BIG BEEF HYPE...

[b54red]

Originally Posted by AKmark

I never would have thought that folks in the south would face challenges growing late season varieties. Do you have to grow all highly disease resistant varieties? Is it at all feasable to erect a greenhouse in Alabama for protection? I did not know disease was so bad down there, is it every year? Is BB your fav. reliable? I always preferred Early Girl in taste, as do most folks up here, but we are not even close to your area, so taste may be affected to. I also guess Brandyboy is not as disease resistant, too bad I love those.
Anyway your reasoning opened my eyes to the fact, that most struggle in their own environments as bad as we do in AK, only different fights.

Down here our diseases have diseases. As to growing late season tomatoes the real challenge is getting the newly set out plants to survive the heat, humidity, diseases and pests long enough to start really setting a lot of fruit as the weather cools down. Big Beef is one of the best at doing that but it is still liable to come down with fusarium in my garden sometimes but it has the ability to usually hang on longer than varieties like Goliath and Bella Rosa.

I have a small greenhouse in which I start my seeds and pot up my seedlings and it has a small air conditioner in it which makes it bearable most of the time.

I usually have enough plants survive the summer plant out to have a decent crop in the fall if the cool weather doesn't arrive too early which it rarely does. This time of the year those new plants look really thin and spindly but as soon as it starts cooling off they will usually take on a totally different and much healthier appearance.

I don't grow the disease resistant hybrids for fresh eating so most end up in the sauce pot or given away. I grow them for insurance in case all my heirlooms fail me. Of course when that happens they are a nice backup to have.

Bill