Zone 5'rs quite contrary how does your garden grow.

[MrTudball]

Ok I'm not a poet, but now that I can see light at the end of the tunnel for my tomato plants, I can read the forum's without going crazy reading about everyone else eating their garden maters. How do your gardens look this year. I only have a small patch this year, I'm counting on all of the midwest tomato fest people to bring a load of different variety's to try this year. My patch......

Mortage lifter, two plants, very healthy, but plant set is real bad, only three tomatoes set for both plants.

Super Tasty, my only hybrid this year, thought I would give it a shot. One plant with over 20 tomatoes set on it. Hopefully it will taste as good as the tomatoes are growing.

Kellogs Breakfast, one plant growing like crazy but no tomatoes set.

Super Souix, Very Good plant growth and 40 + tomatoes set on two plants. Loved souix in the past, my first year for super souix.

Cherokee Purple, Good plant growth, and good fruit set, 30+ tomatoes on two plants.

Brandywine, Fastest growing plants of the bunch, unfortunately only 4 tomatoes on two plants.

Brandy Boy, Forgot about the brandy boy, so I guess super tasty isnt the only hybrid. Ok plant growth and only 5 tomatoes set so far. First year to grow this, a little disappointed at the fruit set.

Hopefully the plants are still setting. Last year in the same location because of the hail gods, I was just starting to get tomatos to set at this time, so if that stays the course I should have a good crop thru september.

Would love to hear how your mater patch is doing, and also if you have harvested anything yet.

Mark

[Timmah!]

The Brandywines have 10-15 fruits on each plant since the cool spell we had for a couple days. Black from Tula has about 8. Cherokee Purples have about 10 each. Manyel has 7 on. Mortgage Lifter has 5. Eva Purple Ball has 7 or 8. Dr. Lyle has a bunch of blooms and about 5 fruit. Druzba has 10. Aunt Ginnie's Purple has 5. Kellogg's Breakfast has 4 & a bunch of flowers. Better Boy has about 15. Pineapple has 4 & lots of flowers, really vigorous plant, too. Lillian's Yellow Heirloom has 3 or 4 fruit and not so many trusses yet.

[MrTudball]

Timmah, love your avatar btw, have you grown pineapple and or Lillians yellow before? Was curious on how they tasted.

[piegirl]

Mark - excellent to see you posting!!! well, you have me beat by a country mile. Very slow to set, nothing heavy - 2-5 each, healthy plants just slow. BW is alive and flowering, and if I don't breathe on it real hard, there may be a fruit visiable tomorrow. So for Fest I don't see me having more than 2-3 varieties that will be ready, or set on. email me with your fertilizing program! Look forward to seeing you in August. piegirl

[MrTudball]

Denise, Did you plant Earl's Faux this year? After reading Suze's post about brandywine varietys, I really want to try them this year. My daughters have been pestering me about the fest this year, they loved the tomatos we brought back for them.

[Timmah!]

Originally Posted by MrTudball

Timmah, love your avatar btw, have you grown pineapple and or Lillians yellow before? Was curious on how they tasted.

One of my favorite characters on SP. =D Also, my name is actually Tim too.

The Pineapple has a somewhat sweet & fruity taste. I've never grown Lillian's Yellow Heirloom before, but Dr. Male describes it as having a nice creamy consistency with meaty flesh that tastes 'deep and complex, with rich, citrusy yet slightly sweet flavors'. With that description, I'm stoked for one of these fine fruit to mature!

[Fred in Maine]

This is my first gardening season with real sun. Last year it was cold and wet and sunless. What a thrill it is to see plants growing strong. At about 5 weeks they are mostly 2-3 feet tall. It seems that mater plants grow faster as they get bigger, so I might have some 6-7 foot plants this year.

Fruit set has recently started

6/29
Costoluto Genevese
Sioux
Rutgers
Caspian Pink
Black Zebra
Black Cherry

6/30
Valencia
Moskovich
Paragon
Goliath
Applause
Stupice

7/3
Black from Tula
Champion

7/5
Cherokee Purple
Prudens Purple
Brandywine Sudduth
Eva Purple Ball
Big Beef
Mortgage Lifter

Thank you Sun.

[PaulF]

Good to see you on the T'ville. I was going to "cut way back" this year but I there were so many I HAD to grow. I started out with 12 varieties (down from 28 last year) but somehow I had room for 21. Everything looks really good and setting on fruit. Denise will have to make the final date for the Fest so that we all have as many ripe ones as we can. We are looking forward to being back in Lincoln to see everyone.

[johnbro2]

Between the rain and hail, my tomatoes look like heck. My first ripe one was on June 15 th, a Bush 506 and grown in a pot by the house. I have a few setting on, but the leaves are yellowing, and because of the rain, I think the roots are damaged. Next year, I think I will put in a rice patty. I'm tired, new roof to buy and a flooded basement

[fortyonenorth]

Here in NW Indiana, we’ve had an excellent Spring - good moisture early followed by hot and dry the last few weeks. I have about 30 plants in wooden planters on top of my garage roof. We’re in the forest and on pure sand, so this is really the only suitable option for tomato growing.

I planted out May 9th - which was, in retrospect, two weeks too early. I had some early cold damage but everyone’s recovered nicely. Most of the plants are 4-6 feet with very good fruit set. I have 10-20 toms on most plants; some--like Black Plum--have close to 50 already.

Black Cherry and Blondkopfchen have ripened a few early cherries and I think we’ll get a larger tomato in the next week or so.

Here’s my 2010 grow list:

Sophie’s Choice
Azoychka
Stupice
Heidi
Dr. Carolyn Pink
Brandywine Cherry
Cherokee Green Pear
Blondkopfchen
Black Cherry
VB Russia
Earl of Edgecombe
Flamme
Orange Strawberry
Moskvich
Noir de Crimee
Silvery Fir Tree
Pipo
Coyote
Mule Team
Black Plum
Dr. Carolyn
Mystery Yellow Beefsteak
Risenstraube
Green Doctors
Druzba

[platys]

I first planted in containers mid-may. After moving, I then planted the other half in containers in the beginning of June.

So far, I have a sun gold and a stupice that are both covered in fruit. I had a small BER problem with the Stupice that a moisture meter and some fertilization seems to have fixed. I also have a Stupice that was in the second batch of planting that has the very first almost ripe tomato on it - it set fruit while in its little 4 inch pot, and I didn't take it off.

My Great White finally has two tomatoes on it. It's almost to the top of my screened in porch roof, which is where the tomatoes are.

At this point, I have tomatoes on each of my varieties, although some of my three week later plants are just setting fruit now. It didn't help I had accidentally placed them half way under an overhang, so they got way too much water and not enough sun. They are much happier now.

My Zapotec has one large tomato on it.

My Amish Paste has two large tomatoes on it, and a couple of little guys.

Hawaiian Pineapple very sneakly set about 5 fruit when I wasn't looking, and they are coming along great - the foliage is pretty heavy, but I think I spotted even more this weekend.

Zogola is doing good with 5 on one plant so far. I have one megafused fruit on the 3 week later plant.

I have about four fruits on my Opalka, but they are growing rapidly.

I have one tiny tomato on my Paul Robeson, and my other one died a tragic death, thanks to over watering and moisture control MG.

Both Black from Tula are doing great, though, and Japanese Black Triefel is rocking along - probably about 8 tomatoes so far.

[ubergoober]

I have little babies on most of my plants...not sure of the exact count though. The only ones that don't is my Lancaster Pink (I thought it was going to die but it is fighting back) and one of Paul Robeson's.

Siberian
Pruden's Purple
Principe Borghese
Costoluto Genovese
1 of the 2 Paul Robeson's
Jubilee
Black Krim
Black Cherry
and two mystery plants all have some baby fruit

[Talonstorm]

This year I grew:

Cherokee Purple
Black Krim
Black Cherry
Peruvian Bush Cherry
Russian Persimmon
Great White
Hillbilly
Aunt Ruby's German Green

I have fruit set on most of the plants, the Cherokee Purples have the largest in both size and quantity. I had a Pineapple tomato, but it was very stunted and the folks on GW felt it was CMV, so I pulled it. That plant and the Aunt Ruby's were the only ones I did not grow from seed, I think next year I will stick with the varieties I grow and not buy any elsewhere (no matter how tempted I am!).

In non-tomato news - the cucumbers are taking off, have picked 2 of the variety "Raider", but the lemon cucs have not produced yet. The eggplant are enjoying the warm weather, but the broccoli isn't. In fact, last night I found I have an infestation of cabbage white butterfly catterpillars, rather disgusting, on the broccoli. The beets are languishing in the heat, but the beans seem to be doing ok. The squash are also doing fairly well, I harvested my first zucchini over the weekend and I have a few kabocha/buttercup squash getting larger by the day. My potatoes are looking good. The german butterball variety is getting some yellow leaves, not sure if it is the start of a problem, or if they are starting to die back like they are supposed to. I guess time will tell.

Tina

[MrTudball]

Update, so excited, Super Souix is first to blush this year. Now the hard part, trying not to eat them before their time. My kellogs breakfast and brandywines took off as far as fruit set. Weird to see an explosion like this, both prob have added 30 plus tomatoes since my first post.

Last year was a disaster with hail damage and not getting a ripe tomato before september, so I am in tomato heaven right now. Hope everyone else's garden is going well for you.

Mark

[ubergoober]

Lots of fruit setting...nothing ripe yet. I have some major tomato envy for everyone who has been picking ripe fruit lately! lol