Early Heirlooms

Mitchell · June 22, 2015

I live in Delaware, and really wanted to have ripe tomatoes by the end of May. No greenhouse to work with. So I started "Sophies Choice" and "Glacier" by seed in a warm closet in mid January under a grow light. The grow light seemed too weak (18 watt flourescent bulb) and the plants got spindly real quick. Resorted to sunny windowsill, and then transplanted to outdoor containers by early April. Long story short I picked some of the "Glacer" tomatoes ripe on May 30 so that was nice. 2 quick questions:
1) anyone have any comments on these varieties? It was 120 days from when I planted the seeds until I picked a tomato. That doesn't seem especially quick.
2) Can someone suggest a better grow light, than the 18 watt two foot Fluorescent ones I have?

Thanks!

pauldavid · June 23, 2015

I tried Bloody Butcher this year. It didn't seem that early to me, but we had non-stop storms this spring. T8 or T5 bulbs work good. How far above your plants did you have the lights? I keep mine an inch or two above my plants.

CamuMahubah · June 23, 2015

I'm gonna make a hoop house next year out of the clothesline so stay tuned...

Gonna start them March 1..and put them under plastic April 10th or so..

Gets below freezing but barely. With warm soil they should make it.

I'm actually gonna try this next year.

Any ideas for plastic?

bower · June 23, 2015

hi Mitchell,

Can't comment on Glacier or Sophie'sChoice because both times I tried them they were not the right seeds. 120 days is not bad, not the earliest but for early spring pretty good, and typical for early types eg Stupice. I have to remind myself that days below 60F are not 'growing degree days' for tomatoes - and a day that tops 60 F for just an hour or two is not a full degree-day either. So if your climate (or the season) happens to be nicer, or in my case if I set them out later, you can get early variety tomatoes to ripen in 110 or sometimes a bit less.
The least number of days from seed to ripe ever for me, was a Jagodka that I grew entirely indoors in the window - 88 days to first fruit. This year I'm growing it with others in the greenhouse and 'real' conditions, and it's not nearly as early as others in these conditions. There are many many early varieties out there - some not worth eating, but there's bound to be some good ones that happen to like (or tolerate) spring conditions in your area.

The cheapest lights that are good enough for seedlings are shoplights -T8's work for me, T5's are more expensive.

Gardeneer · June 23, 2015

Last year I had Bloody Butcher, Stupice, Matina, Siletz, Legend . This year I stopped the first 3 because of
(mainly) small cherry like fruits and kept Siletz, Legend and added Willamette, and FOJ

But as of this 2nd day of summer my CP, BigBeef, Mini Roma, Indigo Rose ,... beating ALL those EARLY ones in the bushes. YMMV

Gardeneer

PS: add picture

This little dwarf ( ~ 14", in a 4 gallon pot) beat all the rest of 50 boys and girls, mammas and papas in my garden.
The Name : Hahms Gelbe Topftomate

Edited:
This OP, of course, NOT heirloom.

Cole_Robbie · June 23, 2015

I have a thread about the topic here:
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=25071

I went all-heirloom in the high tunnel this year. Most of the earliest tomatoes are going to be saladette size at the biggest. Cole was my earliest, and my favorite. Gribivsky was ok, unique for its acid bite.

Mountain Princess was my first slicer. It's ok, but not much better than Early Girl.

Taxi is simply the best early yellow tomato. I can't say enough about that variety. It is open pollinated, if that meets your definition of heirloom.

b54red · June 23, 2015

My varieties that are consistently early are Pruden's Purple, Indian Stripe and Indian Stripe PL. Fish Lake Oxheart was the earliest OP tomato I have ever grown; but I only grew it twice so I can't be sure. The others I have grown for years with multiple plantings and they are always some of the earliest each year.

Bill

crmauch · June 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by bower

hi Mitchell,
The cheapest lights that are good enough for seedlings are shoplights -T8's work for me, T5's are more expensive.

If using T8's watch for the very cheap 30 Watt bulbs (they don't put out as much light) - stick to 40 Watt bulbs.

If your closet is too small for a T8 shop light 4 ft fixture, look into aquarium fluorescents (which at a good pet store can be found in multiple lengths) but make sure if you can what the limit of your fixture is.

Again if space is limited you could look into an aquarium fixture, but that's going to be more expensive than shop lights from an initial purchase price.

I'm aware that some on these forums are trying/using LED lights now but I don't know the anything about them.

Mitchell · June 23, 2015

Folks...thanks for all of the advice!

seaeagle · June 24, 2015

I have grown Better Boy and Early Girl together for years, and Better Boy was always just as early as Early Girl.Stopped growing Early Girl, cause it only had the that really great sweet taste about one out of every 5 years.Ate my first Better Boy today, Mater Sandwich, YUM!Better Boy is earlier than Prudens Purple or Cherokee Purple here.Oops

Balconygrower · June 25, 2015

Mitchell, I don't know how far you had the lights from your plants, but it sounds like they were too far away. About 2 inches is what you want and you have to keep moving the lights as your plants grow. Also, the light intensity drops off rather dramatically as you move away from the center of the light.

June 22, 2015	#1
Mitchell Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Milton, Delaware Posts: 3	Early Heirlooms I live in Delaware, and really wanted to have ripe tomatoes by the end of May. No greenhouse to work with. So I started "Sophies Choice" and "Glacier" by seed in a warm closet in mid January under a grow light. The grow light seemed too weak (18 watt flourescent bulb) and the plants got spindly real quick. Resorted to sunny windowsill, and then transplanted to outdoor containers by early April. Long story short I picked some of the "Glacer" tomatoes ripe on May 30 so that was nice. 2 quick questions: 1) anyone have any comments on these varieties? It was 120 days from when I planted the seeds until I picked a tomato. That doesn't seem especially quick. 2) Can someone suggest a better grow light, than the 18 watt two foot Fluorescent ones I have? Thanks!

June 24, 2015	#10
seaeagle Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: virginia Posts: 743	I have grown Better Boy and Early Girl together for years, and Better Boy was always just as early as Early Girl.Stopped growing Early Girl, cause it only had the that really great sweet taste about one out of every 5 years.Ate my first Better Boy today, Mater Sandwich, YUM!Better Boy is earlier than Prudens Purple or Cherokee Purple here.Oops Last edited by seaeagle; June 24, 2015 at 12:12 AM. Reason: Just realized this was an Heirloom thread :)

June 23, 2015	#2
pauldavid Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: NE Louisiana, Zone 8A Posts: 1,179	I tried Bloody Butcher this year. It didn't seem that early to me, but we had non-stop storms this spring. T8 or T5 bulbs work good. How far above your plants did you have the lights? I keep mine an inch or two above my plants.

June 23, 2015	#3
CamuMahubah Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Alliance Nebraska Posts: 169	I'm gonna make a hoop house next year out of the clothesline so stay tuned... Gonna start them March 1..and put them under plastic April 10th or so.. Gets below freezing but barely. With warm soil they should make it. I'm actually gonna try this next year. Any ideas for plastic?

June 23, 2015	#4
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	hi Mitchell, Can't comment on Glacier or Sophie'sChoice because both times I tried them they were not the right seeds. 120 days is not bad, not the earliest but for early spring pretty good, and typical for early types eg Stupice. I have to remind myself that days below 60F are not 'growing degree days' for tomatoes - and a day that tops 60 F for just an hour or two is not a full degree-day either. So if your climate (or the season) happens to be nicer, or in my case if I set them out later, you can get early variety tomatoes to ripen in 110 or sometimes a bit less. The least number of days from seed to ripe ever for me, was a Jagodka that I grew entirely indoors in the window - 88 days to first fruit. This year I'm growing it with others in the greenhouse and 'real' conditions, and it's not nearly as early as others in these conditions. There are many many early varieties out there - some not worth eating, but there's bound to be some good ones that happen to like (or tolerate) spring conditions in your area. The cheapest lights that are good enough for seedlings are shoplights -T8's work for me, T5's are more expensive.

June 23, 2015	#6
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I have a thread about the topic here: http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=25071 I went all-heirloom in the high tunnel this year. Most of the earliest tomatoes are going to be saladette size at the biggest. Cole was my earliest, and my favorite. Gribivsky was ok, unique for its acid bite. Mountain Princess was my first slicer. It's ok, but not much better than Early Girl. Taxi is simply the best early yellow tomato. I can't say enough about that variety. It is open pollinated, if that meets your definition of heirloom.

June 23, 2015	#7
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	My varieties that are consistently early are Pruden's Purple, Indian Stripe and Indian Stripe PL. Fish Lake Oxheart was the earliest OP tomato I have ever grown; but I only grew it twice so I can't be sure. The others I have grown for years with multiple plantings and they are always some of the earliest each year. Bill

June 25, 2015	#11
Balconygrower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Minnetonka Posts: 1	Mitchell, I don't know how far you had the lights from your plants, but it sounds like they were too far away. About 2 inches is what you want and you have to keep moving the lights as your plants grow. Also, the light intensity drops off rather dramatically as you move away from the center of the light.