2016 Season Progression - Page 2

jpop · February 21, 2016

even more

sdambr · February 21, 2016

JPOP, the plants look absolutely fabulous, so healthy and strong. A wee bit jealous here in NY, but extremely happy yours are doing so nicely.

Gardenboy · February 21, 2016

Nice pictures neighbor! Hope they produce many tomatoes for you. I have about 12 volunteer tomato plants that are doing fine...at the moment. Have cucumbers, 4 types of Romaine lettuce and spinach growing right now. Hope the seeds I sent will do good for you as well.

jpop · February 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdambr

JPOP, the plants look absolutely fabulous, so healthy and strong. A wee bit jealous here in NY, but extremely happy yours are doing so nicely.

Thank you, so far so good. Hopefully the weather holds for a few more months.

jpop · February 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardenboy

Nice pictures neighbor! Hope they produce many tomatoes for you. I have about 12 volunteer tomato plants that are doing fine...at the moment. Have cucumbers, 4 types of Romaine lettuce and spinach growing right now. Hope the seeds I sent will do good for you as well.

Thank you for the kind words and the seeds. Have never tried saving seeds before, so I may reach out for some help to pay it forward to you and Marsha.

ginger2778 · February 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardenboy

Nice pictures neighbor! Hope they produce many tomatoes for you. I have about 12 volunteer tomato plants that are doing fine...at the moment. Have cucumbers, 4 types of Romaine lettuce and spinach growing right now. Hope the seeds I sent will do good for you as well.

+1

Deborah · February 21, 2016

What gorgeous healthy plants!

jpop · February 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

+1

Thank you Marsha. Also, glad to hear some of your plants making a revival. Fingers and toes crossed.

jpop · February 21, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deborah

What gorgeous healthy plants!

Thank you Deborah. Hoping I can keep it going for a few more months.

Fiishergurl · February 22, 2016

JPop those are just beautiful. Are you using anything to stimulate the pollination?

Ginny

Barb_FL · February 22, 2016

I don't know how I missed your thread but your plants are beautiful and setting lots of fruit. They grew huge in such a short time. Is this the first time growing in Florida? If so, as long as the fruit is set, hot temperatures won't matter. Whatever you are doing, keep doing it.

I also grow around my pool in Earthboxes and elevated root pouches and have always had problems with staking when the plants get too large (> 6').

It looks like you are supporting with just one stake. Is that the case? it looks like it is working really well even with the large plants. Is your area wind protected? I get days of wind weekly.

---
I only have a few planted out so far, and although it doesn't seem buggy at all, I can't believe how many bugs are on the yellow traps even after one night.

jpop · February 22, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

JPop those are just beautiful. Are you using anything to stimulate the pollination?

Ginny

Yes, Neptunes Harvest Hydrolized Fish Fertilizer. 1 TBS per Gallon once per week. Can see the difference 1 to 2 days after application, can not believe how good this stuff is. Going to try their tomato formula next. Was contemplating the texas tomato food but do not want to fix what is not broken.

jpop · February 22, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

I don't know how I missed your thread but your plants are beautiful and setting lots of fruit. They grew huge in such a short time. Is this the first time growing in Florida? If so, as long as the fruit is set, hot temperatures won't matter. Whatever you are doing, keep doing it.

I also grow around my pool in Earthboxes and elevated root pouches and have always had problems with staking when the plants get too large (> 6').

It looks like you are supporting with just one stake. Is that the case? it looks like it is working really well even with the large plants. Is your area wind protected? I get days of wind weekly.

---
I only have a few planted out so far, and although it doesn't seem buggy at all, I can't believe how many bugs are on the yellow traps even after one night.

Only 2nd time growing in Florida, the 1st w/ minimal success but after tasting 1 fruit, was hooked instantly. I received most of my help from this forum and of course Marsha (Ginger2778), as no need to reinvent the wheel w/ her success in our backyard.

Ironically enough I have to contribute the rapid plant growth to a large error made by myself during pot up. I had a bag of calcium nitrate next to the other amendments (i.e. mycos, tomato tone, lime, etc.) and accidentally put the recommended 1 lb. of calcium nitrate instead of the lime. I was not going to say anything until I let it grow through as I was tempted to throw out the potting mix and start over but figured the financial mistake would turn into an experiment whether good or bad. The black pots had no calcium nitrate added and as you can see from the photos. Even w/ the earthboxes packed w/ plants (2-3)compared to the individual pots w/ individual plants, the earthboxes w/ the calcium nitrate exploded in growth and maturity in comparison. Obviously the increased nitrogen has not hurt flowering or fruit production likely because it is in nitrate form. So all else being equal, this seems to be the contributing factor. Time will still tell.

As far as stakes. Each plant has 1 stake, but I use twine to tie them to each stake on each large stem and continue as the plants grow. I get plenty of wind in my backyard and lost a portion of one of my big beef plant due to not tying it and left unsupported. Had a tornado and gusts up to 40 mph last week and the plants went unscathed. Lastly, the yellow fly traps have been invaluable and have gone through no less than 30 so far due to full coverage w/ no tackiness left.

Deborah · February 22, 2016

That's what I've always done-cedar stakes and twine. Except that I use avocado color yarn because it blends with the leaf color and looks pretty.

jpop · February 22, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deborah

That's what I've always done-cedar stakes and twine. Except that I use avocado color yarn because it blends with the leaf color and looks pretty.

Working so far. Hoping it stays the course if the plants end up much taller

February 21, 2016	#17
sdambr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 421	JPOP, the plants look absolutely fabulous, so healthy and strong. A wee bit jealous here in NY, but extremely happy yours are doing so nicely. __________________ Sue "There are only two ways to live your life: as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein

February 21, 2016	#22
Deborah Riding The Crazy Train Again Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Marcos, California Posts: 2,562	What gorgeous healthy plants! __________________ "The righteous one cares for the needs of his animal". Proverbs 12:10

February 22, 2016	#29
Deborah Riding The Crazy Train Again Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Marcos, California Posts: 2,562	That's what I've always done-cedar stakes and twine. Except that I use avocado color yarn because it blends with the leaf color and looks pretty. __________________ "The righteous one cares for the needs of his animal". Proverbs 12:10

February 21, 2016	#18
Gardenboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 784	Nice pictures neighbor! Hope they produce many tomatoes for you. I have about 12 volunteer tomato plants that are doing fine...at the moment. Have cucumbers, 4 types of Romaine lettuce and spinach growing right now. Hope the seeds I sent will do good for you as well.

February 22, 2016	#25
Fiishergurl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Oak Hill, Florida Posts: 1,781	JPop those are just beautiful. Are you using anything to stimulate the pollination? Ginny

February 22, 2016	#26
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	I don't know how I missed your thread but your plants are beautiful and setting lots of fruit. They grew huge in such a short time. Is this the first time growing in Florida? If so, as long as the fruit is set, hot temperatures won't matter. Whatever you are doing, keep doing it. I also grow around my pool in Earthboxes and elevated root pouches and have always had problems with staking when the plants get too large (> 6'). It looks like you are supporting with just one stake. Is that the case? it looks like it is working really well even with the large plants. Is your area wind protected? I get days of wind weekly. --- I only have a few planted out so far, and although it doesn't seem buggy at all, I can't believe how many bugs are on the yellow traps even after one night.