TSWV. I went out this afternoon and had to remove 2 five gallon buckets of diseased leaves from the lower parts of the tomatoes in the photos and this is after diligent spraying with Daconil weekly. Getting those lower leaves off tends to slow the development of the fungal and bacterial diseases but it will not slow down fusarium once it gets in the plant. Knock on wood, so far no sign of fusarium but when it kicks in I should have plenty of open spots in which to try BTDH. Of course the seed will have to sprout first so I have some seedlings to set out.

chancethegardener · April 24, 2011

b54red, I have two questions:
-Other than picking the lower leaves, did you ever try seaweed extract to help the tomatoes fight diseases before and after they come? If so, how does it work?
-While growing onions, did you cut the tips to leave a few inches down on the stem so that the bulbs can grow easier and be bigger?

Mark0820 · April 24, 2011

That is a nice looking garden.

vagardener434 · April 24, 2011

Thats a nice setup with the conduit. Looks like it would go up pretty quick. Do you vary the height based on the variety of tomatoes, or are they all the same height? Nice looking onions too !

Bobby

b54red · April 25, 2011

Chance, I don't cut the tips on the onions but do break off any seed stalks when they first appear. I have tried almost everything for foliage diseases and have only found two things that help; one is Daconil and the other is the nuclear option of a dilute bleach spray which is very effective once the diseases start taking a toll on the plant. I live in an area where a lot of commercial tomato growers operate and so we have an abundance of diseases to deal with. Every time I get more than a week behind in my spraying the plants pay a heavy price.

Vagardener, the conduit goes up pretty fast especially since I quit trying to drive the stakes deep. I use stakes a little shorter than 8' and just push them 6 or so inches into the ground while I connect them. The diagonal braces are driven in fairly deep and connected to the trellis with 3 or 4 ties so they are stable. I add braces wherever the trellis doesn't feel very secure. I like the 7 ft height because it works for my own height so I can easily reach it to tie up and it gives the plant a tall structure. If I were shorter I would have made the trellis a little shorter. I made the mistake of making one 8 ft tall the first year I used this system and it was a mess trying to find something to stand on all the time in order to tie the plants up and to pick fruit that high.

b54red · May 8, 2011

Here are a couple of shots of the same two beds two weeks later. Some of the plants are now above the second horizontal piece of conduit and will probably reach the 7 ft top within a short time. I have kept most of the plants to two stems; but have allowed a few to have 3 or 4. The plants look good from this view but what it doesn't show is that probably over 25% of these plants are showing the first signs of fusarium wilt. Most of the ones showing fusarium signs have already set some good fruit and will probably be fairly productive; but a couple are not going to make it to ripe fruit. I will try to post some pics tomorrow in the disease section of some of the plants with fusarium in its' different stages.

brismith70 · May 9, 2011

B54Red:

Is that the cypress mulch in your beds that you were referring to in my "jungle" thread? Does it get matted down? My main concern is that it doesn't blow all over the neighborhood and my home-owner's association doesn't try to charge me for cleanup. Well...that and that it helps the soil retain moisture.

Thanks,

Brian

P.S. Your plants are looking good.

b54red · May 10, 2011

Brian I have had no problems with it blowing around and we have had some really strong winds this year with a couple of days having steady winds over 30 mph. So far I have seen no sign of the cypress mulch matting or packing down and it is really keeping the beds moist. I have cut my usual watering by at least half.

May 9, 2011	#29
brismith70 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 71	B54Red: Is that the cypress mulch in your beds that you were referring to in my "jungle" thread? Does it get matted down? My main concern is that it doesn't blow all over the neighborhood and my home-owner's association doesn't try to charge me for cleanup. Well...that and that it helps the soil retain moisture. Thanks, Brian P.S. Your plants are looking good. Last edited by brismith70; May 9, 2011 at 02:04 AM. Reason: Added P.S.

April 22, 2011	#17
Timbotide Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Northport Alabama Posts: 304	Bill, What variety are the onions you Planted with the tomatoes? Tim

April 22, 2011	#18
chancethegardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: WV Posts: 604	That's a beautiful garden by the way, great job! Are those green plants on the right side in the first picture broccoli? Isn't it too hot for them? When did you plant your onions?

April 22, 2011	#19
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Tim, the large white onions are Bermuda's. They have done very well for me for the last couple of years and they keep so much better than the Vidalia types. The second bed has a mix of about half a dozen different varieties and colors that I order from Gormet Seed. Some of them only make small onions but have really great flavor and keep really good. Chance, the plants to the right are broccoli and further down the bed are a few cabbages. I only have a couple of broccoli left that haven't made their main head and plenty have already been pulled up because their side shoot production is over. This has been a spectacular spring for broccoli and cauliflower. I have several bags in the refrigerator and have given a lot away. Cabbages haven't done as good for me nor did I get much in the way of Brussels sprouts this year. I am now prepared to go on my tomato, cucumber, onion , pepper and squash diet. The only thing holding me up is tomatoes and peppers.

April 22, 2011	#20
sprtsguy76 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Santa Clara CA Posts: 1,125	Nice minature dachshund, I grew up with two dachshunds. Nice garden pictures too. How did those BTDH seeds sprout for you Bill? Damon

April 23, 2011	#21
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Damon I just planted them and it is too early to tell. When I received the seed from you it was fairly late in the season and so I'm going to try to plant them out in late May or early June. Last year one of the few tomatoes to do good for me that late was BTD Pink so I thought I would give BTDH a try. I started all of the seed you sent me since that is a very hard time for me to keep a new planting alive. If they all come up I may still kill them all with my late planting date. I didn't follow Carolyn's advice and started all of the seed you sent me. How did the seed I sent you germinate?

April 24, 2011	#23
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I'm full too but that will change very shortly. I used to dream of a season of disease free tomato plants; but reality finally set in after about 20 frustrating years. I now accept the fact that my beautiful plants will start dying rather rapidly in the weeks to come. I will fight the diseases but it is usually quite futile especially with fusarium and TSWV. I went out this afternoon and had to remove 2 five gallon buckets of diseased leaves from the lower parts of the tomatoes in the photos and this is after diligent spraying with Daconil weekly. Getting those lower leaves off tends to slow the development of the fungal and bacterial diseases but it will not slow down fusarium once it gets in the plant. Knock on wood, so far no sign of fusarium but when it kicks in I should have plenty of open spots in which to try BTDH. Of course the seed will have to sprout first so I have some seedlings to set out.

April 24, 2011	#25
Mark0820 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 907	That is a nice looking garden.

April 24, 2011	#26
vagardener434 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Freeman, Virginia Posts: 90	Thats a nice setup with the conduit. Looks like it would go up pretty quick. Do you vary the height based on the variety of tomatoes, or are they all the same height? Nice looking onions too ! Bobby

April 25, 2011	#27
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Chance, I don't cut the tips on the onions but do break off any seed stalks when they first appear. I have tried almost everything for foliage diseases and have only found two things that help; one is Daconil and the other is the nuclear option of a dilute bleach spray which is very effective once the diseases start taking a toll on the plant. I live in an area where a lot of commercial tomato growers operate and so we have an abundance of diseases to deal with. Every time I get more than a week behind in my spraying the plants pay a heavy price. Vagardener, the conduit goes up pretty fast especially since I quit trying to drive the stakes deep. I use stakes a little shorter than 8' and just push them 6 or so inches into the ground while I connect them. The diagonal braces are driven in fairly deep and connected to the trellis with 3 or 4 ties so they are stable. I add braces wherever the trellis doesn't feel very secure. I like the 7 ft height because it works for my own height so I can easily reach it to tie up and it gives the plant a tall structure. If I were shorter I would have made the trellis a little shorter. I made the mistake of making one 8 ft tall the first year I used this system and it was a mess trying to find something to stand on all the time in order to tie the plants up and to pick fruit that high.

May 10, 2011	#30
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Brian I have had no problems with it blowing around and we have had some really strong winds this year with a couple of days having steady winds over 30 mph. So far I have seen no sign of the cypress mulch matting or packing down and it is really keeping the beds moist. I have cut my usual watering by at least half.