What I learned this year

[mensplace]

1. Nothing is really gained, even in experimenting, by planting the tomatoes too close together, whether in rows or between the rows. Picking and maintaining the plants is overwhelmingly harder in the extremes of summer when you can hardly move through the rows.

2. Without a close water source you are at the mercy of the weather. Even the best of deep tillage, preconditioning the soil by adding amendments and nutrients will not make up for a lack of water. Even with deep planting and soil that should hold water, the roots can only do so much to find water. That theory busted.
Here in Georgia we had the double whammy of unusually high heat that hit the high 90's early on and the stayed that way until just a few weeks ago and drought..truly extended drought. Maybe two days of rain in four months. None of the normal afternoon summer showers. The plants produced like gangbusters early on and then just stopped when the temps hit those extended 90 degree days....then died for lack of rain.

3. Supidity is waiting for an expected midseason to collect and label seeds. There was no midseason.

4. For several weeks I was picking bushels of gorgeous, large, prime tomatoes, but with others at the market selling tomatoes at 1.00 per pound, the market for plain round, red tomatoes was ALL the locals cared about. Selling the plants that were left over was FAR more rewarding, but also attracted many a theft from the home when I was away. However, MANY people in the region were introduced to heirlooms...a good thing.

5. With the very rapid progression of my Forrestiers disease and the pain greatly exacerbated by the heat, if its not growing above the ground..as in potatoes, harvesting is another matter. Most all production of anything ended in June anyway.

Next Year..if there is to be a garden, it will be much smaller, better planned, and, hopefully, in a few considerably raised beds with fewer plants, and far more spacing. As for varieties, I have learned to love the less acidic vaireties that allow a single slice sandwich, those with sweetness and depth of tomato flavor...bust STILL hate mushy, flavorless varieties no matter how beautiful! Too, homemade tomato marinara is immeasurably better that ANY jarred varieties. The folks at kitchenaid REALLY need to rethink the size of their feed hopper on their seed strainer...and a better way to catch the seusting output of skins/seed and juicy pulp. It takes three hands at best.

All else is well, but wil be GLAD when and if the elections are ever over!

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by mensplace

1. Nothing is really gained, even in experimenting, by planting the tomatoes too close together, whether in rows or between the rows. Picking and maintaining the plants is overwhelmingly harder in the extremes of summer when you can hardly move through the rows.

2. Without a close water source you are at the mercy of the weather. Even the best of deep tillage, preconditioning the soil by adding amendments and nutrients will not make up for a lack of water. Even with deep planting and soil that should hold water, the roots can only do so much to find water. That theory busted.
Here in Georgia we had the double whammy of unusually high heat that hit the high 90's early on and the stayed that way until just a few weeks ago and drought..truly extended drought. Maybe two days of rain in four months. None of the normal afternoon summer showers. The plants produced like gangbusters early on and then just stopped when the temps hit those extended 90 degree days....then died for lack of rain.

3. Supidity is waiting for an expected midseason to collect and label seeds. There was no midseason.

4. For several weeks I was picking bushels of gorgeous, large, prime tomatoes, but with others at the market selling tomatoes at 1.00 per pound, the market for plain round, red tomatoes was ALL the locals cared about. Selling the plants that were left over was FAR more rewarding, but also attracted many a theft from the home when I was away. However, MANY people in the region were introduced to heirlooms...a good thing.

5. With the very rapid progression of my Forrestiers disease and the pain greatly exacerbated by the heat, if its not growing above the ground..as in potatoes, harvesting is another matter. Most all production of anything ended in June anyway.

Next Year..if there is to be a garden, it will be much smaller, better planned, and, hopefully, in a few considerably raised beds with fewer plants, and far more spacing. As for varieties, I have learned to love the less acidic vaireties that allow a single slice sandwich, those with sweetness and depth of tomato flavor...bust STILL hate mushy, flavorless varieties no matter how beautiful! Too, homemade tomato marinara is immeasurably better that ANY jarred varieties. The folks at kitchenaid REALLY need to rethink the size of their feed hopper on their seed strainer...and a better way to catch the seusting output of skins/seed and juicy pulp. It takes three hands at best.

All else is well, but wil be GLAD when and if the elections are ever over!

Mensplace,

What did I learn this year?

That those tomatoes with the "depth of tomato flavor" and those tomatoes that are "mushy, flavorless"...are the same variety.

The flavorful ones were watered every 5 days, the flavorless ones every
2 1/2 days.

Tormato

[Worth1]

Well said.

Worth

[pete]

All the best planning and thinking ahead and planting the right varieties yada yada yada don't mean a tang if MOTHER NATURE doesn't co-operate.

Even the most determined paddlers can't go up Niagra Falls on their best day.

We had 2 weeks of good tomatoes here, then the heat and drought took its toll.

Well, there is always next year!!!

[cleo88]

I learned that 6 foot hardwood stakes are really insufficient to hold up 7 foot plants, no matter how firmly they are jammed into the ground. And that they rot and snap off in addition to just falling over.


I learned that growing sweet peppers in a spot that doesn't get more than 5 hours of sun in Massachusetts is a waste of garden space.

I learned that it really is true that you don't hardly ever have to water tomatoes in this climate. It seems so unbelievable and against what I had always heard growing up, but it's true.

[Qweniden]

I learned staking doesnt work. Im going to make cages. I learned not to plant to closely together. I learned that an irrigation system is a must.

[b54red]

I learned that soaker hoses can save a lot of time and effort during a drought.
I also learned to 'overwater' during times of extreme heat and drought in order to get fruit set.

[tam91]

I learned Florida Weave is terrific for tomatoes. So much better for me than cages and/or stakes.

[Marko]

What I learned this year:
- unpruned tomatoes need MUCH more water than pruned
- unpruned tomatoes yield MUCH more
- trelis is a simple and effective support for tomatoes
- staking doesn't work for unpruned tomatoes (even with two stakes per plant)
- alfalfa pellets, seaweed and molasses makes miracles

[frogwash]

I learned not to make 7' CRW cages with out prior permission from the property managers. They accused me of setting up the Watts Towers in my yard. I was given the choice of cutting them in half or removing them completely and buying the crappy little store ones.

I ended up cheating a little and cut them to 4 1/2' then zip-tied the cut off parts back on when those plants needed them.


my cages:





the real Watts Towers:

[freelancer79d]

lol Watts Towers... he should be so lucky.....

[b54red]

I could have used one of the Watts Towers on my Gary O' Sena this year. When I finally pulled it up I couldn't get the whole thing in my very large heavy duty contractors wheelbarrow to haul it away. Lesson: prune the heck out of Gary O' Sena and start pruning early.

[ContainerTed]

I learned that my version of the Florida Weave with solid oak 2X2" posts and 8 strands of 300 lb test cord and guy wires was inadequately engineered. By the last week of July, it all came down under the force of the wind and the weight of the vines produced by this ultra-fertile soil.

I also learned that I had too many plants too close together and that compounded the problem with the support system. By the end of August, after the supports came down, I couldn't get down the rows because of the sprawling vines.

I got record numbers and sizes of all the tomatoes and peppers planted and only had one (1) hornworm. The tastes and colors were amazing, but the tangled vines made harvesting much, much tougher.

I also learned that I should keep all the plants of a variety together for sanity's sake. Sungold Cherry, Tommy Toe, Snow White, and Big Sungold Select are huge plants when allowed to "do their thing". I pulled up one Sungold plant that had branches more than 20 feet long (and was still blooming and setting fruit).

I also learned that no matter how many tomatoes and peppers you give away to folks, they always want more and more and more. And they want to tell you exactly when to pick the ones they receive.

And lastly, I learned that the soil here is so good that when I threw the spoiled and cracking fruit out into the portion of the field used for hay, they made more volunteers than you can shake a stick at - literally hundreds. One "cluster" had more than 60 little regular leaf plants in a space of about 1 square foot. Many of these volunteers are blooming. At least one has set a tomato.

And, those controversial peppers supposedly from South Africa are a late setting plant. The 4 plants I have are just a bit over 3 1/2 feet tall. They are loaded with literally hundreds of peppers in various stages here in the third week of October.

Ted