I should have pruned more.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by pauldavid

Thats a nice harvest Bill! I have had a lot of BER this year, more than I ever had. What varieties are you growing this year? Which has been the most productive so far?

My most productive plants in order of productivity so far are:
Indian Stripe PL
Pruden's Purple
Indian Stripe
Spudakee
Limbaugh's Legacy
German Johnson
JD's Special C Tex
Royal Hillbilly
Giant Belgium
Dester
Brandywine Sudduth's
Donskoi
Brandywine Cowlick's

As you can see my most productive are black tomatoes but that is because many of them are much faster to ripen so I have picked more of them; but these numbers could change dramatically as the summer progresses because there are a lot of tomato plants that I haven't gotten a single fruit off of yet but I will soon. Unless the worms get much worse.

I saw BER almost disappear in my garden when I started mulching with cypress mulch and feeding my plants weekly with TTF. The cypress mulch does a wonderful job of keeping the soil cooler and slowing evaporation so there is a more even moisture. Occasionally during really dry spells and high heat I can't get out and apply enough water and if a bed gets too dry then I sometimes get a few fruits with BER but it is my fault for not being more careful in maintaining the moisture level. I think maybe the high levels of calcium in TTF help with BER also and I know it helps with fruit set.

Bill