Simone 2013 - Pure tomato addiction

[Simone]

Hello all together!

You must be very, very tough because I have opened a new thread for my own gardening success (hope so )...especially with my tomatoes. After 2012, which had been a year with a lot of fighting against russet mites this year MUST be better, much more better.

On the pics you can see some of my tomatoes from 2012... and as you can see some had a hard fight with the mites...

















To get over the last year I provided myself with a huge amount of new tomatoes. I bought a lot, and this is the perfect place to say thank you! Because most of the vendors I bought from had to give their very best to get the seeds to me.

BUT: My special thank goes to the new laws from the German Customs who make it harder and harder for German gardeners getting new stuff. ( I am a little sarcastic I know, but that´s how I am).

So it is a wonder that I almost got all letters with the first try.


The last days were horrible... I was shortly before throwing myself in the bed and never get up again.
After 2012 - and after losing hundreds and hundreds of plants - (my mites were so hungry) I put some extra seeds in the ground. Ok, it was much more than SOME extra seeds....much more. The floor from the kitchen to the living room is covered with boxes (filled with seedlings), which must be taken to my working/writing room upstairs, where the artificial light system is. And before there are coming up some questions: "Uh, are you selling them?" - I must answer you: NO! They are just for me. And I am greedy, especially after this last season losing one plant after another.

So the last days I spent with potting my seedlings, and I still do. At the moment I am "fighting" with the T. Wagners, with B. Gates and the Dwarfs. And the worst thing is: it is so hard to throw (even weak) seedlings away. But just when I do this I will survive the summer! And the worst think: I have forgotten the Blue Beauty from Gates! And this can´t be! Must search for the seeds in my seed-boxes...


Sometimes my curiosity is stronger than my reason. So I bought one variety on eba... I have never heard of it: Golden Peach Sultan, it should be a huge orange tomato with a apricot flavor. As the seeds arrived (from Australia) they looked black and not very healthy, so I put nearly 8 seeds in the ground.
So what do you think?
No seedling.
Sorry, no! I got 7 healthy looking seedlings , just one was a little bit smaller, but not really weak. I will tell you how they like me...I hope for them they do!
Perhaps someone of you have heard of this variety? Or tried it? Would be great to hear something about it.


@Remy (Sample seed shop): I have two seedling of Amazing Grace Cherry. I will plant out one in my greenhouse, and the other must stand my German summer without protection.

@Steve (Heritage): I had just space for one or two McClintock´s Big Pink, but I had luck, and got two perfect potato leaves. And a lot of others from your seeds...



I had no real problem from seeds I bought from the reputable vendors from tomatoville, but with one variety I was furious!
It was the Wes, from 10 seeds I just got 2 seedlings; but after weeks spending time looking in my box where nothing came up I am quite satisfied with my two good looking Wes seedlings.



At the moment it is much too cold in Germany. Last year, around this time, I started hardening my seedling in my unheated greenhouse. But this year it is impossible to do so. I must tell that I am (sometimes) no good tomato-mother. I had a mite attack on one dwarf and was so angry that I put the plant (after spraying it with some oil mixture) in my greenhouse, with just some protection; and it is still living. And we had still snow and hash winds...


I wanted to get some really huge tomatoes. I recognized gianttomatoseeds had some huge. But because I had not known the vendor I was unsure (especially because of the German Customs). But I got my seeds:
Big Zac (3.486 DT 2012)
MegaMarv (2.678 DT 2012)
Leadbeatter's Lunker (1.758 DT 2012)
And the germination was perfect!

Another try I wanted to give Mariannas seeds. I had never bought from her, and I like to make my own experience. I think I can remember that I have read that someone of you was not so pleased. But I tried and had some help from a member of tomatoville (don´t know if he will be named, so I will just thank you again for his help, without naming him!).
From Mariannas I bought:
Cherokee Tiger Black Dwarf
Cherokee Tiger
Milk Dud
Rainbow Dwarf
Yellow Dragon
Siberian Tiger

And there were some weird things. I can just tell you what happened with my seeds. The Cherokee Tiger seems to be NO dwarf. It is almost to huge for a dwarf, but it will be loved and will survive. But the Yellow Dragon seems weird. I have just two seedlings and they were yellow, with just a tough of light green. They seem to have less fertilizer, but they don´t.
Has someone experiences with this variety?


And here are some pics from this year. I have 8 of these green boxes...






Ufff, that´s all for today. After you have made it till here you must have recognized that I am a very quiet and not communicative person, who hates to write...

Simone

[LDx4]

Simone,

Thank you for outlining your tomato experiences so far this year ~ I love your humor! Please keep us posted as your season progresses!

Lyn

[clara]

Thanks, Simone, for posting all this! Good luck for this year!

Sorry to hear about your mites problems; did you have enough ventilation in your greenhouse? I only have a small greenhouse which I mainly use for hardening off the seedlings (impossible now due to our Siberian cold); later on, there will be only a few plants inside (mainly the fuzzy ones), but windows and door will be open whenever possible. So far no problems with mites. clara

[greyghost]

Simone, I loved your post and photos and can't wait for you to write more!
Hope you have a mite-free season and get a great crop. You have so many
unusual varieties, I can't wait to hear more about them. Best wishes for '13!
Darlene

[Levent]

Simone, I wish you a prosperous tomato season.

[kath]

Hi, Simone! So glad to see you're going to post about your garden this season and that you're expecting a good year.Your 2012 tomatoes look very pretty despite your mites but I hope they leave your plants alone this year. Your seedlings look very happy and healthy and I wish you luck in keeping up with all of them- it sounds like you'll be very busy!

kath

[Al@NC]

Those are some interesting varieties! Please keep us posted on the Tigers!

Al

[Simone]

Hello,

you are very kind.
So I don´t want to dissapoint you... here are my newest pics of most of my dwarfs.
I have a lot of them, as you can see





Besides of a lot of dwarfs I have also a huuuuuuge amount of Tom Wagner´s. As you can see they have a wonderful blue touch...

I made in 2012 very good experiences with the Wagners, so I started this year with a lot of plants. I recognized - besides they were loved very much by the mites - they had a good power resisting diseases.












Ufff, do you see the quite long seedling? It is a Starfire Isis. And I tought they had a compact growing, like the dwarfs. I do not see this for now.











Simone

[mikej]

I love your post Simone! I love looking at posts with pictures also. Looks like you have been real busy. Good luck and hope you get to reap the benefits of a great harvest. I will continue to follow your thread.

[Simone]

Originally Posted by mikej

I love your post Simone! I love looking at posts with pictures also. Looks like you have been real busy.

Hello mikej,

believe me it is not that it just looks like a lot of work, it is... but most of the time I love it.

Originally Posted by mikej

Good luck and hope you get to reap the benefits of a great harvest. I will continue to follow your thread.

I must say kath´s thread has inspired me... she posted so many wonderful pictures.
And I hope that I will manage it during the season to give you all a weekly update.

Simone

[Al@NC]

Yes, I'm enjoying the pics, looks like your getting good germination!

Al

[lakelady]

lovely photos Simone, and thank you for sharing them. Good luck with the spider mites this year, yikes, they are nasty.

[Heritage]

Simone,

It looks like you are off to a great start for 2013! Best of luck with the weather and I hope the mites pass you by.

Steve

[asmx91]

Simone

Great

asmx91

[Simone]

Believe it, I wasn´t lazy the last weekend.
I was potting all my little seedlings and I had to tell you that it is awful!

I am so greedy... i have over 500 plants!
A lot of dwarfs, and a huge amount of Wagners.

Let me show you just one of my pics (promise to post more) from a Wagner...



@Oh Steve I am fighting. My friend was so kind and bought me a Maracuja. There is no need to tell all of you that he bought me some cuties too?
The maracuja looked healty but had mites.
I am over with the 5 attack of mites, but I handle it.

I know exactly how to eliminate them and I am cruel enough to do it.
But I am not using some chemical stuff, just a oil mixture to do them as less harm as possible. The plants of course NOT the mites!!!!!

Simone