The End - Page 3

tam91 · November 14, 2010

Well I hope the T-posts aren't permanent lol, but I haven't tried to remove them yet. I have fairly soft ground, so I supspect (hope!) I can jiggle them free. They are very sturdy 8' ones from a farm supply store - just put into the ground with a fence post pounder thingy (oops, can't remember the official term) - no concrete or anything.

My setup was a bit wierd this year, since I grow in containers and initially put short cages in there before I made up my mind. Then, I added the florida weave. The cages weren't really doing anything at that point though, and I don't plan to use them next year.

I used thick baling twine from the farm supply store - had to buy a bunch of it, but I'll have enough for years. Nice also, when I cut the plants down, can just throw the twine along with the plants on the burn pile. I used the same twine to make my bean trellises as well.

I did not prune the tomatoes at all. Just ran a new line of twine when they got tall enough - doesn't take hardly any time at all. Once in a while, I tucked a stray branch somewhere, or added a bit of string to a particularly heavy truss of tomatoes. Or, if the tomatoes leaned against their neighbor too much, tied the strings together between the plants. Overall though, it was very low effort, and stayed pretty neat.

kath · November 14, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by tam91

Well I hope the T-posts aren't permanent lol, but I haven't tried to remove them yet. I have fairly soft ground, so I supspect (hope!) I can jiggle them free. They are very sturdy 8' ones from a farm supply store - just put into the ground with a fence post pounder thingy (oops, can't remember the official term) - no concrete or anything.

My setup was a bit wierd this year, since I grow in containers and initially put short cages in there before I made up my mind. Then, I added the florida weave. The cages weren't really doing anything at that point though, and I don't plan to use them next year.

I used thick baling twine from the farm supply store - had to buy a bunch of it, but I'll have enough for years. Nice also, when I cut the plants down, can just throw the twine along with the plants on the burn pile. I used the same twine to make my bean trellises as well.

I did not prune the tomatoes at all. Just ran a new line of twine when they got tall enough - doesn't take hardly any time at all. Once in a while, I tucked a stray branch somewhere, or added a bit of string to a particularly heavy truss of tomatoes. Or, if the tomatoes leaned against their neighbor too much, tied the strings together between the plants. Overall though, it was very low effort, and stayed pretty neat.

Good to know that sturdy T-posts can be purchased already made-DH not too handy.

This year I grew a few varieties in tall cages and didn't prune much except to open up the center a bit for air flow, and had a couple determinates that didn't get pruned at all. There was quite a difference in how EB and Septoria got an earlier start on the unpruned varieties this year, and I always had trouble with disease in the past on unpruned plants. That's what caused me to try the pruning this year-and the fact that I wanted to cram so many varieties into a limited space.

Buck7762 · November 14, 2010

Hi Kath,

The conduit sounds interesting, but upgrading to braided wire, and tying off end posts for stability sounds pretty strong. Conduit connecting the tops of the posts together maybe? I'm running a straight shot like you. I'm not 40' in one run, but I've got two gardens worked out that should total around 50+', and wide enough for 3 rows in each run when complete. The tillers been busy. With the wood supply I've got access to 24/7, I can add additional stakes for side branch control if needed. I planned enough room between rows so I could get around, so a few stakes here and there wont affect me.? I'm learning to prune as I go, so filmnets practice of getting rid of any branches not flowering sounds like a plan.

Buck

kath · December 5, 2010

So, tonight was really the official end of the last of the indoor ripened tomatoes...for me, that is.

There are 2 Goose Creeks left, but I'm willing to put them in DH's salad tomorrow, which might give you a clue as to where they ranked in the Taste Test for Greenies Ripened Indoors.

The winners were chosen based on:

1) their ability to ripen without wrinkling or rotting
2) having a taste better than a store tomato
3) ripening to an appetizing color
4) keeping a good interior texture

And the winners are:

1) Sandul Moldovan - last one eaten tonight and if I had to pick 1 must-have for next year (after Sungold) this is it!

2) Pale Perfect Purple - definitely a surprise, this one had even better color than the
ones in the garden (?) and the taste was wonderful. This one might be grown again next year because of this!

3) Black Krim - a good tomato for me during the summer, but it was amazing how many of them we got to eat this fall...stayed pretty and yummy!

4) Yoder's German Yellow - another surprise which might be back because of how many of these we were able to eat this fall and how good they kept and tasted, not to mention how pretty they look when mixed with the others!

5) Cherokee Purple - This one had nice color, texture and kept really well, like all the
ones above, but it had a little more "bite" to it than the others, which is less appealing to me.

This was fun to do and I was astounded at the number of tomatoes that we were able to keep on eating until Dec. - and the look on the neighbors' faces when they got a box of tomatoes in Nov. (when too many ripened at once) was priceless!

November 14, 2010	#31
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	Well I hope the T-posts aren't permanent lol, but I haven't tried to remove them yet. I have fairly soft ground, so I supspect (hope!) I can jiggle them free. They are very sturdy 8' ones from a farm supply store - just put into the ground with a fence post pounder thingy (oops, can't remember the official term) - no concrete or anything. My setup was a bit wierd this year, since I grow in containers and initially put short cages in there before I made up my mind. Then, I added the florida weave. The cages weren't really doing anything at that point though, and I don't plan to use them next year. I used thick baling twine from the farm supply store - had to buy a bunch of it, but I'll have enough for years. Nice also, when I cut the plants down, can just throw the twine along with the plants on the burn pile. I used the same twine to make my bean trellises as well. I did not prune the tomatoes at all. Just ran a new line of twine when they got tall enough - doesn't take hardly any time at all. Once in a while, I tucked a stray branch somewhere, or added a bit of string to a particularly heavy truss of tomatoes. Or, if the tomatoes leaned against their neighbor too much, tied the strings together between the plants. Overall though, it was very low effort, and stayed pretty neat.

November 14, 2010	#33
Buck7762 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula Posts: 49	Hi Kath, The conduit sounds interesting, but upgrading to braided wire, and tying off end posts for stability sounds pretty strong. Conduit connecting the tops of the posts together maybe? I'm running a straight shot like you. I'm not 40' in one run, but I've got two gardens worked out that should total around 50+', and wide enough for 3 rows in each run when complete. The tillers been busy. With the wood supply I've got access to 24/7, I can add additional stakes for side branch control if needed. I planned enough room between rows so I could get around, so a few stakes here and there wont affect me.? I'm learning to prune as I go, so filmnets practice of getting rid of any branches not flowering sounds like a plan. Buck

December 5, 2010	#34
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	So, tonight was really the official end of the last of the indoor ripened tomatoes...for me, that is. There are 2 Goose Creeks left, but I'm willing to put them in DH's salad tomorrow, which might give you a clue as to where they ranked in the Taste Test for Greenies Ripened Indoors. The winners were chosen based on: 1) their ability to ripen without wrinkling or rotting 2) having a taste better than a store tomato 3) ripening to an appetizing color 4) keeping a good interior texture And the winners are: 1) Sandul Moldovan - last one eaten tonight and if I had to pick 1 must-have for next year (after Sungold) this is it! 2) Pale Perfect Purple - definitely a surprise, this one had even better color than the ones in the garden (?) and the taste was wonderful. This one might be grown again next year because of this! 3) Black Krim - a good tomato for me during the summer, but it was amazing how many of them we got to eat this fall...stayed pretty and yummy! 4) Yoder's German Yellow - another surprise which might be back because of how many of these we were able to eat this fall and how good they kept and tasted, not to mention how pretty they look when mixed with the others! 5) Cherokee Purple - This one had nice color, texture and kept really well, like all the ones above, but it had a little more "bite" to it than the others, which is less appealing to me. This was fun to do and I was astounded at the number of tomatoes that we were able to keep on eating until Dec. - and the look on the neighbors' faces when they got a box of tomatoes in Nov. (when too many ripened at once) was priceless!