Fellow Floridians and other Hot/Humid climates - season '19-20

[slugworth]

A good tasting 8oz tomato,I had to stake the plants.
I will grow it next year.

[kilroyscarnival]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Seeds were started Sept 1, with a few earlier because I was anxious.

I had a ?? tomato plant too. I have no idea what it is and even if it is a large or a cherry tomato. It has tomatoes on it and the calyx looks like it would support a larger tomato.

Your plants look so robust compared to mine, but I have to remind myself, it's my first time growing determinates, dwarfs, and compacts, so of course they'll all be smaller. Also the Whippersnapper were getting very tall compared to all the others, even though it's listed as determinate and a basket variety. The other one I put in baskets (though yet to be hung, I'm having issues with where to put them to make the most of the sun) is Ramblin' Stripe, a giftie packet of seeds from Bunny Hop. I researched it online and saw it described as a basket variety, but unfortunately that may not be correct, that seems to be for "Red Rambling Stripe" with the letter G intact on the Rambling. It may or may not be the same, but so far it's growing upright and seemed to require a little support so I placed some small sticks to stake. I may need to ask Ellie, as I don't see it listed on her site; perhaps she ran out and it's not a variety she cares to stock any more. As it wasn't one of my purchases, I didn't keep careful notes on it, and decided to just try a few. I may have to transfar it to a different container, or just let it tumble and see. Maybe try both separately and see what happens.

[Barb_FL]

Here's some pics I took yesterday, 10/18

2nd/3rd pictures are of the same plant - Cherokee-Carbon (one of the marriage tomatoes). I counted 15 tomatoes on the plant which is amazing since we NEVER have hit the 72 or lower temps for fruit set. Thank you Orchid Bees. They have been busy.

The 4th picture is an experiment I'm doing with the Coco Coir Slabs. I have 3 others, two in Earthboxes where I removed some of the coir so it would fit in the smaller length Earthbox. I did this so my cages would fit easily but then realized after awhile that it is a waste of an Earthbox.

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The caterpillar activity is more than I have ever seen it. I flip over a leaf and this will be a minute worm with a horn. A very baby hornworm. I never spray for caterpillars but was tempted to last night except I knew it was going to rain. Is everyone seeing the moths/caterpillars?

Lots of rain today.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by slugworth

A good tasting 8oz tomato,I had to stake the plants.
I will grow it next year.

Thanks for the endorsement. I googled it to see to find seeds. Also saw Florida '91 and a cut piece looked really good. Tomatogrowers has both kinds and other determinant tomatoes.

[slugworth]

I also had heatmaster hybrid but none made it to my mouth,so I can't say yay or nay.
Creatures great and small got to them first.

[SpookyShoe]

I put out only three plants and they are in grow bags. I put them out in late August, and due to the high heat none of the blossoms set fruit. Now that it has cooled down a bit, there are many more blooms and I expect baby fruit to set soon. I should have plenty of time to harvest the fruit before the first frost, if there is any frost at all.

This is Juliet.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by SpookyShoe

I put out only three plants and they are in grow bags. I put them out in late August, and due to the high heat none of the blossoms set fruit. Now that it has cooled down a bit, there are many more blooms and I expect baby fruit to set soon. I should have plenty of time to harvest the fruit before the first frost, if there is any frost at all.

This is Juliette.

That is excellent. Hopefully, no frost for you.

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Slug - I also tried Heatmaster this spring; one of my friends loved it, but it wasn't all that productive. Grandeur (not a determinate) was started the same time and outlasted Heatmaster in the summer.

Defiant (by Johnny's) is setting a lot of fruit now. Plants are definitely taller than Mountain Fresh Plus; has already grown out of the square cage and only about 6-7 weeks since sowed.

The 2 Johnny's plants I grew last season were very impressive so I'm hoping this is too.

[SpookyShoe]

I misspelled "Juliet," but I fixed it. : )

[slugworth]

Phoenix cluster picked 1 week ago at 1st blush and taken indoors to ripen.
1lb 2 3/8 oz total

[SpookyShoe]

Those are some really round tomatoes.

[tryno12]

Barb, if I save seeds from my Defiant will it grow out correctly? I am thinking the plant I grew this year was from saved seed 2018 Defiant phr and it grew well as far as decease and produced a lot of perfectly round red 4 oz. fruit - I was pleased. Maybe just lucky it grew out ok or can I expect this years seeds to do so as well?
Pete

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by tryno12

Barb, if I save seeds from my Defiant will it grow out correctly? I am thinking the plant I grew this year was from saved seed 2018 Defiant phr and it grew well as far as decease and produced a lot of perfectly round red 4 oz. fruit - I was pleased. Maybe just lucky it grew out ok or can I expect this years seeds to do so as well?
Pete

If it is a true hybrid, then the tomatoes should not be the same but you never know. I've read here that sometimes the F2s are almost identical but then the F3s start to really vary a lot more and usually not for the better. Since your F2s were good, just continue growing those out rather than chance it with F3s.. (unless you have a lot of space). If you don't have F2s, I will save some seeds for you before your season starts again.

Now that I now that the F2s were good, I'd be more likely to grow them out from a determinate than indeterminate. (jmo - but I feel like I have less invested in the determinate tomato plant).

Once I saved seeds from Garden Treasure (the U of Florida tomato released the same time as GardenGem) and the F2s were better. Saved a bunch of F3s and never grew them out or the F2s again either.

Patrick, (pmcgrady) use to grow out the F2 seeds from Burpee's Orange Slice. He gave the seeds to a bunch of us. I grew the F2s seeds out and they were really good, productive, etc. Saved a bunch of F3s but didn't ever grow them out.

[tryno12]

Barb, the seeds were from Johnny's from a few yrs. ago I grew last in 2018. The saved seeds from 2018 I grew this year and are what I remember as being last yr: very productive, good flavor, and decease resistant. I have attached photos of fruit and plant which I believe to be the Defiant phr Hybrid which is the F2 correct. So these saved seeds to grow would be F3's ? So the only way to remain an F2 is to clone?
Thanks
Pete

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by tryno12

Barb, the seeds were from Johnny's from a few yrs. ago I grew last in 2018. The saved seeds from 2018 I grew this year and are what I remember as being last yr: very productive, good flavor, and decease resistant. I have attached photos of fruit and plant which I believe to be the Defiant phr Hybrid which is the F2 correct. So these saved seeds to grow would be F3's ? So the only way to remain an F2 is to clone?
Thanks
Pete

i didn't see any pictures but would love to.

You could have F2s if you didn't use them all. Otherwise, next time you grow the F1s, save more seeds from your tomato if they are as good. Since I'm growing it, I will save you some F2 seeds.

Was your plant tall for a determinate?

I don't have a lot of space for what I want to grow and experiment with, but if I know the F2s are good, I will save seed and I would hold off buying the F1s again. If you have the space, you can grow all 3 versions if you didn't use up all your F1s from 2018.

This is how people dehybritize the tomatoes, keep growing the next level Fx until it gets exactly what the original was. They save the seeds from the tomatoes that most resemble the original and keep going from there.

No one (including the big commercial growers) has been able to dehybritize SunGold yet. I had some volunteers that I let grow and it looked, smelled the same but the skin was chewy; nothing like the original.

[creeker]

Originally Posted by slugworth

I also had heatmaster hybrid but none made it to my mouth,so I can't say yay or nay.
Creatures great and small got to them first.

I have 3 Heatmaster plants, planted out mid June, about the time we started having 95 degrees plus everyday for 2 months or more. I wasn't sure they would make it but came through fine and started producing Sep first. Mostly 6 to 8 oz fruit, not real tasty but its one I can count on in the heat. Will grow again but plant earlier along with Phoenix and Florida 91.