STARTING OUR SPRING VEGGIE GARDENS PART 6

Indeterminate or determinate , I have seen Tomato plants well over twelve feet tall .. 6 to 8 is about usual for most ..
and They will as when small ,,set right to the top ..


I forgot too add ; It means you did a wonderful job of gardening with them!!!!

This message was edited May 29, 2013 9:44 PM

David I can understand the depression. Now that the weather has stayed at one temp I feel like I'll never catch up. I'm lucky that I didn't sow any seeds that wouldn't germinate bc of the cool soil. But I can't believe it's almost June. I try to get a certain amount done each day and not look at what I didn't get done. I love to garden but I have many other obligations too, so do you. Don't be too hard on yourself, there is only so much you can do.

Linda- what do you mean "should fruits be setting this high?"

They set higher with each bloom wave- tho they dont reset on lower branches unless those are sucker branches starting up

Juhur7,
Thank you for the kind words!

"...setting this high..."
Please forgive me. That was a "tongue in cheek" sort of statement...

Linda, what kind of "cages" do you use for your tomatoes? Looks like 3 posts and then what holds the plant up/inside?

I have 4 inch baby would be zucchini. Never grew zucchini before. I do know if they are not pollinated they drop off. At what stage? Are these big enough that they are ok to keep growing?

Steph,
There ARE no cages, aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!

I was seriously remiss, and just used the heavy duty 6' stakes from HD, and some bamboo stakes I had. I have propped the plants up, basically, on top of each other!

I am seriously looking at the Mittleider trellis system for next season's tomato bed. Trying to make the commitment to turn the yard into more growing space and less grass.

If I construct the trellis in the video, I'll need to combine two existing beds into one, AND re-orient it in the opposite direction. Not a biggie, but it puts the structure right back where I tore down the storage shed.

I was getting used to the nice "openness" of my yard.

But, if I had built that trellis (ANY trellis for that matter) over this current tomato bed, man 'o man what tomatoes I could've had!!! They're sprawling everywhere!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzuIFTfRnEc‎

Here is my latest harvest.
Finally some cucumbers and zucchini ... and some more beans ... red delish peppers, tomatoes and lots of male squash flowers (I hope more female flowers will start to produce)
Eggplant plants are looking amazing, cucumber plants are growing and tomato plant are loaded with fruits ... so yummy !

Black Beauty and Gretyl Eggplants...


This message was edited May 30, 2013 3:53 PM

My Black Beauty eggplants have about 7 apricot-sized fruits peeping, and the Gretyl's (white) are fully loaded!

(Sorry for the double post....edited to reflect "Gretyl" not "Hansel" eggplants (whites)

This message was edited May 30, 2013 3:55 PM

How do you like the white eggplants? I am trying Gretal for the first time this year. No flowers yet even, much less fruit.

My tomato vines get huge. I just let them flop over the sides of the cage, they go back down and grow on the soil. Many times they will root more which seems to make the plant stronger. I haven't got mine in cages yet, this year.

Well, we need to do something because what we have now isn't working too well! LOL I think we might try some posts and use string to hold the branches in.

My planning (oh no lol) Has a concrete reinforcing wire fence across the length of one bed ..
Another raised bed has two metal poles and an 8 ft; common fence between them ,,The reason for that oh no ? about planning . I put some taller plants on the shorter fence and some shorter plants on the tall fence (way to go smooth one) lol
Pic's of these trellis oddities later , One old as can be of use , people been gardening with that kind of trellis for decades .
The fence is hair extreme , but was handy , and a why not ..




Too much caffeine today

This message was edited May 31, 2013 12:19 AM

newyorkrita
which variety of squash are you growing?
maybe 4" is too small.
squash/zucchini are better when they are harvested young. When you harvest your first fruit look inside and see how many seeds the fruit has ... if too many you did harvested too late.

stephanietx
my cages system works fantastic. (cages from Lowe's)
can you see in these pictures?
Now some of the plants are tall as me ... when they will reach the top of the wine I start to twist the plant with the twine going horizontally.
Last year I found out that laying down the plants produced even more tomatoes.
Also you can see how I remove all the suckers ... at least I try, giving all the energy to fruits production.
I am going out to harvest right now.

When I harvest I have 2 baskets; one for the tomatoes and one for the unwanted leaves ... in fact I keep trimming the bottom leaves after the tomatoes are gone ... no need to waist energy/attract pests on these leaves ... plus the plants have so much more sun light = more production.

We are having really high winds right now and the plants are secured inside the cages.
This system really take little effort. When I pass by the cage if a branch did fell out, i just push it inside or twist with the twine.

drthor,
Your system is very neat and works well for cherry type tomatoes.

Unfortunately, one of my tomato vines would completely fill about TWO of the cages in your picture! I'm growing monster vines that weigh approximately 25-30 lbs. Add the weight of the fruits growing on them, and my test lines need to hold at least 50 lbs.

The tomato frame I used last year was wonderful. Problem is, I switched beds for the tomatoes, and didn't commit to constructing a frame over the new location. I see that I will go ahead and put a tomato frame over this current bed, and work toward building the Mittleider T-Frame over my original bed(s). The frame allows for growing vertically, two feet wider than the bed it covers, and, most importantly, you can throw a plastic covering over the whole frame and convert it to a greenhouse. DOUBLE DUTY!

I love convertibles!!!

I am not harvesting them at 4 inches. I am just saying they are 4 inches. Don't know what they are except common green zucchini I bought as seedlings.

Here is are my harvests. Two large baskets of Swiss Chard.
Lots of tomatoes ... finally the Dr. Carolyn tomato is ripen.
A few peppers and okra, just a hint of blackberries for the picture to remind me that I am harvesting them ... because I have to eat them outside before my DH will see them. I think I harvested the last bag of lettuce.

Gymgirl my system works for small and huge tomato fruits too. It is probably hard to understand from the pictures. Look at this incredibly beautiful Chocolate Stripes tomato, probably the biggest this year. The cages are secured with 6" wood poles and they are not moving, even under high winds. Last year my big tomato was 22 oz.
You do have a large plant system because it seems from the picture that you are letting grow your suckers. In fact I do see a lot of green growth and a few fruits production ... just a suggestion.

That is a beautiful tomato, drthor!

The tomatoes you see there are setting and growing 5 ft. off the ground. The bottom is loaded. I snapped the pic to give a perspective of how high up they're growing.

I started out pinching suckers, but, because it became a tangled jungle, the vines are growing in every direction now, suckers and all. Better organization would have allowed me to stay ahead of the suckers, LOL!

That's why I like the tomato frame so well. I have a New Big Dwarf growing under the frame, trellised up on hemp lines. Such a total world of difference than the tomato jungle! I can SEE every sucker to pinch off!

Some people say leaving the suckers let's the plants produce more energy for fruit production.

I think the larger the plant the more room for tomatoes. In GHs they get 10' high or larger.

It always made sense to me to leave the extra green growth alone. More green = more energy production.

THANK YOU, GUYS for the encouragement! I see more tomatoes than I ever have grown before.

I've been trying to get a "bumper" crop of tomatoes since I set my very first veggie plant (a cabbage) back in May of 2008....

I think I'll harvest enough this season to finally make the homemade tomato sauce that's been my goal to do.

Drthor, how tall do your tomato plants get?

stephanietx
my indeterminate tomatoes keep growing until they stop producing by mid-July.
They grow until 6' vertically and after I turn the stems horizontally and they keep growing in that way.
and you?

I also grow indeterminates so they get to be tall as well. I do have one determinate variety this year, but it's still 5' tall.

I know extra foliage can help prevent sun scald too.

This is the "cage" we put up last night. We have used these previously with pretty good results. The only thing is that they are really too narrow for the varieties we grow. Mark made these himself and they lay flat for storage. I also found more maters when we strung up the mater plant!

They look great. What kind of tomatoes are those? The leaves look so healthy and green, I can't believe those are the same plants that went thru the deep freeze. I still have to stake, cage or just do something with mine. I have about 70 plants and some extra tall cages but they don't jump on the plants all by themselves. A few years ago I made some cages with some fencing material. I really need to get it done before the plants get any bigger and it's too late. Planting is so much more fun.. Thanks for the inspiration.

Well, I finally got some work done in the garden today. Of course, I almost did myself in at the same time... I ended up working for a total of 3 1/2 hours, with a 1-1/2 hour break in the middle. Turns out I didn't realize exactly how much I was perspiring. Even though I drank quite a lot (especially for a dialysis patient) I ended up losing over 5 pounds of fluid. By the time I finished, I was light-headed from the heat and dehydration. I use blood pressure as a measure of hydration-- when I went inside after working, I discovered that my blood pressure was about 70/40. My normal pressure is about 130/80. :( Not good! My wife was not very happy with me, either.

I finished a good bit, though. I tilled and completed seed-bed prep for several items. I recovered and transplanted some volunteer sweet potatoes and the slips that recovered from rabbit rampage. I planted four rows of bush beans, four rows of black-eye peas, a row of okra, and replanted cucumber and squash rows (rows are about 30 feet). I still have one more row of cucumbers to plant, and I think I will finish the large open area I have still available with Sugar Baby pumpkins. We have at least 150 days to first frost, so there should be time if the vines can stand the summer heat.

Hoping for rain tonight as a cold front passes. If not, I will be watering tomorrow. I'll be happier about the garden if I see some seeds sprouting. I do know that I am going to have to do a better job on keeping up, so I don't have any more days where I try to kill myself with effort.

You definitely dont need to get sick doin too much. Be careful!

Garlic is about ready to harvest, corn is growing like crazy and the tomatoes aren't growing so fast but are starting to bloom. I need to prune them, but not today; it's wet. The squash plants are taking off in the heat and the cucumbers are starting to run and try out this "blooming" thing.

It's going to be a great year for blueberries if we keep getting some rain every now and then. The bushes are loaded!

amazing!
thanks for sharing

Before the rain started today, I got out to see leaf miners have made short work of my tomatoes, and now these little black caterpillars have invaded the rest of the garden. Ugh! I have a few organic home remedies to try, but another week of this, and I'll need to do something else. Any suggestions welcome.

Dipel dust (Bt) is considered organic and it only attacks caterpillars. It should be effective on any type caterpillar that eats the leaves. You could also use Spinosad, which is based on a different bacterial toxin. It is also considered organic.

Google either one for more information than you could possible want to know. : )

David

Spinosad is slo. southern army worms are probably what they are and they are starved. Tiny things- you'll see a missing plant with a few twigs left in hours.

This is a good way to start June. Look at this harvest ... I love all the colors of the tomatoes.
The larger tomato is Chocolate Stripes - 9.5 oz. and an amazing taste.
In the pictures # 3: the two bottom-middle tomatoes are black Zebra, on the right Momotaro peachy color (delish tomato - I just wish the plant was more productive).
On top of Momotaro, 3 yellow tomatoes Jeaunne Flamme: the 2nd best tomato taste of this year so far. Inside they are orange.
Below Momotaro, Chocolate Cherry and Black Cherry (the smaller ones) - they are the best taste of this year so far.
On the left two Tigerella and on top two Green Zebra - love it !

In picture #1 the white/light yellow tomato just below the middle cucumber is Dr. Carolyn ... huum

It is taking forever to these peppers to turn color ... but it is all well worth it.
Finally I have thick walls in my peppers ... duuhhh

Eggplants will be ready soon.

Lisa, the tomatoes pictured are Pantano Romanesco. They're not as big as I had thought they were going to be, so I sure hope they're tasty! Mark constructed this cage out of 1/2" electrical conduit and there are some kind of 1/2" hot water PVC pieces connecting them together and used for the part that goes in the ground. We used some kind of rot-proof string to hold the plant in.