Tomatoes!

My tomatoes are getting ripe, however some have not finished getting to the size they're supposed to. Is this normal? Also, I've noticed they're not a deep red, more of an orangey-red. They're Big Boys.

Thanks!

oh yes, i did mean to ask how to know when they are ready to harvest.. i thought color would do it, but they're not the color i anticipated, so now i'm not sure. thanks!

I do not believe in leaving fruit on the vine until it is completely ripe. This is due to the insect pests, animal pests, and sometimes even 2-legged pests. :) Plus if there is unexpected rain, it can cause a ripe fruit to split open. I pick my tomatoes at first blush.

They say a blind man can pick the perfectly ripe tomato. A ripe tomato should be slightly soft on the bottom and yield to gentle pressure.

I can't comment on the color of Big Boy, I have never grown it. I grow heirlooms and a few hybrids like Jet Star and Sungold.

Like feldon30, I don't leave my tomatoes on the vine until they are fully ripe (for the same reasons too). I pick mine and put them in brown paper bags to finish ripening. I hate it when I miss a nice big one, it gets nice and ripe on the vine, and a bird or some other critter finds it and pecks a big hole in it before I find it.

now i've heard that they don't 'ripen' after you pick them, although the color does change. i'm not sure whether or not this is true, just sharing what i've heard/read. i'm not averse to picking before they're quite ripe, just wasn't sure regarding the timing.

thanks!

I have picked mine at every stage from very first blush to half ripe and put them in the paper bags to finish ripening (single layer only) for better than 40 years.. They are always every bit as juicy and tasty and one left on the vine till it's dead ripe. Nobody who has eaten one of my garden grown tomatoes has had anything but the utmost praise for the taste. BTW, I've been growing Better Boys for more years than I can remember.

i took your advice at any rate and picked three of them.. they have a couple of green spots on the shoulders, but the rest of it is pretty red. i'll let them sit a day or so and see how it goes.

something got into my tomato plants yesterday and sheared the leaves.. stripped them bare. i have no clue what it is.. didn't see any hornworms, but that doesn't mean i didn't miss them, they sure blend in. all around the top foliage are bare stems now. will they grow back and be okay, or do i need to cut them off?

We used to pick the tomatoes when they were huge and green, have a few green fried (Mmmmmm.....), and then individually wrap each one in newspaper and keep in a cool, dry place. We often had "fresh" tomatoes at Christmas time - 3 months after wrapping them. It was the most amazing thing you ever did see. Tasty too.

shekhina,
Your missing leaves sounds like hornworm to me. I get them here but I have lots of birds and they have found several of them before I could (they do earn their birdseed, LOL). Perhaps a bird found yours :-)

Hello everyone - I am new to this forum and have a newbie question on tomatoes. I have grown tomatoes on a small scale in the past, but this year, all the tomatoes are rotting on bottom just as they are starting to turn. We haven't gotten a fresh tomato yet - have lost everyone. Does anyone know what this is? Is there anything I can do about it or should I just plow up the plants??
Thanks in advance
Genna

gen2026,

First, welcome to the forums!

I would do a Search here at Dave's Garden for Blossom End Rot. It is a very common problem and exact what you describe. I would not start pulling up plants since if you take appropriate action, you can improve the situation and start getting tomatoes.

Blossom End Rot is usually caused by irregular watering which interferes with the proper distribution of minerals (including calcium) throughout the plants and fruit. Try to stabilize your watering schedule and add a thick layer of mulch around your plants (not touching the stems). Plants can "grow out of" BER problems and improve over the course of the season.

Next year, I would apply some Dolomitic Lime, which acts as a sort of buffer. But ultimately, BER comes down to watering. by the way, I don't think those sprays which "solve" Blossom End Rot actually do anything.

This message was edited Jun 23, 2008 11:43 PM

Thank you for the information. I have done some extensive reading on BER now and am much more 'educated' ..... I appreciate all your help. It is a big help just knowing WHAT is wrong and that it should go away soon hopefully.

thanks again for all your help!
Genna

Hello one & all...

I am new to this forum, and new to gardening. I was given the book "The All New Square Foot Gardening" and loved it, so now I am trying out the author's suggestions. Can someone please tell me about how long it takes for Brandywine and Roma tomatoes to harvest from seed? I planted the seeds May 25th and I don't see anything coming up yet! Should I worry? Thanks for all thoughts & direction.

Tomato seeds should come up in 3-7 days.

What was your seed source? How deep did you plant the seeds? Did you start in soiless seed starting mix?

Thanks for response feldon30. I bought seeds (Beefsteak & Romas) from Ferry-Morse. I did not start them in starting mix. It was toward the end of May, so I planted them right into my organic "Mel's Mix"...which is the custom-made soil recommended in the SFG book. I planted according to seed-packet directions, 1/4 in. for both. I may have gone to 1/2 in.

The packet said the seeds should germinate in 7-10 days, but it's been a month and I don't see anything yet! Several other plants are popping through, but nothing for either tomato plant yet. I am looking for some Tomato 444 or 640 seeds to plant as well. Also I bought some Brandywine seeds from Henry Fields. Those I want to start indoors in a potting/peat soil mix then transplant in hopes of reaping in the fall. Any suggestions for those would be appreciated.

I'm guessing they probably got damping off and didn't grow. Real soil contains fungus, bacteria, and microrganisms which young tomato seedlings are not able to defend themselves against. Tomato seeds should be started in completely sterile soilless seed starting mix in controlled conditions. I start them indoors under fluorescent lights.

At 6-7 weeks they are ready to be acclimated to the outdoors and then be planted into your garden. Plants started indoors under artificial light (or even in a windowsill with partial sunlight) are not able to handle full Texas sunlight. I start bringing the plants out into full shade and then slowly with 5 minutes of sun the second day, 15 minutes the third day, etc. until after 7 days they are fully hardened off and able to handle full sunlight. You can also put the plants under a lawn chair or board or netting to protect them from the harshest mid-day sun.


I see that Allen is a suburb of Dallas. Can I just make some suggestions about dates and varieties?

Of course these are just guidelines and people have success with different times. I generally start seeds January 1-15th and June 15-21. In the spring, I start more ambitious varieties like Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, etc. In the fall, I grow mostly cherries and medium sized varieties. Except for Gregori's Altai, I have never had success with beefsteak types in the fall. Keep in mind that I use the name beefsteak as a fruit shape, not a variety. I've never heard much positive about the variety "Beefsteak", but there are thousands of tomato varieties that have that distinctive shape and produce big tomato slices perfect for a sandwich or a burger. If I had to recommend one beefsteak-type variety it would undoubtedly be Gregori's Altai. It comes in 2 weeks before everything else and has a great taste.

I realize that sometimes, Roma is the best tasting tomato in the grocery store, but I find it to be one of the least tasty varieties compared to the heavy hitters I grow like Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Earl's Faux, and more productive but equally delicious varieties like Arkansas Traveler, Jet Star, and Gregori's Altai. If you are making sauce, then I can certainly understand growing Roma, but I wouldn't grow it based on flavors you find in the grocery store. I grew Roma my first year along with Celebrity. I gave them all away to friends and neighbors. I also don't believe the idea that "all homegrown tomatoes taste good". I know that I am probably one of the pickiest guys around for tomato flavor though!

Let me add that people usually grow BHN 444 as a means to an end. They are growing it to solve a problem in their garden. It has tolerances to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, Verticillium, Fusarium, etc. Unless you have diagnosed or had a county extension service person identify these problems in your garden, I see no reason to grow BHN 444. Again I am very picky about the taste of tomatoes, but I think it's going to taste just a fraction better than a grocery store tomato.



This message was edited Jun 27, 2008 12:18 PM

Feldon30, you hit it right on the head. Allen is indeed a suburb of Dallas. Also, I have clients & friends in Houston, so I am there once or twice each year.

Thanks again for your detailed insight into tomato growing. I am brand new at this, and my SFG is my first attempt at gardening. Some of the tomato varieties you mentioned I have never even heard of! LOL

As far as soil goes, the SFG soil is totally organic, made up of blended compost peat moss, and vermiculite. So, I don't have a disease issue going on. For some reason, the seeds just didn't make it, I guess.

I do have some Brandywine seeds, so I am going to start them indoors this weekend and put the out in the SFG first week of July as you suggested. AS far as the Romas go, I do make a lot of sauces...pizza, marinara, spaghetti and other Italian dishes (my big love in cooking). So that's why I am growing those. Not a matter of taste. Everything I have read about the BHN 444 seems to say they have the best taste, with Brandywine's a close 2nd.

Thanks again for the ideas and planting suggestions.

TXBBQ wrote;"As far as soil goes, the SFG soil is totally organic, made up of blended compost peat moss, and vermiculite. So, I don't have a disease issue going on. For some reason, the seeds just didn't make it, I guess."

I'm afraid that "organic" does not mean disease free. Unless you heat sterilized it, it is full of micro-organisms, which is part of the point of organic growing, to have all that working for you. You might get better seedlings with a sterile mix.

Could you point me to where you found the info one BHN 444 having superior taste? The best I can find it rated is "good", but that's faint praise. I usually plant Heirlooms because of the taste, but I'm willing to try something new if it's comparable taste-wise.

When the bottom leafs of a tomato plant are yellow, should they be broken off like the grooming of other plants - well, I suspect the answer is yes, and that's what I did; however, I'm thinking I should have removed from the height of the tomatoes, and I did that too. Right or wrong??

I don't ever cut anything off the top, but then I want all the tomatoes I can get :). If they are a Determinate type, they will stop growing at a certain point, and all the fruit ripens at about the same time. Some tomatoes(often the older, heirloom varieties) are Indeterminate, which means they keep growing, and can get really big. They keep producing until frost, if the weather allows, and don't ripen all at once.

I have two tomatoes in the shade, all the rest in a sunny location. The two in the shade are the greenest and they have the biggest, best tomatoes. I fertilized all yesterday. The tomatoes in the sun appeared parched on top, which is what I cut, the tomatoes below, shaded by the tomato leaves are doing much better and they are nice and med large, very pretty, with nice texture. I pick my tomatoes pink, if possible, as pink is the taste I prefer, as well as the firmer flesh tone of the less red tomatoes. I will make some digis. So far, the tomatoes that grew leggy, with thin limbs, have benefited from being cut back, they continue to bloom and produce and the tomatoes are larger.

Hey, whatever works :). Do you know what kind of tomatoes you have? I'm guessing when you say you like them at the pink stage, you mean slightly under-ripe, or do you mean they are a pink tomato? I have Pink Ponderosa, which was one of my favorites last year.

Just to reiterate what catmad said, 1/3 of Mel's SFG mix is Compost, which is teeming with microorganisms. I have even had trouble starting seeds in almost pure peat moss before. I now insist on seed starting mix.

The only time I have seen BHN 444 spoken positively about is very biased County Extension tomato trials where the most important aspects in their testing were shipping ability, Brix sugar readings, and number of fruit ready at any one time. I'm guessing they had no idea what type of Brandywine they were growing. It could have been mislabeled, or Red Brandywine, or one of the off-types of Brandywine that are going around out there. And I'm guessing they probably cut into it when it was still rock hard.



This message was edited Jun 30, 2008 10:12 AM

Most of the tags were lost on my tomatoes when we had to move the garden (first year in this location, too much shade). I do know that I have one Determinate tomato, which I did NOT want or even know existed. I suppose the Determinate tomatoes were developed for short seasons, which we do not have. We prefer the Indeterminate and never even knew about the determinate until the chain stores started selling them. I have a German Queen, indeterminate, that is a beautiful, dark green plant, with strong limbs and beautiful, tasty tomatoes. We never start much of anything but easy stuff like moonflowers, from seed, because our humidity most often waylays them after we've spent all the effort. In the long run, it's cheaper to buy plants. Bonnie's are excellent, I've never lost a Bonnie's plant...

I have a BHN 640, Determinate tomato - I just don't know which one. Hey, it's great, we have not had a bad tomato this year. I never located Lemon Boy, so we are using Golden ????, and the jury is still out on it, but I've noticed that the tomatoes have 'rounded up', at first they were pointed on the bottom, which I suppose was caused by the weather or lack of fertlizer, which I've just completed, for the first time this weekend.

Should tomatoes be groomed like other plants, by removing yellow leaves, generally from the bottom & should suckers be removed??

I do try to remove blighty leaves. I do not remove suckers.

Interesting. Why don't you remove suckers?? FWIW, I've noticed, this year, that I have very few suckers and I cannot imagine why. Do tomatoes have fewer suckers these days?? One of our fav is the Bradley Tomato, from Bradly County, in south Arky...

Because they all ripen at once, determinate tomatoes make it very easy to get enough together to can, so they're useful for that reason.

BHN 640 "is" the name of the tomato. It seem to be a disease resistant hybrid that has been developed for commercial/market growers. This is from the web;

"BHN 640 Midseason (TP) Large to Extra-Large Globe Determinate, Good Cover Fol1,2,3, TSWV, Va, Vd Improved BHN 444 with the addition of Fusarium Wilt race 3 tolerance. Uniform green shoulders."

I'm betting that they will be one you'll like (except maybe the green shoulders, they should have just as much flavor picked pink and firm.

Let us know how they do, please:)

I pick tomatoes as soon as they 'blush also, but we never put them in bags to ripen. We usually place them in the window when the first few appear and when there's too many, we put them on a table on the back porch until they're ripe. Sometimes I'll turn them over if they need a few days to ripen, but Ive noticed they'll ripen on the counter just as well.

how long does it take to ripen in the bag?
phyllis

Putting tomatoes in a bag to ripen is only necessary with completely green tomatoes. I see no need with slightly blushing tomatoes.

Responding to Sherrylike--I also grow tomatoes from plants, not seeds--what are Bonnie's? Is it a company that sells plants? Where can a find them? In regular stores, I can only find the best-known varieties but would like to try some heirlooms next year.

Just a note: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus is very bad here, so I have made an effort to try all the TSWV resistant cultivars that I can find. To date from best to worst. Bella Rosa, Top Gun, Amelia, Talladega, Sophya, BHN 444. Bonnie plants which services most of the garden centers including Lowes , Walmart and Home Depot usually carries BHN 444 and Amelia. Amelia is the largest plant getting to 5-6 feet. BHN 640 is touted as an improved BHN 444 but whether the texture is improved I don't know. Have not had a chance to grow it. BHN 444 has crunchy texture like a bell pepper. None of the TSWV cultivars are going to win a taste-off, but Bella Rosa can compete with the average round red tomato.

Thanks, shi!! Bonnie's is a grower, via Farmerdill's post, and, IMO, one of, if not the best grower for the chains in my area, in fact, I've never lost a Bonnie's plant, that says lotz, whew!!! Bonnie's uses great peat type pots, that can be planted, and are, for the most part substantial and, I think, loaded with fert, but that is just my guess re the fert. My Bonnie's plants also do not attract bugs and stuff like powdery mildew, fungus, etc, like some plants in the square, less substantial peat type pots that can be planted. Bonnie's plants seem to be stronger trunked, and limbed and greener than other plants. Hope this answers your question. If not, fire back, and I'll try again.

Question: Many of my tomato plants have this written on the tag, and I quote: Plant deep! Bury 80% (that is correct, not a type-o) of plant for strongest bush....

The above is on the majority of my tomato plants. Did I do it?? No. But, I am going out tomorrow and buying one last plant and I will do it, since I'm producing enough tomatoes that I'm not having to buy any. Is this 80% thing something new?? I look forward to your replies, tanks!!

Are you fortunate enough to have fireworks in your area?? We LOVE fireworks, but Blueray and French are hidden under the bed...

Hi Sherry,
No, the 80% isn't new :). It's a way to get stronger, more productive plants. I take off all but the top two sets of leaves, and plant with only those above ground. The plant will develop roots all along the stem, which provides more nourishment for the plant. It gives the plant time to develop a bigger, stronger root system, which means more maters! BTW, you don't always need to dig a really deep hole, you can "trench" them. That means dig a trench (duh) about 4-5 inches deep and lay the plant in it, gently bending the top to be above ground, and cover the rest. The top will quickly grow upright, and the stem will root.
HTH.

Interesting, cat, I'm going to plant one more tomato and I'm going to do that. As it is, we are giving tomatoes away...

This message was edited Jul 5, 2008 8:33 PM

Humpf. Grumblegrumble grumble. I seem to be giving mine away, as well, but not intentionally. If they'd at least let ONE get ripe for me, I'd be happier. Grumblegrumblegrumble....

Honestly, I'm shocked with our results & thrilled beyond belief, just amazing...

Hello, Would someone answer a couple of questions for me please?

I planted a Roma and a "beefsteak Hybrid" next to each other at the same time 5/11. The Roma's about 3' tall, bushy, dark green, very healthy looking with about 20 full-size green tomatoes plus a whole bunch more smaller fruits and new flowers.

The "Beefsteak Hybrid" on the other hand is about 4́' tall, kind of gangly looking with not nearly as much foliage as the Roma. It started flowering about the same time as the Roma but the flowers kept falling off until a today when I noticed one of the flowers on the lower branches is turning into fruit.

Is this normal for the "Beefsteak Hybrid"?
When should the Roma fruits start ripening?

I hope these questions don't sound extremely stupid - I'm a complete novice.

Thanks for you help.

Every thing sounds normal. The large tomatoes like the hybrid Beefsteak are slower to set and set fewer tomatoes than a samll tomato. Roma is a small paste type that will set multiple tomatoes. Patience is essential when waiting for tomatoes, sort of akin to watched pot never boils. They ripen on their time schedule.