What's your secret? - Page 2

dustdevil · August 6, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Dust, I already suggested that in post #2 of this thread.

Carolyn

Carolyn, It was my way of backing you up. Great minds think alike

bower · August 6, 2015

My biggest tomatoes ever were last year. Even varieties I've grown many years had bigger fruit, and even varieties that weren't cluster pruned nor suffered drops and were allowed to set some small ones in a given large cluster still produced the largest fruit I've seen them do.

So what was different last year? Well we had the warmest July ever, with 353 hours above 68 F, it was sunny and hot for four weeks straight. A record here. It was not great setting weather because the greenhouse gets too hot, so I would think it might be the fewer fruit per plant making larger fruit, except for the exceptions, the plant that set little as well as big ones and still had larger fruit than ever.

Another thing different last year, I had some dry chicken manure product which I dug into the soil in the first place as well as the compost I always apply. They liked that.

I do think you can get larger fruit by choosing some larger varieties. You have the sun down there, it's not limiting. You're feeding them and as you say it takes it to a certain max. So maybe you maxed out those varieties you grew...

Personally I was wowed by the bigger fruit as an eyefull, but it wasn't greater production overall. The big fruit could have been great to have if my family were home at the time, but they weren't. Large fruit, larger than I'm personally inclined to eat by myself at one sitting, is not a good thing. Who wants to eat as much as you like ie a little piece off a whopper, then leave the rest of it waiting... I would prefer an overall higher production situation with medium size tomatoes, I think there's an optimum size there between risk and reward as well....

And big tomatoes are only for big tomato eating situations.

Cole_Robbie · August 6, 2015

Giant tomatoes don't sell well at market. Everyone compliments them, but hardly anyone will buy them.

The other thought I had about the "giant" varieties, is that maybe they just make fewer blossoms, and that is what makes them giants.

PhilaGardener · August 6, 2015

Yes, there is something to be said for a cross-section that matches a loaf of bread

For me, it is more a 'mater of luck than planning. But I do enjoy it when it happens, and this seems to be a good year for me.
(Thanks to Gardenboy for sharing the seeds for this Brandywine Yellow, Platfoot)

AlittleSalt · August 6, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by gunrunner

For growing LARGE tomatoes? I don't mean the large variety type of tomatoes. I'm talking about the average tomato that grows big in your garden because you know the secret to having them grow bigger than normal. I tried using good fertilizer every two weeks to ten days which seems to help, but nothing out of the ordinary as far as size.
Can you share with me some thoughts on what I should do?

Thanks
Mike
Memphis

Mike, I use the leaves that fall from the oak trees in my yard. I dig them into the soil. Micro and Macronutrients are picked up by the roots of trees and feed the leaves. Adding leaves is adding those nutrients from thousands of years ago. Besides using leaves is adding organic materials that plants thrive on.

I believe in using the things that naturally grow in your area. So, what if someone is growing on an apartment balcony? You can still do this. Find the nearest unincorporated place and get leaves from whatever tree grows naturally in your area. Using "Natural for your area "Weeds works too - to a lesser degree, just cut off the seed part.

If you can't do that, mowed grass can help add organic material.

If you can compost organic materials, it seems that some think it is better, but I'm not sold on that either.

My thoughts are that mother earth has figured it out. She has a lot more experience than we do. It's up to us to figure out how to use it best.

Our gardens produce very well for us. I'm sold on using what is natural for our area. I'm not sure that answers your question. But I did my best.

habitat_gardener · August 7, 2015

I used to think I couldn't get big tomatoes because of the cool summers here. But then I started adding a handful of alfalfa pellets in the planting hole, and since then I've consistently gotten large tomatoes even in years that other locals describe as bad tomato years.

(shrug)

It could be that my soil was finally good enough (after several years of adding compost), or I may have learned to water enough at planting time, or the weather may have cooperated.

But I've always planted too close, and the summer nights here are always cool.
ymmv. The soil here is clay, with adequate potassium and phosphorus. All it needs is nitrogen. Before I started adding alfalfa, I didn't use any fertilizer -- just homemade compost.

On the other hand, because of the cool nights, I usually get big tomatoes all at once, after a heat wave. It takes longer for big tomatoes to mature, even to first-blush stage. So I don't plant many late-season varieties. But I do plant a large variety of colors, sizes, and shapes. At 3 gardens.

Lindalana · August 7, 2015

Carolyn, what a great idea for new thread! I was just marveling how much my knowledge has changed about growing tomatoes in last couple of years and how much more yet to come. Advances that are being made on modulation of lights, micro and macro nutrients, biology with all microbes is enough for another college education. Can't wait to hear about advances being done in Europe on bloom stimulators...
10 years from now agriculture will be in different place and no thanks to blue MG stuff LOL...

August 6, 2015	#17
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	My biggest tomatoes ever were last year. Even varieties I've grown many years had bigger fruit, and even varieties that weren't cluster pruned nor suffered drops and were allowed to set some small ones in a given large cluster still produced the largest fruit I've seen them do. So what was different last year? Well we had the warmest July ever, with 353 hours above 68 F, it was sunny and hot for four weeks straight. A record here. It was not great setting weather because the greenhouse gets too hot, so I would think it might be the fewer fruit per plant making larger fruit, except for the exceptions, the plant that set little as well as big ones and still had larger fruit than ever. Another thing different last year, I had some dry chicken manure product which I dug into the soil in the first place as well as the compost I always apply. They liked that. I do think you can get larger fruit by choosing some larger varieties. You have the sun down there, it's not limiting. You're feeding them and as you say it takes it to a certain max. So maybe you maxed out those varieties you grew... Personally I was wowed by the bigger fruit as an eyefull, but it wasn't greater production overall. The big fruit could have been great to have if my family were home at the time, but they weren't. Large fruit, larger than I'm personally inclined to eat by myself at one sitting, is not a good thing. Who wants to eat as much as you like ie a little piece off a whopper, then leave the rest of it waiting... I would prefer an overall higher production situation with medium size tomatoes, I think there's an optimum size there between risk and reward as well.... And big tomatoes are only for big tomato eating situations.

August 6, 2015	#18
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Giant tomatoes don't sell well at market. Everyone compliments them, but hardly anyone will buy them. The other thought I had about the "giant" varieties, is that maybe they just make fewer blossoms, and that is what makes them giants.

August 6, 2015	#19
PhilaGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Near Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,940	Yes, there is something to be said for a cross-section that matches a loaf of bread For me, it is more a 'mater of luck than planning. But I do enjoy it when it happens, and this seems to be a good year for me. (Thanks to Gardenboy for sharing the seeds for this Brandywine Yellow, Platfoot)

August 7, 2015	#21
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	I used to think I couldn't get big tomatoes because of the cool summers here. But then I started adding a handful of alfalfa pellets in the planting hole, and since then I've consistently gotten large tomatoes even in years that other locals describe as bad tomato years. (shrug) It could be that my soil was finally good enough (after several years of adding compost), or I may have learned to water enough at planting time, or the weather may have cooperated. But I've always planted too close, and the summer nights here are always cool. ymmv. The soil here is clay, with adequate potassium and phosphorus. All it needs is nitrogen. Before I started adding alfalfa, I didn't use any fertilizer -- just homemade compost. On the other hand, because of the cool nights, I usually get big tomatoes all at once, after a heat wave. It takes longer for big tomatoes to mature, even to first-blush stage. So I don't plant many late-season varieties. But I do plant a large variety of colors, sizes, and shapes. At 3 gardens.

August 7, 2015	#22
Lindalana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 857	Carolyn, what a great idea for new thread! I was just marveling how much my knowledge has changed about growing tomatoes in last couple of years and how much more yet to come. Advances that are being made on modulation of lights, micro and macro nutrients, biology with all microbes is enough for another college education. Can't wait to hear about advances being done in Europe on bloom stimulators... 10 years from now agriculture will be in different place and no thanks to blue MG stuff LOL...