Big Beef Hybrid

[Cole_Robbie]

Nice pics. What lighting are you using?

Big Beef is my favorite hybrid. I think everyone should try it. For what it's worth, I've replaced it in my garden with Cosmonaut Volkov.

[Hudson_WY]

Thanks to all !! We are having fun and learning more than we sharing on this forum !!

Geez Cole - now I'm going to have to try Cosmonaut Volkov - if it replaced Big Beef it has to be good! The lights in the photo are just incandescent bulbs used when the seedlings were small - to keep them warm.

[Cole_Robbie]

Wow, I thought you were using supplemental lighting. I'm even more impressed now.

I don't have the words to say how beautiful that is!

[sjamesNorway]

Great photo of the greenhouse at dusk, and beautiful countryside!

[kameronth]

Originally Posted by Hudson_WY

Hi Kameronth - We installed a 45,000 BTU Modine Propane Heater. Both the heater and venting system are on automatic thermostats with the min temp set @ 60 degrees and the max temp set @ 85 degrees. I was shocked how efficiently we were able to heat the GH with our triple wall polycarbonate and double pain windows/doors. We have only used 80 gallons of propane since the 3rd week of January and I am heating the GH to 60 degrees! Night time outside temps have varied from -20 to 32 degrees during the past two months - the majority of the time the outside temps were below 10 degrees!

My wife and I custom designed and built our own GH. My sons helped me pour footings and the walkways, frame and install the polycarbonate panels, windows and doors. I installed the heating, venting, water and electrical systems as I had time to do it. I also have it plumbed for a sink but have not yet installed the sink. The GH is 10 years old now and I just barely installed the heating system last fall. We did everything ourselves and we had no idea how it would function - this being our first GH. Other forum members have dubbed it the "Magical GH". That's our best explanation of how it works!

Wow!! That is one nice set up! One day down the road I would love to do something like that. Thanks for sharing!

[enchant]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Beautiful pictures! I especially love the one taken at dusk with the lights on inside the greenhouse.

It'd make a great Christmas card.

[Hudson_WY]

Big Beef is in the production mode! There are a few things that I have noticed that are a little different with the Big Beef plant - IMO. The blossoms are a little smaller and simplistic - I have never seen a fused blossom - fruit sets easily and most of the trusses are about the same size, 5-8 blossoms. Here are a few photos of some of the trusses.

[Cole_Robbie]

Nice. Big Beef is my favorite hybrid.

[AKmark]

Awesome, great looking plants too.

[Hudson_WY]

I'm a little surprised that we still don't have any ripe Big Beef? We have never grown this hybrid but we already have ripe Brandy Boy, Big Brandy and Brandywine SS which are listed as 75-78 days. Big Beef is listed as 73 days? The plant is loaded with tomatoes! All the tomatoes on the vine keep getting larger but the ones on the bottom vines are still green without much change in size. Have others experienced the same?

[zipcode]

I noticed that somehow unusually the bigbeef fruit gets darker green before ripening. Usually it's the other way around (with OP tomatoes at least).
Yeah, they are not impressive in truss sizes, usually like 5 fruits, but what is impressive about it is the consistency, it sets fruits very well on upper levels as well, that's the biggest difference compared to most OPs, which start great (maybe too great) and then kinda fizzle out.

[Tracydr]

Could you show one of your cages in a picture? Did you make them?
Love,love the snowy picture and your setup!

[Hudson_WY]

Originally Posted by zipcode

Yeah, they are not impressive in truss sizes, usually like 5 fruits, but what is impressive about it is the consistency, it sets fruits very well on upper levels as well, that's the biggest difference compared to most OPs, which start great (maybe too great) and then kinda fizzle out.

Zipcode - yes - that's what is happening! The plant just keeps setting fruit as it is growing and very consistently. The fruit at the bottom and the fruit 4' higher are about the same size and fruit has already set at 6' high. And like you said - most trusses have 5 fruit. Looks like it is worth the wait!

Tracy - thanks! We custom cut all of our own supports from cattle panels so they fit just the way we want them to in our GH. I use the rebar to keep the seedling straight until the seedling is tall enough to tie it to the cattle panel support - then pull the rebar. As the plant grows - I attach the vines in all 4 directions on the cattle panel support

[Tracydr]

Very nice. Someday I'd like to expand my greenhouse. The bugs outside are outrageous and I'd also like more year round veggies,plus citrus.