A Tomato Growing Decision

GoDawgs · August 5, 2019

Having been bitten by the tomato experimentation bug here, I grew 15 varieties this year, one plant of each where we usually grow 7 or 8 plants. On the plus side we found a new paste tomato we like (Rio Grande), confirmed that Homestead (last year was the first time) does well for canning, Red Siberian is good for an early taste and SOTW gets a second look-see. Early Girl has been kickin' butt and Bella Rosa has been a tasty slicer.

On the down side, all these tomatoes come off at different times, making canning hard to do. It's been so frustrating. Tomatoes have been pecked to death or squirrel eaten (like half the tomato) if left to ripen on the vine. If brought into the house for protection when half ripe, they start going bad quickly before they're ripe enough to be canned even those that showed no spots or anything when first picked. A ton of tomatoes have been wasted this year, something I've not had a problem with before.

Next year will be different. We will cut the number of varieties and up the number of plants per variety that survives the cut. I'm sure there will be one new tomato to try because I just can't help myself! There are sooooo many varieties out there that I'll just have to die (hopefully a long time down the road!) having not tried most of them.

August 5, 2019	#1
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	A Tomato Growing Decision Having been bitten by the tomato experimentation bug here, I grew 15 varieties this year, one plant of each where we usually grow 7 or 8 plants. On the plus side we found a new paste tomato we like (Rio Grande), confirmed that Homestead (last year was the first time) does well for canning, Red Siberian is good for an early taste and SOTW gets a second look-see. Early Girl has been kickin' butt and Bella Rosa has been a tasty slicer. On the down side, all these tomatoes come off at different times, making canning hard to do. It's been so frustrating. Tomatoes have been pecked to death or squirrel eaten (like half the tomato) if left to ripen on the vine. If brought into the house for protection when half ripe, they start going bad quickly before they're ripe enough to be canned even those that showed no spots or anything when first picked. A ton of tomatoes have been wasted this year, something I've not had a problem with before. Next year will be different. We will cut the number of varieties and up the number of plants per variety that survives the cut. I'm sure there will be one new tomato to try because I just can't help myself! There are sooooo many varieties out there that I'll just have to die (hopefully a long time down the road!) having not tried most of them.