Very early determinante tomatoes

[MrBig46]

Andrey,
I have one plant 0-33 of direct seeding. It's a nice, healthy but ripe fruit will obviously later than the plants from seedlings. Seedlings are grown due to an earlier harvest!!

Carolyn,
I've grown Latah last year. The plant was poor and the fruits were acidic, didn´t taste me. This year, I gave them one more chance, but the result is the same (so far only plant).
Vladimír
PS.:With best wishes for a birthday I'll wait until tomorrow

[Lydinge]

Originally Posted by spuriousmonkey

Growing tomatoes in Finland here.

I stopped pushing my tomatoes. This year I planted my seeds more than a month later than last year.


All the work you have to put in to get them out early is just not worth it any more for me. And all the stress when the weather turns, and usually it does unexpectedly. One year the weather turned in mid June. Lowest temperature was 2 degrees above freezing. This cold weather spell lasted an entire week.

This year I decided to not fight the climate any more. I am only growing short season varieties. Many determinants. And my seedlings are still tiny. I am aiming for them to go out on the 1st of june. Then they will have july and august. September is never any good.

I admire your experimental mindset though and dedication. It's good to try out this kind of stuff. It is the only way to find out what will work and what will not.

ACTUALLY, because of our northern latitude and the light, it is better to wait until late March/mid April to sow seeds. They grow quickly and "catch up" with seedlings from February. I know because this year I lost 20 plants to damping off and had to start over in April. Now there is no difference between the early and late starters.

Also this year my tomato plants moved outdoors in late May and were subjected to that same cold spell. I wrapped the larger ones in garden fleece and moved the smaller ones indoors. At this point all are outdoors, but the ones that were wrapped in fleece seem more vigourous.

Also must recommend the 0-33 variety (bought it from Tania's Tomatobase). It has grown like a weed throughout all our cold weather and set fruit that awful week in June. . .

Lycka till!

[NarnianGarden]

Lydinge: I agree with you, except with some dwarf & container toms that can be potted and grown indoors, before the weather warms up.
With that method, I was able to have my first containers on my balcony in early May, in full bloom...

We can't fool nature, but we can help her a bit

[Lydinge]

Right you are, NarnianGarden. With our cold weather, late spring and early fall frosts it is a challenge to grow tomatoes. However, I view my different strategies to achieve that wonderful home grown tomato flavor as a negotiation with natural forces.

It can be tiresome to have to respond to adverse conditions (SpuriousMonkey's feelings of frustration are very familiar to me) but when one is feeling energetic it can be viewed as a challenge.

Very happy to read about Vlad's experiments with 0-33 and the different responses from PNW, Canada and Alaska, gives me both hope and inspiration. And the reassurance that I am not totally crazy to want to grow tomatoes at this lattitude.

[korney19]

Originally Posted by MrBig46

Thanks for the tips. Kimberley is indeterminante- no. Next year maybe Mountain Princess (seeds I have) and Sophis´s Choice if I get seeds.
Vladimír

Kimberley may be listed as indeterminate but grown in 5 gallon containers they never get over 4-5 feet for me. I'm 6'1" and they barely reach my chin, and the buckets are about 13" of that.

All plates are 9 inches for scale; Kimberley, Mountain Princess, Sophie's Choice, in that order...

[MrBig46]

Tatiana's base TOMATO states: Kimberley 1-2 oz.
Mountain Princess 3-6 oz.
Sophie´s Choice 3-10 oz.

Your tomatoes are nice, big and corresponding upper data from the database.
My problem is that most weight early tomatoes, which I cultivated in the hothouse moves to the lower limit (some even smaller). Perhaps a better fertilization would have helped a little, I'll try next year.
With Sophie´s Choice surely count for next year - the size of the first fruits about 2-3 ounces will surely suit me.
Mountain Princess do not know yet, because last season even in summer, I did not have the fruit of more than two ounces.
Kimberley certainly not because it is indeterminate tomato and I need tomatoes up two feet high.
Vladimír

[RJGlew]

My Saraev experiment was rocked a week ago by Calgary's unpredictable summer weather - a severe hail storm. Where I live the hail was very damaging, and it stripped 80%-90% of all the foliage from my exposed tomatoes. As well, I would estimate that 50% of the softer growing tips and stems were sheared off by the hail. Certainly a setback, but we'll see how well they recover. On a positive note, I could easily see which plants had set fruit, and there were just two - Saraev Druzhnya and Saraev Shtambovyi, both of which had set marble sized fruit. I kept track of the first flower dates which are shown below. Interestngly, the dwarf Saraev Stoikiy still has not flowered for me, and a 2nd plant I shared with a friend also has not yet flowered.

Saraev Druzhnya Jun 11
Saraev Gruntovye Jun 18
Saraev I-2 Jun 16
Saraev M-22 Jun 14
Saraev Otbor 1 Jun 13
Saraev Shtambovyi Jun 11
Saraev Stoikiy Not yet...

With my Stupické, the best variety remains a) Stupické Polní Rané (Semo) with 6 fruit set (one now the size of a ping pong ball), b) Stupické Polní Rané (Moravo) with 1 fruit (tiny), and c) the North American `Stupice' with flowers but no fruit yet.

I remain impressed with Start S F1. It is a rugged hybrid which is growing well here. The other early surpise for me this year is Garden Gem F1 from University of Florida. It flowered early for me (Jun 11), and currently has many large marble sized fruit on it. Datlo was hit really hard by the hail and lost both growing tips. I will now have to allow a side side shoot to become the growing leader.

Similar to others in the thread, I like Sophie's Choice. It originated from a city a couple of hrs north of where I live, and it grows quite well here. It is a shorter, almost flat determinate plant, which never gets more than a couple of feet tall for me. It is early enough for here, and I find the flavour quite good, although of course taste is personal. I am always impressed by how big some of the fruit get on such a small plant. I have seeds from both Casey's and Tatiana's, and they seem similar.

I am not a Kimberley fan, in spite of the fact it originated west of where we live. It has never grown strongly for me, and it is very suceptible to the flea beetles we have here. I find Stupice, Bloody Butcher and the small early Russians like Yablonka Rossii to be much better here. The Semo Stupické is doing so well this year that it may become my go to plant from this group.

I have not grown Mountain Princess.

[xellos99]

Originally Posted by Lydinge

Right you are, NarnianGarden. With our cold weather, late spring and early fall frosts it is a challenge to grow tomatoes. However, I view my different strategies to achieve that wonderful home grown tomato flavor as a negotiation with natural forces.

It can be tiresome to have to respond to adverse conditions (SpuriousMonkey's feelings of frustration are very familiar to me) but when one is feeling energetic it can be viewed as a challenge.

Very happy to read about Vlad's experiments with 0-33 and the different responses from PNW, Canada and Alaska, gives me both hope and inspiration. And the reassurance that I am not totally crazy to want to grow tomatoes at this lattitude.

Well if you are in the lower half of Sweden they you should look Alisa Craig because it was bread in Scotland for greenhouse production and latitude is not same but close`ish.
What you could try is wait till they are green but near full size and then put old banana skins in the greenhouse and it speeds up ripening considerably I am told.
I feel your pain though, I am in the UK and I have to watch as Americans have plants literally twice the size of my ones.

[bower]

Originally Posted by RJGlew

My Saraev experiment was rocked a week ago by Calgary's unpredictable summer weather - a severe hail storm. Where I live the hail was very damaging, and it stripped 80%-90% of all the foliage from my exposed tomatoes. As well, I would estimate that 50% of the softer growing tips and stems were sheared off by the hail. Certainly a setback, but we'll see how well they recover. On a positive note, I could easily see which plants had set fruit, and there were just two - Saraev Druzhnya and Saraev Shtambovyi, both of which had set marble sized fruit. I kept track of the first flower dates which are shown below. Interestngly, the dwarf Saraev Stoikiy still has not flowered for me, and a 2nd plant I shared with a friend also has not yet flowered.

Saraev Druzhnya Jun 11
Saraev Gruntovye Jun 18
Saraev I-2 Jun 16
Saraev M-22 Jun 14
Saraev Otbor 1 Jun 13
Saraev Shtambovyi Jun 11
Saraev Stoikiy Not yet...

With my Stupické, the best variety remains a) Stupické Polní Rané (Semo) with 6 fruit set (one now the size of a ping pong ball), b) Stupické Polní Rané (Moravo) with 1 fruit (tiny), and c) the North American `Stupice' with flowers but no fruit yet.

I remain impressed with Start S F1. It is a rugged hybrid which is growing well here. The other early surpise for me this year is Garden Gem F1 from University of Florida. It flowered early for me (Jun 11), and currently has many large marble sized fruit on it. Datlo was hit really hard by the hail and lost both growing tips. I will now have to allow a side side shoot to become the growing leader.

Similar to others in the thread, I like Sophie's Choice. It originated from a city a couple of hrs north of where I live, and it grows quite well here. It is a shorter, almost flat determinate plant, which never gets more than a couple of feet tall for me. It is early enough for here, and I find the flavour quite good, although of course taste is personal. I am always impressed by how big some of the fruit get on such a small plant. I have seeds from both Casey's and Tatiana's, and they seem similar.

I am not a Kimberley fan, in spite of the fact it originated west of where we live. It has never grown strongly for me, and it is very suceptible to the flea beetles we have here. I find Stupice, Bloody Butcher and the small early Russians like Yablonka Rossii to be much better here. The Semo Stupické is doing so well this year that it may become my go to plant from this group.

I have not grown Mountain Princess.

Sorry to hear about your hail. I lost some leaders to high winds earlier, but now my outdoor plants are enduring some crazy cold the past week - two more days to come with highs of 50 F/ 10 C... this is madness for July. The outdoor plants are mostly crosses out of Zolotoe Serdtse so the plants are pretty tolerant, but as Vladimir said, it is madness not to protect from frost and I had to make cover for them several nights. I don't know how the green fruit will be affected.

I had the same experience as you with Kimberley and its crosses - most attractive to pests. They don't have happy looking leaves under stress, with a strong tendency to curling and coiling. In spite of that though they are very tenacious about setting and growing fruit in the worst conditions. The Stupice crosses are just as tenacious and impervious to conditions, and they have more cheerful leaves. Not quite as early but close. I haven't grown Bloody Butcher but I'm growing Mark's F1 cross with Brandywine Cowlicks and it's holding its own under our yo-yo of intense cold and heat.. Oaxaca Jewel PL is also outstanding in the indeterminates.

In the early determinates, V. Desyatku is my only one this year and doing well in the circumstances, I'm pleased with it and unless the fruit are awful it will be a keeper.

[NarnianGarden]

Originally Posted by xellos99

Well if you are in the lower half of Sweden they you should look Alisa Craig because it was bread in Scotland for greenhouse production and latitude is not same but close`ish.
What you could try is wait till they are green but near full size and then put old banana skins in the greenhouse and it speeds up ripening considerably I am told.
I feel your pain though, I am in the UK and I have to watch as Americans have plants literally twice the size of my ones.

Never mind the Americans You guys in the UK have wonderful cherry tomato varieties and all the gardening tricks for greenhouse growing.

Yes, I am a bit envious when I read the success stories from the other side of the globe, but they also have more diseases and bugs than we here in the North...

[MrBig46]

On ripening Sarayev Otbor 1 I found stains. I underestimated it (I didn´t squirt tomato by chemistry) and on the plant all the leaves began to dry up. The infection transferred to other determinate tomatoes. Perhaps bacterial blight of tomatoes? Harvest could be much higher, but so far enough. From indeterminante tomatoes still reaping only Stupices and Tamina.
Vladimír

[Canehdian]

Originally Posted by RJGlew

My Saraev experiment was rocked a week ago by Calgary's unpredictable summer weather - a severe hail storm. Where I live the hail was very damaging, and it stripped 80%-90% of all the foliage from my exposed tomatoes. As well, I would estimate that 50% of the softer growing tips and stems were sheared off by the hail. Certainly a setback, but we'll see how well they recover. On a positive note, I could easily see which plants had set fruit, and there were just two - Saraev Druzhnya and Saraev Shtambovyi, both of which had set marble sized fruit. I kept track of the first flower dates which are shown below. Interestngly, the dwarf Saraev Stoikiy still has not flowered for me, and a 2nd plant I shared with a friend also has not yet flowered.

Saraev Druzhnya Jun 11
Saraev Gruntovye Jun 18
Saraev I-2 Jun 16
Saraev M-22 Jun 14
Saraev Otbor 1 Jun 13
Saraev Shtambovyi Jun 11
Saraev Stoikiy Not yet...

With my Stupické, the best variety remains a) Stupické Polní Rané (Semo) with 6 fruit set (one now the size of a ping pong ball), b) Stupické Polní Rané (Moravo) with 1 fruit (tiny), and c) the North American `Stupice' with flowers but no fruit yet.

I remain impressed with Start S F1. It is a rugged hybrid which is growing well here. The other early surpise for me this year is Garden Gem F1 from University of Florida. It flowered early for me (Jun 11), and currently has many large marble sized fruit on it. Datlo was hit really hard by the hail and lost both growing tips. I will now have to allow a side side shoot to become the growing leader.

Similar to others in the thread, I like Sophie's Choice. It originated from a city a couple of hrs north of where I live, and it grows quite well here. It is a shorter, almost flat determinate plant, which never gets more than a couple of feet tall for me. It is early enough for here, and I find the flavour quite good, although of course taste is personal. I am always impressed by how big some of the fruit get on such a small plant. I have seeds from both Casey's and Tatiana's, and they seem similar.

I am not a Kimberley fan, in spite of the fact it originated west of where we live. It has never grown strongly for me, and it is very suceptible to the flea beetles we have here. I find Stupice, Bloody Butcher and the small early Russians like Yablonka Rossii to be much better here. The Semo Stupické is doing so well this year that it may become my go to plant from this group.

I have not grown Mountain Princess.

Sorry about your loss RJGlew! As you know I live in Calgary too. The hail was very localized, so I was OK. However, I gave my mom the Sarev M-22 to grow and...may it rest in peace. So windy in general this year too. Many of my toms have thicker stems halfway up the plant than at the base from being whipped around. Early toms that look good for me so far, firstly Siberian Red (Tomatofest) - sturdy and vigorous with lots of flowers and a good number of fruit setting. Volgograd (Tania) is looking healthy, waiting to see some fruit set. The Orlovskie Rysaki (Sample Seeds) is a fun little plant to grow in pots and are into a second and third brace of flowers and some cute little fruits. I also have one Sarev I-3 in a pot that had a rocky start but is making a nice comeback. We will see how they all taste.

[RJGlew]

Originally Posted by bower

Oaxaca Jewel PL is also outstanding in the indeterminates.

You had sent me some of these seeds a couple of years ago - thanks again. The only source of information I could find online was from an outfit in Quebec, and they were listing it with a very long DTM, too long for my Zone 3a. When does ripening occur for you, relative to Stupice? tia

[RJGlew]

Originally Posted by Canehdian

... So windy in general this year too. Many of my toms have thicker stems halfway up the plant than at the base from being whipped around. Early toms that look good for me so far, firstly Siberian Red (Tomatofest) - sturdy and vigorous with lots of flowers and a good number of fruit setting. Volgograd (Tania) is looking healthy, waiting to see some fruit set. The Orlovskie Rysaki (Sample Seeds) is a fun little plant to grow in pots and are into a second and third brace of flowers and some cute little fruits. I also have one Sarev I-3 in a pot that had a rocky start but is making a nice comeback. We will see how they all taste.

I have found that the indeterminate stems are very brittle this year so, in addition to the hail, I have snapped off 3 main growing stems when I was removing side shoots near the tip or pulling/bending the stems when tying them to stakes. I am now using cutters for side shoots, and only tie the the lower stems which are tougher.

I am glad the hail missed you. It was really bad here, 4 or 5 inches deep in areas where it was blowing up against. It was still on the ground the following day in areas which did not get the sun. I should have taken pictures for folks who are not familiar with it. My soft plants like dahlias were almost wiped out, and even the tough stuff like marigolds were either beaten down, or stripped of their foliage.

I had tried Siberian Red a few yeas ago and found it too acidic for my taste, and not all that early. I'll look up Volgograd, Orlovskie Rysaki and Orlovskie Rysak since I don't know them.

[RJGlew]

Originally Posted by MrBig46

... From indeterminante tomatoes still reaping only Stupices and Tamina.
Vladimír

Hi Vlad,

Sorry to hear about you losses from the infection on your determinate tomatos.

Which varieties of Stupické are you growing this year?

rg