Growing tomatoes in Charleston, SC

[remy]

I was talking to my cousin about tomatoes, and he didn't have much success last year. He moved down to Charleston to be near his daughter and grandkids so he doesn't have much experience with gardening down there. So I said I would ask here about it.
I can't remember when he said he started plants or set them out, but it seemed too late in my opinion since it gets so hot down there early. Anyway, any advice on when to do those. Also any favorite varieties that produce well down there to recommend to him would be great too.
Thanks
Remy

[brog]

Hi Remy, thanks so much for your help(seeds)last year. It was a good saeson early and late, bad weather for garden middle of summer.
I`m old as the hills and have gardened in th south all my life with better than average success. I start seed inside on heat mat(80 degrees)1st and 3rd week in Feb. Take off heat 4 to 5 days after they are up--pot up after 1st true leaves. After SOIL SAMPLE 1st plant out good friday then 3 weeks later( watch weather for last frost) best luck I`ve had is with Early Girl--Goliath bush--Big Beef--Brandy Boy a must for me--ponderosa--Black Krim--Cowlicks--Spudakee--Rose--Stump o t world--KBX--Kosova. I`m trying some new FOR ME this year but these are sure bets for the south. thanks and GOD BLESS Bill (in Atlanta)

[brog]

If he needs seeds pm me.--should put that in1st post (old timers getting to me0

[remy]

Bill,
Thanks for the info! always good to get info from someone older than dirt. I will let him know about the seed offer too, very kind of you.
Remy

[brog]

Remy Craig will have some good advice on growing in the southeast. Shoot him a PM.

[AZRuss]

Also check with Tom who posts here from time to time as "chalstonsc." He lives there and is a successful tomato grower.

[Lee]

I suspect your best bet for info. will come from Tom (in Charleston).
Raleigh, NC is (fortunately) nothing like Charleston during the summer, so I
wouldn't be much help offering advice.
My guess though, would be to plant much earlier than here in NC. (ie start in
mid Jan. vs mid Feb)
Also, plant varieties that can take the heat and the humidity. We have both here,
but nothing like there, so I couldn't even guess what the disease pressures
might be....

Lee

[chalstonsc]

Remy,
I'm just outside of Charleston where I began to learn how to grow tomatoes with what I would call "modest" success.
Brog is right on the timing I've used....anywhere from end of January to mid-February for starting seeds. Last year was my first year using the cold treatment method and it worked very well. As far as varieties, I've tried probably three dozen, including almost all the so-called heat tolerant ones and others. l honestly can't say I've found a lot of difference in how well the heat tolerant varieties produce compare to others.....so I'd say to try whatever sounds good.
The heat and especially the humidity are brutal around here, so it is hard for me to imagine a place where the disease pressures are worse. As early a start as possible is a must to get as much production as you can before everything really slows down in mid-late June and grinds to a halt, even the cherries, by mid-July or so. A fall crop is possible, but very tricky and limited because the diseases settle in as the humidity rises as the summer goes into early Fall
I grow in containers because the soil in my garden infects any tomato plants with fast-killing bacterial wilt,(right around the time the plants have loaded up and just before ripening begins), so anything more I could probably add would be pertinent to containers.
If there are more specific questions, let me know and I'll see what I can do to answer.
Tom

[remy]

Thank you all for you input! I will make sure he starts his plants really early. Up here, we don't start plants until it is getting toward the end of March. He didn't seem to have disease(I'm sure it will find him!), just the plants giving up in the heat so of course not getting much of a harvest.
Thanks again,
Remy

[brog]

Remy be sure he plants his own seed and gives them a peroxide bath when he plants the seeds.
( in sterial(sp?) soil.) NO NO NO plants from out side his homestead, he does not need other peoples plant diseases. You have E-mail coming.

[b54red]

We have extreme heat and humidity hear in lower Alabama and few varieties do well during the peak heat months. There were a few that stood out this past summer which was even hotter and longer than usual. I have them listed in the order of productivity and ability to set fruit in the heat. Indian Stripe is the only heirloom that lived through the summer heat to produce heavily again in the fall. Big Beef seems to take the worst of the heat better than any I have tried so it is my main tomato to plant in late summer for fall tomatoes.

Big Beef
Indian Stripe
Old Virginia
Bill's Berkley Pink
Stump of the World
Neves Azorean Red
Marianna's Peace
BTD Pink
Kosovo
JD's Special C Tex
Mule Team
Gary O' Sena
Hege German Pink

[AZRuss]

I tend to agree with Tom about the virtues of "heat tolerant" varieties. Although we don't have the grotesque humidity, we beat just about everybody in the country with regard to pure summer heat. (64 days in 2010 over 100 degrees!!)

I don't know if it's heat tolerance or general plant hardiness that provides more benefit. The list above is a good one. Big Beef is a tough tomato plant and a big producer--just wish it tasted better. For me it's pretty bland. In addition to those above, these tend to do a little better here...

Jetsetter
Gardener's Delight
Brandy Boy
Stupice
Aker's West Virginia, tried for the first time, also did fairly well here last year.

[b54red]

One thing I have found that really increases the chances of having a good crop through the mid summer heat is to stagger your plantings. Sometimes the latter plantings can be very productive. I used to plant everything as early as possible and would have a lot of tomatoes through June but almost nothing after mid July. I now plant every 3 or 4 weeks starting in March and ending in late August. This year my first two plantings were the most productive but last year my plantings in mid June were the most productive. If a plant is doing poorly before it sets fruit I just pull it up and replant because I have found it more productive in the long run. I've had fresh tomatoes to eat since May and picked a couple of gallons of blushing fruit two days ago. Below is a picture of the ones I picked two days ago with a bunch of bell peppers I picked at the same time. The second photo is of toms picked in mid November. Most of these tomatoes came from plants put out in July and August.

[AZRuss]

b54red... thanks for that info. Although I can't plant here July through September (soil temps into the 90's--no root growth and plants just sit there idly) I can certainly try staggering from February 15 - May 15. Although I wouldn't expect anything from those plants until fall, maybe they'd be robust enough to endure the summer and produce again. I think I'll give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Ruth_10]

B54, those tomatoes and peppers look gooood. What's the big heart and the big beefsteak (and any others you care to name) in the first and second photos?