Mark's 2018 crop

[Barb_FL]

Mark - What varieties do you think are the best tasting determinate? Our season has started; I would like to vary the starting time of determinate tomatoes over the long season. TIA

[greenthumbomaha]

Originally Posted by AKmark

Honestly you can grow them too without a whole lot of effort in containers. The MOST IMPORTANT thing is proper fertilizer for tomatoes in containers. You can choose any variety you like. If you want low labor just do tasty determinates.

I will help any way I can.

Thank you, Mark. I still grow in-ground but the prep and watering is a handful.



I have grown 0-33 twice (both times in containers to get ahead start until the ground warms, and agree it is a good producer (all season for me when it gets attention) and tastes good. In researching 0-33, I came across a comment about another cold tolerant tomato AMPLE from Tatiana and would like to know more about it.


- Lisa

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Mark - What varieties do you think are the best tasting determinate? Our season has started; I would like to vary the starting time of determinate tomatoes over the long season. TIA

I really have good luck with Mountain Fresh. For me it has a very good taste, a true market tomato. I don't grow determinates in my GH anymore, and they are a bit late for outside up here.

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

What variety are the very long cucumbers?

Tasty Jade- Johnny's seeds. I prefer them over English cucumbers.

[efisakov]

Mark, thank you for sharing your creation:Mat-Su Express. Marsha was so kind to sent me seeds . I was late to ask for them so got them in June.

Seeded June 9, transplanted June 28, first picked September 1. That is super fast. The taste is great, has a burst of flavors both sweet and acid at the same time. Perfect early variety.

[AKmark]

My daughter found this hiding in the back.

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by efisakov

Mark, thank you for sharing your creation:Mat-Su Express. Marsha was so kind to sent me seeds . I was late to ask for them so got them in June.

Seeded June 9, transplanted June 28, first picked September 1. That is super fast. The taste is great, has a burst of flavors both sweet and acid at the same time. Perfect early variety.

Your welcome, I am just glad it's working out. I sell a bunch of them.

Sherry and I have some good ones, many are pretty darn early and good too. She has some really interesting varieties she is working.

I am sending Marsha a bunch of seed this fall to hand out as she pleases.

Take care

[GrowingCoastal]

The Mat-Su Express I got from Marsha did great here too.We had an exceptional long dry summer. Thanks for sharing.

[AKmark]

Everything here was grown in (5 gallon containers), two plants each. The fruit is fairly blemish free for heirlooms, the yield has been good, and the taste excellent. This is easy to do.

Here you see some classics. Brandywine, Rebel Yell, Delicious, KBX, Yellow Brandywine, NAR, Chapman, a few Big Beef and a GH hybrid called Tommimaru Muchoo.

I am close to starting the clean out phase, the end of another season. I have seen a trend, an increase in folks trying tomatoes in containers, so maybe I can help with some confusion, or add to it. (LOL). I always thought it is important to give back to the community where we can. I will leave a couple of tips, and a couple comments. I really enjoy the social media online gardening relationships with many here.

Use a good tomato fertilizer tailored for containers. High K is a must, you must also include secondary elements Ca, and MgSO4-it must contain all elements used for growing plants. Flower fertilizers are not the correct mixes, ratios, or strength. Polish up on distribution of these elements for tomato growing in containers. They usually are a two-four part fertilizer.

Strength-PPM, 1200 seedlings, mature 1500-1700 without source water included. EC, 2-2.3 without source, pH 6-6.5 best, they will do okay slightly outside of these parameters.

USE CONTINUOUS FEED FERTILIZER. (Every time you water), I cannot overstate this.

Do not try your own mix, ratio, frequency of use, or strength. It has already been figured out, tested over and over. Follow the directions.

Listen to commercial growers with experience- they grow to make money, so performance is a must.

Prune, you can get away with a bunch of vines per plant in the ground, but it kills performance in a container, it also makes for a big mess. I have done side by side experiments over a (long) season, the pros have too. You can listen to them or pretend you have an angle that they do not.

Variety selection varies the most, many work good, find the best, just grow them.
Find those that YOU prefer.
If you sell, listen to your customers.
Different regions different favorites I think, but some are so good.

I well that's about it, good luck everyone. It is work, but we don't have to eat very many store tomatoes.

[kunosoura]

Thanks for the tips Mark. This, as always, is super helpful. I'm working on a project to fully automate watering with a continuous feed fert and the information you've shared over the past few years is making it possible for me.

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by kunosoura

Thanks for the tips Mark. This, as always, is super helpful. I'm working on a project to fully automate watering with a continuous feed fert and the information you've shared over the past few years is making it possible for me.

No problem. I just share info I attained elsewhere. None of it is my ideas.

[AKmark]

These are my F8 for F9 seed selection. It is a great variety for early type tomatoes in the 60 day range give or take a day or two.

[imp]

Intense color! How is the taste, Mark?

[imp]

Originally Posted by AKmark

Everything here was grown in (5 gallon containers), two plants each. The fruit is fairly blemish free for heirlooms, the yield has been good, and the taste excellent. This is easy to do.

Here you see some classics. Brandywine, Rebel Yell, Delicious, KBX, Yellow Brandywine, NAR, Chapman, a few Big Beef and a GH hybrid called Tommimaru Muchoo.

I am close to starting the clean out phase, the end of another season. I have seen a trend, an increase in folks trying tomatoes in containers, so maybe I can help with some confusion, or add to it. (LOL). I always thought it is important to give back to the community where we can. I will leave a couple of tips, and a couple comments. I really enjoy the social media online gardening relationships with many here.

Use a good tomato fertilizer tailored for containers. High K is a must, you must also include secondary elements Ca, and MgSO4-it must contain all elements used for growing plants. Flower fertilizers are not the correct mixes, ratios, or strength. Polish up on distribution of these elements for tomato growing in containers. They usually are a two-four part fertilizer.

Strength-PPM, 1200 seedlings, mature 1500-1700 without source water included. EC, 2-2.3 without source, pH 6-6.5 best, they will do okay slightly outside of these parameters.

USE CONTINUOUS FEED FERTILIZER. (Every time you water), I cannot overstate this.

Do not try your own mix, ratio, frequency of use, or strength. It has already been figured out, tested over and over. Follow the directions.

Listen to commercial growers with experience- they grow to make money, so performance is a must.

Prune, you can get away with a bunch of vines per plant in the ground, but it kills performance in a container, it also makes for a big mess. I have done side by side experiments over a (long) season, the pros have too. You can listen to them or pretend you have an angle that they do not.

Variety selection varies the most, many work good, find the best, just grow them.
Find those that YOU prefer.
If you sell, listen to your customers.
Different regions different favorites I think, but some are so good.

I well that's about it, good luck everyone. It is work, but we don't have to eat very many store tomatoes.

Mark, I shall be using more containers due to growing here at home and the problem of my pecan trees, but got totally confused at the sentences "Strength-PPM, 1200 seedlings, mature 1500-1700 without source water included. EC, 2-2.3 without source, pH 6-6.5 best, they will do okay slightly outside of these parameters."


What does that all mean? Totally at a loss, LOL, sorry.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by imp

Mark, I shall be using more containers due to growing here at home and the problem of my pecan trees, but got totally confused at the sentences "Strength-PPM, 1200 seedlings, mature 1500-1700 without source water included. EC, 2-2.3 without source, pH 6-6.5 best, they will do okay slightly outside of these parameters."


What does that all mean? Totally at a loss, LOL, sorry.

It's a long thread,but if you read through it, he tells you.