2016 Season Progression

[Worth1]

I have been following this all along they really look fantastic.

Worth

[jpop]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I have been following this all along they really look fantastic.

Worth

Thank you worth. I am jealous of your space to grow in the ground and nice looking topsoil you made from previous red clay if I remember correctly. Surprised you can do as much work as you have in successive days of manual labor.

Have not been growing tomatoes for long periods as most here and the learning curve has been steep. Funny that the weather, bugs, and diseases can wipe out all of one's hard work tomorrow but the fight is worth it on each ripe tomato. Earlier in the thread I mentioned that 1 plant 5 years ago hooked me for life. Can not remember a tomato ever tasting like that and pushes me to succeed at whatever is thrown my way.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by jpop

Thank you worth. I am jealous of your space to grow in the ground and nice looking topsoil you made from previous red clay if I remember correctly. Surprised you can do as much work as you have in successive days of manual labor.

Have not been growing tomatoes for long periods as most here and the learning curve has been steep. Funny that the weather, bugs, and diseases can wipe out all of one's hard work tomorrow but the fight is worth it on each ripe tomato. Earlier in the thread I mentioned that 1 plant 5 years ago hooked me for life. Can not remember a tomato ever tasting like that and pushes me to succeed at whatever is thrown my way.

I guess I can say I started growing things when I was about 3 years old.
No joke and I am 57 now.
My parents had a garden and they would give me a pack of seed and a little hoe.
I would plant beans and so on and stick a stick in the ground with the seed pack on it.

One time I took over part of me fathers 1 acre garden and put in watermelons while he wasn't looking.
I could go on forever about how much and how all my life I have loved to grow things.
But I wont bore you or anyone else.

To be truthful tomatoes are not my favorite things to grow but they are a challenge.
But this is the best forum with the best people so I grow them so you guys wont kick me out.

And thank you.


Worth

[jpop]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I guess I can say I started growing things when I was about 3 years old.
No joke and I am 57 now.
My parents had a garden and they would give me a pack of seed and a little hoe.
I would plant beans and so on and stick a stick in the ground with the seed pack on it.

One time I took over part of me fathers 1 acre garden and put in watermelons while he wasn't looking.
I could go on forever about how much and how all my life I have loved to grow things.
But I wont bore you or anyone else.

To be truthful tomatoes are not my favorite things to grow but they are a challenge.
But this is the best forum with the best people so I grow them so you guys wont kick me out.

And thank you.


Worth

Never a bore. Actually the personal stories is why I love this site as no one has reservations about sharing personal info. or their backgrounds. I was born and raised in S. FL from family that moved from southern Illinois. My grandpa on my mother's side was my hero. He taught me to garden when i was old enough to remember, taught me how to fish, and train a dog. In fact, I commercial fished for many years after I graduated high school to make ends meat. He passed when I was 10, 41 now and those memories are clear as if they happened yesterday. Have a pic of me when I was around 2-3 years old eating a tomato like an apple. Surreal what is being lost in the new generations looking back which motivates me to teach my kids what he taught me. My oldest now does tricks I taught her with our family dog, loves to fish, loves to garden at 5, and dressed up as a gardener for career day in kindergarten. Says she likes to be different from the rest of her classmates. Makes me proud.

[newgardener_tx]

JPOP, your plants really look fantastic! Your plants are so happy and strong in those relatively not so big containers. Could you please share the potting mix in your box and fertilizer schedule? I have so success growing in box so far. Thank you.

[jpop]

Originally Posted by newgardener_tx

JPOP, your plants really look fantastic! Your plants are so happy and strong in those relatively not so big containers. Could you please share the potting mix in your box and fertilizer schedule? I have so success growing in box so far. Thank you.

Used endo/ecto myco to start my seeds, organic potting mix for transplant and fert. schedule besides below are Neptunes harvest hydrolyzed fish fertilizer 1 TBS. per gallon per week, 1 TSP. epsom salt every 2 weeks, and the rest is from an earlier post:

"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, dolomite lime, etc.) and accidentally put 1 lb. of calcium nitrate instead of the recommended 1 lb. of 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."

[newgardener_tx]

Thank you. I have got the fish stuff ( Neptunes harvest hydrolyzed fish fertilizer). Only need to get the calcium nitrate somewhere

[jpop]

Originally Posted by newgardener_tx

Thank you. I have got the fish stuff ( Neptunes harvest hydrolyzed fish fertilizer). Only need to get the calcium nitrate somewhere

Amazon. 25 lbs. For $18.00 free shipping

[jpop]

Harvested my first tomato of the 2015/2016 season. My mother came over for dinner on my oldest child's birthday today and she loves fried green tomatoes. So I picked my largest unripe tomato which happened to be a New Big Dwarf, cut and fried it up for her. Not my 1st choice but good none the less.

[ChiliPeppa]

Absolutely gorgeous!

[Dark Rumor]

That's a good son.

[jpop]

Originally Posted by ChiliPeppa

Absolutely gorgeous!

Thank you Chili. My mother was very happy. She almost prefers them this way as much as fully ripe.

[jpop]

Originally Posted by Dark Rumor

That's a good son.

Haha, thanks Dark. Sure she can say that now instead of my rebellious teen years almost 30 years ago.

[whistech]

Jpop, you just made me hungry posting that fried green tomato. It will be a couple of months before I can satisfy that craving.

By the way, I hope your daughter had a wonderful birthday.

[jpop]

Originally Posted by whistech

Jpop, you just made me hungry posting that fried green tomato. It will be a couple of months before I can satisfy that craving.

By the way, I hope your daughter had a wonderful birthday.

She did, thank you so much. Was actually better than I remembered. Always hard for me to pick them unripe, but glad my mother motivated me as she was in heaven.