Calling all zone 8 and 9 er's how they growing?

[bryanccfshr]

A quirk of the heavy rains is that I am still getting fruit set on my Cherry's Big Boys and brandywynes.

Fruit set continues in hot humid south central texas.
So much so I am considering a phosphourous boost.

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by TJS

Feldon,
Are your tomatoes diseased from all the rain,why are you pulling them now?
Tim

Yes, and I have no interest in keeping plants alive for 4 months with no possibility of fruitset. It would be a waste of fertilizer and daconil.

Maybe if I'd kept my plants sprayed every week with pesticide and daconil, the plants would still look ok, but I don't know how much fruit I'd get.

[TJS]

Question,
If you take plants out in midsummer, will that help break the fungal, insect cycle. I have had some plants in the ground only about a month and most of them have just begun to flower, some haven't even started. There is very little disease on anything. Do you think I should let them stay or rip them out and start new seeds or cuttings? In the past I have left the same plants in the ground all summer, there is a lull in the hottest part of the summer but I still get toms later when it cools down though they do get straggly. Will the cherries stop producing as well?
Thanks, Tim

[feldon30]

Well Charleston is not as rough as Houston, so you are probably able to do things we can't.

I have not tried to keep tomato plants alive through the summer. The plants are very diseased and sad looking but that's probably because I did not spray often enough. Also note that this is my 2nd year.

If you have healthy plants of varieties that you want to continue into the fall, you can certainly take cuttings and plant them.

I would imagine that in Charleston, cherry tomatoes would fruit for an extended period of time, possibly through the summer into the fall.

[TJS]

Thanks Feldon,
Tim

[TJS]

Weird thing, my plants have started setting tomatoes better than all season this week even marianna's peace has set its first fruit ( 3 I think, all the plants have grown into one big mass at the tops of the cages so its hard to tell for sure). We have not recieved much rain so I guess that makes the difference with diseases. Truth be told I have sprayed them only with BT for worms, aspirin water at the begining of the season and liquid kelp. No fungicides. I did heavily mulch with compost and put cornmeal on top as I have read that it works as a fungicide. It might be worth trying to prevent the fungus amungus I don't think anything you poor folks in Tx could have done with the deluges ya'll had. But hurricane season has begun so after a tropical stom or 2 roll through we in Chas. will see...
Tim

[supergirl]

Hurray! Have finally had my first two ripe tomatoes: one Druzhba and one Russian #117. I have one very very large German Red Strawberry (at least I think that's what it is! My labeling wore of on some of the pots) that's starting to get ripe -- can't wait!

Plants are still doing well. Most of them up to 6-8 feet now. I have a few that are poking up over the neighbor's fence. Still waiting on more to get ripe, especially waiting for Earl's Faux. Seem to be getting a little more fungus - picked off a little greenie today that had botrytis or something else going on. I pulled the mildewed sweet peas that were nearby down, in case the mold was from there. Hopefully can fend it off to at least get to taste everything.

[feldon30]

What did you think of the Druzba? I am considering growing it next year. I've had the opportunity to taste one and found it to be a decent tomato. It would be sort of a gamble since it can be somewhat late.

[bigbubbacain]

Feldon30: I know I should be thinking about yanking the plants up, but I still have Dona, Creole, Ark Traveler, and Cherokee Chocolate setting fruit. How long do you think I should let this go on? The fruits are quite ugly from the heat and rain, but I'll just eat them with my eyes closed. Also, please tell me about Millet and what this does for tomatoes? Thanks

[feldon30]

If you are still getting tasty fruit, no reason to pull the plants. Suze's plants are still producing, but some of the fruit especially Earl's Faux and Matt D'Imperio are now looking pretty rough on the top as the plants are suffering heat stress.

Millet is a "trap crop". It's something that stink bugs prefer to tomatoes. Ideally, you would grow it 20-30 feet away from the tomatoes and the stink bugs would find it and hang out there (where you can either leave them to ravage the plants or suck them up with a handheld vacuum cleaner) instead of the tomato plants.

[TJS]

Had some rain this week and now the diseases have started in force. Been picking off leaves and spread some corn meal. I was looking at one plant and some of the leaves were shredded and had a 1/2" grey maggot looking bugs. Anyone know whwt these are?
Tim