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Old September 2, 2011   #106
kath
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Husker nana,

Missed this post somehow- some crazy events here in the past 36 hrs.

Glad to hear your tomatoes have come through for you and that you are canning- very time consuming, huh?

How do I do it? Not nearly as well as I would like but with the help of DH both in the garden and delivering loads of tomatoes to neighbors, etc. so that I'm not dealing with them all! Keeping the plants to single vines and picking off the "ugly" fruits in August helped limit the total number of fruits. Many are cracking badly and rotting lately, so the season is winding down pretty quickly here.

The experience this year and last with large numbers of plants has shown me I definitely don't want to do it again, as I've found enough winners in the two seasons to do regrowing and comparisons next year as well as growing just a few select new additions. It's not good for me to get completely overwhelmed and not be able to keep up with bugs, disease and necessary spraying and to witness the demise of other crops. The goal next year will be to simplify and keep it manageable.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the posts.

Kath

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Originally Posted by husker nana View Post
Kath, happy to see that you made it through Irene with no damage and your still getting more veggies. I'm also happy to report that were getting plenty of tomatoes and have been busy canning. First year canner! It's takes us most of the day! With all of the plants you planted and tomatoes that you have I have to wonder how you do it. Maybe experience? Again, thank you as you have added so much pleasure to our gardening and now canning experience.
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Old September 2, 2011   #107
kath
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Thank you Kath, mind boggling XX Jeannine
You're most welcome, Jeannine- sent a PM your way.

Kath
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Old September 3, 2011   #108
endresult0710
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Thanks Kath for taking the time to show us all these varieties. I too have mixed feelings about the season winding down.
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Old September 3, 2011   #109
kath
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Originally Posted by endresult0710 View Post
Thanks Kath for taking the time to show us all these varieties. I too have mixed feelings about the season winding down.
I enjoyed posting them. I really think I'm ready for fall. We're supposed to get a lot more rain from the tropical storm so the cracking and rotting will continue, but I still have plenty of tomatoes for our use, just not enough to give away very much.

Yesterday I noticed that spotted cucumber beetles have been eating holes in quite a number of fruits and they are down inside of them- I've never noticed this before and had no idea they were a tomato pest.
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Old September 5, 2011   #110
Randall
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wow, kathy! soooo many tomatoes there and they all look amazing. thanks a lot for posting all of the great pics.
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Old September 5, 2011   #111
kath
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Thank you, Randall- actually they weren't all amazing but enough of them were good enough overall to get another chance next year. I don't think this was an easy year for growing tomatoes because there were a lot of disease, heat, excessive rainfall and bug problems but the sheer number of plants I had gave me plenty of fruit and I managed to be able to try fruits from all but a couple of varieties. That makes it a good season for me.
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Old September 8, 2011   #112
raindrops27
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Incredible, that I just found this post! I just read through it twice, and loved every minute. All of your tomatoes looked absolutely beautiful! It really is simply mind boggling, wow, I mean double WOW!

I will go on a hunt for the fertilizer you are using definitely, but for the important question.

Out of all those beautiful tomatoes you grew, which ones would you grow again?

So far, what I can surmise from your post I have, that you liked.

Brave General
Hays
Matt's Wild Cherry
Dooblon-Not/Chocolate Beefsteak
Carmen F1

Are there any more?

Thank you Kath!
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Old September 8, 2011   #113
kath
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Thanks, raindrops- glad you enjoyed it. Not sure if the specific fertilizer is important, though, and I didn't grow Matt's Wild Cherry this year.

Next year, I'll be trialing some of the ones from this year again against old favorites and a few new ones. The ones that made the cut from this year because of their taste are:

Brave General
Chocolate Beefsteak
Fish Lake Oxheart
Giannini
Hays
Hawaiian Pineapple
Oleyar's German
Terhune
Work Release Paste

So far, these are still possible regrows:

Amazon Chocolate PL
Bull's Heart Pink
Flathead Monster
Flathead Monster Pink
Brandywine, Heart-Shaped
Granny's Heart
Prue
Tennessee Sweet
Tennessee Britches
West Virginia Sweet Meat

Some that I'll try again because of problems this year with plants or off-types include:

Amana Pink
Aunt Astrida's Latvian Heart
Black Mountain Pink
Captain Lucky
Indiana Red
Italian Sweet
Maria Amaziletei's Giant Red
Shirley S
Top Sirloin

Past faves that may be back include:

JD's Special C-Tex
Kosovo
Sandul Moldovan
Sungold F1
Watermelon Beefsteak

So far, these new ones may happen next year:

First Mate
Grant County Pink
Hunt Family Favorite
Orange Banana


It's way too early for me to have a final list- now I'm seeing which ones can be picked almost green and still ripen well without rotting on the counter.

Last edited by kath; September 18, 2011 at 01:06 AM.
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Old September 9, 2011   #114
raindrops27
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Oh goodie Kath~

Thanks for the list.. Will have another look of the ones you listed, when I get back in tomorrow evening.

Melissa
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Old September 12, 2011   #115
casino
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Kath you are amazing. All those tomatoes to evaluate and the best are those group pictures, what a brilliant idea. I took a lot of pictures this year but all individual tomatoes. Next year I will follow your footsteps and make a few group photos. I also use the same fertilizer you use with great success. Fertrell Organic Granular Super Lawn & Garden fertilizer. One year I tried the super "N" formula and that was toooo strong for tomatoes and switched back to the "regular" super.

Kath: When you are out in the field taste testing, and you grab a tomato to taste does your gut say, this is good (or) not so good and that's that, its your final decission and maybee only a handfull that need to be re-evaluated?
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Old September 13, 2011   #116
kath
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Quote:
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Kath: When you are out in the field taste testing, and you grab a tomato to taste does your gut say, this is good (or) not so good and that's that, its your final decission and maybee only a handfull that need to be re-evaluated?
Hey, Joe- it's good to have you back!

I only taste test in the kitchen where I will also jot down least a brief note after each tomato. Not usually just one taste, though. I'd say I average 3 tries/variety before I give up. I'll vary how ripe I allow the fruit to get, try it at different points in the season, etc. if possible.

By the way, I'm glad I planted your "Chocolate Beefsteak" (whatever it may be) because it was really, really good.

I'm looking forward to your pictures and reviews.
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Old March 5, 2012   #117
roper2008
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I just found this post. Wow Kath, your on your way to growing every tomato out there!
I'm just growing this year Sandul Moldovan that I received from your seed offer 2010. I
think I'm going to like it. I noticed you have grown Val's Red Nibbler, how was it?
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Old March 6, 2012   #118
kath
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roper2008 View Post
I just found this post. Wow Kath, your on your way to growing every tomato out there!
I'm just growing this year Sandul Moldovan that I received from your seed offer 2010. I
think I'm going to like it. I noticed you have grown Val's Red Nibbler, how was it?
Well, I'm just trying to find my favorites asap! One of the downsides of growing so many plants is that my note-taking is sometimes neglected. I don't have a single note about this one- as a cherry, it means that it wasn't as good for me as Sungold or Matt's Wild Cherry but I can't remember why not. It didn't leave any lasting impressions one way or the other. Hope we both like Sandul Moldovan as much as I did in the 2010 season.
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Old March 8, 2012   #119
roper2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kath View Post
Well, I'm just trying to find my favorites asap! One of the downsides of growing so many plants is that my note-taking is sometimes neglected. I don't have a single note about this one- as a cherry, it means that it wasn't as good for me as Sungold or Matt's Wild Cherry but I can't remember why not. It didn't leave any lasting impressions one way or the other. Hope we both like Sandul Moldovan as much as I did in the 2010 season.
Thank you. I let you know if I like it. I'm hoping brandysweet plum is good.
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