Planning A Fall Tomato Garden

[AlittleSalt]

Update - so far I have these planted in the cells:

Sweetie
WOW
Peacevine
Oranje Van Goeijenbier
Japanese Pink Cherry
Punta Banda - 2 for growing in pots.
Rebel Yell
Sioux
Arkansas Traveler
Early Girl VFF
Siletz
Floradade - Walter x Fla. 2153
Big Beef
Pruden's Purple
Atkinson
Helsing ★★★★★★★★ Blue
Matt's Wild Cherry
Berkeley Tie Dye Pink
Enduro #1
Missouri 15

[gardeninglee]

This makes so much sense! How can I bookmark this post for future reference??

Originally Posted by b54red

I have been growing fall tomatoes for many years and have had great success as long as I get them in early enough meaning before August. After August it is very iffy and totally dependent on when winter gets here. Don't believe the myth that you have to grow only small or cherry tomatoes what you need are tomatoes that will set in the heat and some that will ripen when the temps get a little too cool. There are several factors that will make a huge difference in whether you are successful or not:

1. Heavy mulch: this protects the roots from excessive heat and rapid drying out which will both cause massive bloom drop. The plants will still need far more water than in the spring or the blooms will fail to set a decent amount of fruit. Even if everything is done properly during the hottest months fruit set will not be a good as in the fall when the nights cool down nor will the fruit get as large since the heat will cause somewhat earlier ripening during late summer and very early fall. I use a heavy layer of cypress mulch since it works better than anything I have tried and keeps the soil nice and cool and the moisture level more even.

2. Stagger Plant: I set out fall tomatoes during June and July in two or three different plantings being sure not to bury them deep when planting to avoid Bacterial Wilt or damping off. I try not to water them much after planting them in already moistened and mulched soil to promote fast root development. I only water them a bit when they start wilting for the first two weeks. After that I feed them with TTF every week to ten days if possible and water them regularly and fairly heavily when they start blooming. If any fruits start to split then I cut back on the watering temporarily.

3. Feed the plants regularly: I use TTF almost weekly as soon as they start blooming to encourage better fruit set and also start using an electric toothbrush in the morning on the blooms before it gets too hot.

4. Use fungicides and pesticides: Keeping the plants as disease free as possible is absolutely necessary if you want tomatoes in the fall and this means regular spraying with Daconil and copper along with using the bleach spray for gray mold and other hard to deal with problems. Spider mites, whiteflies, aphids, stink bugs and leaf footed bugs can cause great damage to plants during those really hot times and must be dealt with promptly when they appear. I have found a soapy water mix with Permethrin along with a good dose of diatomaceous earth food grade mixed in and then strained into the sprayer is the most effective remedy for these pests. BT can be used for worm prevention but if they get bad I will use Sevin for immediate fast results.

5. Pruning: I use Missouri pruning and keep my plants to only two stems but three or four can be used depending on your support method. The Missouri pruning allows for more foliage cover to prevent sunscald and the limiting of stems aids in air flow to prevent disease.

6. Varieties: This may be the most important decision you will make in successfully growing fall tomatoes. I have grown lots of tomato varieties in the fall and founds some are far better than others. Some years when the summer is cooler than normal almost any tomato variety will do okay but generally you need the varieties that will set fruit better in the heat and if you plant late then you need the ones that ripen better in the fall. Surprisingly there are even a few large fruited varieties that will do well as fall tomatoes.

The following are the ones that I have had the best luck with at setting in the heat:
Pruden's Purple
Indian Stripe (both reg and pl)
Spudakee
JD's Special C Tex
Couilles de Taureau (large)
Arkansas Traveler
Donskoi (large)
Druzba
Zogola
Limbaugh's Legacy (large)
Virginia Sweet (large)
Red Brandywine
Gary O' Sena (large)
Bill's Large Red
Neves Azorean Red (large)
Sioux

The following have proven that they can ripen well once it gets cool and since they also set well in the heat they are good for the last planting:
Carbon
Berkeley Tie Dye Pink
Spudakee
Indian Stripe
Limbaugh's Legacy

I am still trying out varieties for fall to see how they will do and will let you know if I find any more good ones.

Bill

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by gardeninglee

This makes so much sense! How can I bookmark this post for future reference??

Just PM me when you want it and I will remember where it is at.

No kidding.

Worth

[agee12]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Update - so far I have these planted in the cells:

Sweetie
WOW
Peacevine
Oranje Van Goeijenbier
Japanese Pink Cherry
Punta Banda - 2 for growing in pots.
Rebel Yell
Sioux
Arkansas Traveler
Early Girl VFF
Siletz
Floradade - Walter x Fla. 2153
Big Beef
Pruden's Purple
Atkinson
Helsing ★★★★★★★★ Blue
Matt's Wild Cherry
Berkeley Tie Dye Pink
Enduro #1
Missouri 15

How did it go? What varieties performed best?

[AlittleSalt]

I planted them in the area of the garden that we now call the RKN garden. Later this year/Next year, it will be called 'The Chicken Pen/Coop'.

[SteveP]

Last year I left my tomato plants in the ground and as the summer temps began to drop they set on new growth, blooms and tomatoes. The plants looked terrible but I got about
200 tomatoes after I thought it was over.

[imp]

Got a late start due to several reasons this year, so put in the tomatoes for a late summer/fall garden. Trying out quite a few and hopefully they shall do well with heavy mulch and ( if I EVER figure it out) good irrigation/feeding.

Up here, it's hotter and drier than Salt or worth and the wind can be a good thing for keeping circulation, though August is usually just brutal, temp wise.

[BigVanVader]

This makes so much sense! How can I bookmark this post for future reference??

Just click the post number in the upper right hand corner, then bookmark that post in your favorites.

[Gardeneer]

I will do a test fall tomato garden too.
Being my first year gardening down here, I don't know how early or late our killer frost will come. But I guess it should be some time close to Thanksgiving. So in the case , if I plant out mid July ( as Bill has recommended ) , there will be a 4 months window of time and most early and mid season varieties should have a chance.
I might do a few form cuttings and some from seeds that I have.

[jtjmartin]

Same here.

I have some suckers rooting now for a few plants hoping one will make the nifty-50 in the MMMM exchange. Going to try to start paying back some of the many that gave me seeds this last year.

[AlittleSalt]

When I posted my reply early this morning (Post #20) - I didn't have much time before we had to go. I do have fall tomato plants coming up for this Fall garden. I'm stubborn and will try planting them in a different garden. I planted them a month and week or so before they are suggested to start (Suggested July 4) I planted around May 21. So far, I have these coming up:

Amish Gold
Campari (A bunch of them)
Grape F2 (An F2 cross)
Porter
Rebel Yell (1 plant)
Sungold (2 from older seeds)
Sun Sugar
5 clones that I'm too tired to remember what they are.
And I'm going to see if I can find some VFN hybrid varieties of seeds locally tomorrow.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

When I posted my reply early this morning (Post #20) - I didn't have much time before we had to go. I do have fall tomato plants coming up for this Fall garden. I'm stubborn and will try planting them in a different garden. I planted them a month and week or so before they are suggested to start (Suggested July 4) I planted around May 21. So far, I have these coming up:

Amish Gold
Campari (A bunch of them)
Grape F2 (An F2 cross)
Porter
Rebel Yell (1 plant)
Sungold (2 from older seeds)
Sun Sugar
5 clones that I'm too tired to remember what they are.
And I'm going to see if I can find some VFN hybrid varieties of seeds locally tomorrow.

Robert, you made me to hurry up.
Especially those from seed. I Think I can produce seedlings from cutting much faster. But with the seeds I think a 6 weeks window of time should be ok.

Now, I have to look into my seeds inventory and pick a few for fall planting.
I want to plant the varieties that I wanted to plant in the spring but did not have space for them.

[AlittleSalt]

Gardeneer, I am worn out after a very long day and hopefully this makes sense. For a fall garden, longer DTM varieties may not have the time to produce. That's why I'm only growing the one Rebel Yell - it's 80 DTM. It may be only my opinion and thoughts, but the fall garden is a good time to try out some shorter DTM varieties. A lot of cherry tomatoes fit that description. Many will grow and produce in both hot and cooler weather. There is also the fact that each day of sun is growing shorter in the fall until the winter solstice. The sun's intensity is also lower in fall. The sun feeds our tomato plants in a different but very important way.

And all that's just my thoughts on growing tomatoes outside in the fall.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Gardeneer, I am worn out after a very long day and hopefully this makes sense. For a fall garden, longer DTM varieties may not have the time to produce. That's why I'm only growing the one Rebel Yell - it's 80 DTM. It may be only my opinion and thoughts, but the fall garden is a good time to try out some shorter DTM varieties. A lot of cherry tomatoes fit that description. Many will grow and produce in both hot and cooler weather. There is also the fact that each day of sun is growing shorter in the fall until the winter solstice. The sun's intensity is also lower in fall. The sun feeds our tomato plants in a different but very important way.

And all that's just my thoughts on growing tomatoes outside in the fall.

Thanks, Robert.

I was just going to ask about the DTM for fall crop of tomatoes.

Here are the ones I would like to grow for the fall, from seed:
AZOYCHKA ( it is mid season )
BIG BOY (or ?) BETTER BOY
BLACK KREME ( to compare to my other black vars.)
BLOODY BUTCHER ( It is early ..)
CHEROKEE PURPLE ( it is early-mid)
COSTOLUTO GEN. (*)
DELICIOUS (*)
DWARF PURPLE HEART
INDIGO ROSE
LIMMONY (*)
MAT-SU EXPRESS (*)
PURPLE BUMBLE BEE (*)
RIESENTRAUBE ( didn,t do well in PNW)
SILETZ (it is early , likes cool weather )
------------------
(*) _ FIRST TIME

I will have to choose only 6 or 7 of those, as I want a smaller fall garden.
Any suggestions as to which ones to grow ?
I will also have some from my current varieties, by rooting cuttings.

[Keiththibodeaux]

I have grown many fall gardens over the years. Once I even harvested up to Christmas Day. One thing I have discovered is that without the heat, they don't get the flavor. At least that's been my experience. They're OK, but nothing like a summer tomato.