Tomatoes in Texas

Originally Posted by KLorentz

Has anyone tried the Iraqi maters down here? I think Al-Kuffa would do well here.


Kevin

A number of people have grown Al-Kuffa successfully. I think mdvcp was the first I remember growing it and he had good results. I had some difficulty getting germination but I do want to try it again. It seems to be an interesting, productive tomato. From the little I've read about it, it seems to be a smaller variant of Stupice.

Ted

[KLorentz]

Originally Posted by mdvpc

Kevin

I have-I grew Al-Kkuffa and it did well for me in a 5 gallon container-both in the winter greenhouse and outside during the summer.

Cool.I had a hunch about it.One thing I like about it is being a dwarf plant it is a great space saver and production is pretty good.

[Vespertino]

Originally Posted by tedln

Vespetino.

Like Bill, I also get some pretty large beefsteak tomatoes in the fall by planting them in July. Many of my spring plants survive the heat of summer and also produce some nice tomatoes in the fall. They don't match the spring planted fruit in size, but they are large. The fall tomatoes do have a different taste due to the changing weather as we approach winter, but I wouldn't describe the taste as better or worse for most people; just different. It seems to me, the slightly smaller tomatoes have a more concentrated flavor. A sweet spring tomato seems sweeter in the fall. An acidic tomato seems a little more acidic in the fall. That could easily be the way my taste buds interpret the flavors and not the same in other peoples gardens.

The KBX tomato is a variant of the Kellogg's Breakfast tomato with potato leaf foliage instead of regular leaf. I can't tell you the KBX tastes better than KB, but the foliage seems to provide a healthier plant resulting in more and larger tomatoes in my garden.

Good luck!

Ted

When you mention planting the beefsteaks in July for the fall, would that date be for getting the seedlings started or have a plant ready to go into the ground by the date?

Thanks for the info on KBX, I'm very interested in that tomato plant for the fall since it sounds like the fruit would really please the hubs. If I'm going to be replacing the 2 red brandywines I'm thinking of picking one beefsteak (maybe KBX) and one smaller fruiting variety in case the beefsteak type doesn't work out well- perhaps the Black and Brown Boar. I'm guessing my other two sungolds will be producing (with luck) from spring and into the fall so I probably won't need to swap them out with anything. KBX, Better Boy, JD's special C Tex and BBB all sound really good.

As for the brandywine, I read somewhere that the red brandywine with the potato leaves (the ones I'm growing, they are starting to fruit already) aren't true brandywines. Has anyone grown these? I'm wondering if it's the kind of plant that will bounce back into production for the fall, or if it's done after July. If it's a plant that will bounce back well for a second season, there's no need for me to replant. But I don't know enough about the tomato at this point.

My patio is too small, I need to figure out how to make room for more tomatoes and still have room for my herbs

[KLorentz]

Originally Posted by tedln

A number of people have grown Al-Kuffa successfully. I think mdvcp was the first I remember growing it and he had good results. I had some difficulty getting germination but I do want to try it again. It seems to be an interesting, productive tomato. From the little I've read about it, it seems to be a smaller variant of Stupice.

Ted

Yes do try it again.When I grew it in Michigan I was really surprised at the production.And the flavor was really good too.Had about a dozen plants and they produced in to October.Very hardy plant.Can't wait to see how it handles Texas weather.Also I have about two other Iraqi tomatoes to try out here.Will be interesting to see how they do.

Kevin

[tlintx]

Go vertical!

I'm building a ladder box I saw on Pinterest for greens, but I bet it'd be easy to make deeper/convert to SIP for tomatoes. Or just use for herbs. Something like this:

http://pinshealth.info/2013/03/25/ce...-wooden-fence/
http://walkingmisseva.blogspot.com/2...-finished.html

Great thread, everybody! Thanks! The summer and fall advice is invaluable.

TL

[KLorentz]

Originally Posted by Vespertino

When you mention planting the beefsteaks in July for the fall, would that date be for getting the seedlings started or have a plant ready to go into the ground by the date?

Thanks for the info on KBX, I'm very interested in that tomato plant for the fall since it sounds like the fruit would really please the hubs. If I'm going to be replacing the 2 red brandywines I'm thinking of picking one beefsteak (maybe KBX) and one smaller fruiting variety in case the beefsteak type doesn't work out well- perhaps the Black and Brown Boar. I'm guessing my other two sungolds will be producing (with luck) from spring and into the fall so I probably won't need to swap them out with anything. KBX, Better Boy, JD's special C Tex and BBB all sound really good.

As for the brandywine, I read somewhere that the red brandywine with the potato leaves (the ones I'm growing, they are starting to fruit already) aren't true brandywines. Has anyone grown these? I'm wondering if it's the kind of plant that will bounce back into production for the fall, or if it's done after July. If it's a plant that will bounce back well for a second season, there's no need for me to replant. But I don't know enough about the tomato at this point.

My patio is too small, I need to figure out how to make room for more tomatoes and still have room for my herbs

If your limited on space but want more tomatoes give Al-Kuffa a try.It only gets about 3ft produces well and the flavor is great.Fruits about the size of Campari or a little bigger.

Kevin

[hornstrider]

I suggested earlier in the thread that I have had success w/ Indian Stripe, Cherokee Purple, Amish Paste, and Big Beef here in Central Texas. I planted much earlier this year than I ever have before. I planted six plants on Feb 8th, and the rest a week or so later. I have been planting early every year for the last seven years, and I have never lost a plant to the cold until this year. I picked a bad year to plant so early. I finally paid the price when I lost 7 plants to frost damage due to the fact I did not have enough blankets to cover all of my plants. The good news is I was able to save the other 25 plants I had in the ground. I replanted the 7 plants I lost. I am afraid I gave away all of my extra plants to friends, and family members so I had to purchase 7 plants from a local nursery. I purchased three grafted Cherokee Purples, 2 Kosovo's, and two Jean Flammme's.

All of my plants are doing well, and hope to pick my first Indian Stripe, and Kosovo in a couple of weeks. I must say so far that the grafted Cherokee Purple's are not impressive at all. The plants are healthy, and have fruit on them, but are midgets compared to the home grown CP's planted earlier. It is early in the season, and the grafted plants were planted later than my home grown CP's. I will give a report at the end of the season.

For the fall crop I have had good success with Juliet, Indian Stripe, and an Amish Paste plant I kept alive through the summer, and into the fall. I start the seed early to mid June, and plant out mid July. I have grown Juliet in the spring, but was not at all impressed, but in the fall they are very good in a salad if you let them turn really red before picking. In the fall they do not have disease problems, and do not split, and are very, very prolific producers of fruit.

http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...psfade1fcf.jpg

http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...psadee0826.jpg

"When you mention planting the beefsteaks in July for the fall, would that date be for getting the seedlings started or have a plant ready to go into the ground by the date? "

Yes, I mean setting the plant out in July. Some years, the July and August heat is so intense it simply kills newly planted plants. Some years they survive and start growing, blooming, and producing as fall approaches. It seems some varieties are more accepting of the heat than other varieties.

"True" Brandywine is a misnomer. There are so many Brandywine varieties available today, it is difficult to say which is true. My personal belief is pink Brandywine, probably represented by the Sudduth strain; is the closest tomato to "true". There have been many, many, articles written on the history of Brandywine tomatoes. My belief is that anything with the name Brandywine attached to it is in some way true. I've read the Red Brandywine is a very good tomato. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to try it. With many varieties, you will never know what you have if you don't grow it.

Ted

[texasjack]

Thought I'd check in with a report from Houston. I grow in containers on the 17th floor balcony of a high-rise in Downtown. 3-4 years of experience and I think I may have finally gotten it right. This year I got my plants in 3/10 and was spared the cold snap that DFW and others experienced. Growing Black Krim (very successful last year) Marglobe, Lemon Boy, Sun Gold and San Marzano. The SM is actually one of last years plants that was cut back in December and came through the "winter" and has taken off like crazy. I had fruit on the Black Krim and San Marzano into early Jan.

As of today I have blossoms on all plants, robust growth- 30+ inches on the Lemon Boy and Marglobe, 18" on the Sun Gold and Krim and a literal bush on the "perennial" San Marzano.

Time will tell once the heat and high humidity set in, but I'm off to a good start. I changed my grow media formula this year and I think it's made a big difference

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by pilgrimfive

I'm in Killeen and the last two years have been brutal on the plants. I had eight plants of various varieties (from WalMart) and non of them did well. REALLY hot and the Earthboxes probably need the soil changed. I think I used a 50/50 mix of garden dirt and compost that may have had some residual chemicals. The plants showed signs of something that I could not recognize the cause for.

Wow not quite sure how this got missed but, growing in containers such as Earthboxes, garden soil is not appropriate and is entirely too heavy. I would replace the soil with Potting Mix.

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by texasjack

This year I got my plants in 3/10 and was spared the cold snap that DFW and others experienced.

As of today I have blossoms on all plants, robust growth- 30+ inches on the Lemon Boy and Marglobe, 18" on the Sun Gold and Krim and a literal bush on the "perennial" San Marzano.

Just curious how many fruit have you got set?

[texasjack]

Originally Posted by feldon30

Just curious how many fruit have you got set?

After your question I took a closer look. We have had several chilly nights and I didn't expect mucn, but the results are VG. The Sun Gold has the usual clusters of green buds and some open flowers. Maybe 8-12 buds per cluster, 4-6 clusters per plant. Right now there are about 12 very small green fruit per plant.

the Krim has 10-12 buds and flowers with only 1 small fruit.

The Marglobe and Lemon Boy have 8-10 buds and flowers with only 1 fruit each.

The San Marzano is going crazy. Too many buds and blossoms to count and at least 15 small fruit.

Thanks for the website for SE Texas. Wish I had found it years back.

Regards Jack

[whistech]

Originally Posted by texasjack

Thought I'd check in with a report from Houston. I grow in containers on the 17th floor balcony of a high-rise in Downtown. 3-4 years of experience and I think I may have finally gotten it right. This year I got my plants in 3/10 and was spared the cold snap that DFW and others experienced. Growing Black Krim (very successful last year) Marglobe, Lemon Boy, Sun Gold and San Marzano. The SM is actually one of last years plants that was cut back in December and came through the "winter" and has taken off like crazy. I had fruit on the Black Krim and San Marzano into early Jan.

As of today I have blossoms on all plants, robust growth- 30+ inches on the Lemon Boy and Marglobe, 18" on the Sun Gold and Krim and a literal bush on the "perennial" San Marzano.

Time will tell once the heat and high humidity set in, but I'm off to a good start. I changed my grow media formula this year and I think it's made a big difference

Texasjack, would you share your grow medium receipe?

[texasjack]

Originally Posted by whistech

Texasjack, would you share your grow medium receipe?

Happy To.....

This is new for this year, but so far the results are promising.
3 parts Pine bark fines , not chunks. Cornelius has a good one.
1 part Pearlite
1 part "Moo Nure" pasteurized cow manure. Great stuff $3.00/25lbs at Home
Depot. Corporate slogan " Were No 1 in the No 2 Business".
1 part Shogan Moss Presoaked in very dilute solution of liquid 3-1-2 fert
A/R Agricultural lime. To adjust ph of the acidic pine bark.
Small amount Ozmocote for Vegetables

Moisten each batch with dilute-1 tsbl / 2 gal water of 3-1-2 fert. I use the liquid refills Miracle Grow sells for their garden hose spray system. Cheap.

I use plastic bottom watering 15" pots. 1 plant /pot. This mix is very light and will look dry on the surface, but retains water very well further down. The bottom watering pots avoid over watering. White plastic mulch over the top.

Each pot takes about 2 cu ft of loose mix. I sprinkle extra lime and 1/2 cup fert about 4" down from the top and then fill with mix.

Hope this works for you.

Regards Jack

[tlintx]

Interesting, so the moo-nure doesn't interfere with the wicking action? I hadn't thought to look at Cornelius Nurseries for the fines - the one closest to me was actually on fire the day we stopped by. My family joked that the plants heard I was coming and self immolated rather than endure my gardening skills.

Were they actually labeled fines? Or mulch?

Also, any thoughts on how soon the San Marzanos will go from green fruit to ripe? I have a bunch of fruit on my Viva Italias and I'm really excited.

Tl