Trying to Grow a Tomato at Latitude 47° 36' 23" N - Part 2 (2013)

[BennB]

Here is a link to my album showing my trials and tribulations trying to grow decent tomatoes in the maritime Pacific NW. I'm at about 450' above sea level and 10 blocks or so from Puget Sound. I'm originally from SE Pennsylvania and although I have lived in Seattle for over 20 years, summer would not be summer without tomatoes. This year I am shunning Pacific Northwest stalwarts - Early Girl, Oregon Spring, Taxi, Stupice, and trying for more the tomatoes of my youth, or at least trying to find some early tomatoes with some taste to them. We'll see how it turns out!

2013 Photo Album

Please chime in with any hints, tips, suggestions...etc.

[amideutch]

I don't know about the trying part but it looks like you you pretty much have a handle on the seedling part. My cousin lives in your area who is a retired navy submariner. Ami

[remy]

Excellent set up! I'm sure if I had to move out there, I would be just like you trying to figure out how to get good tomatoes.
Remy

[BennB]

Some updated photos from the PNW!

The image on the left is from mid May 2013. The one on the right is mid July!


Photo Album

- Benn

[Tania]

Very nice setup and great looking plants and fruits!

When do you start your tomatoes from seed?

Tatiana

[BennB]

Originally Posted by Tania

Very nice setup and great looking plants and fruits!

When do you start your tomatoes from seed?

Tatiana

I started the majority of them this year on March 1. Some I put in the greenhouse at the end of march and others I kept inside until the end of April. Most were potted up by the end of May.

This year, as with last year, I had good flowing and fruit set in May and then crap in June with the cool wet weather, and then good again in July. Last year I battled gray mold in June and lost a lot of set fruit. This year I largely avoided that, but I still had a lot of blossom drop in June.

So most plants have some fruit at the bottom, nothing in the middle, and then fruit at the top. I end up with a lot of plant and relatively few fruit clusters although I have enough plants that I am not getting a pretty steady stream of ripe fruit.

Next year I plan to do some starts inside a little earlier, around the middle of February and then do another round later near the end of March to see if I can work around our usual crappy Juneuary weather.

[Tania]

Our June this year was one of the best I remember (and last year it was one of the worst).

I start most of my tomatoes in mid-February, with some started in January and some started in mid-March. I set out most of them in the first week of May, under plastic cover. The rest go into pots (I just finished potting up the last 20 plants last week).

If only we can have a warm and dry August here in PNW, I would be very tomato happy

Tatiana