BER-How could I be so stupid???? - Page 3

barefootgardener · July 13, 2012

I just want to say that for me, Old German is not a spitter..It is one of my favorite tomatoes!! Been growing it for many years now! Hope you enjoy it! If it gets mealy, it is because of too much water when ripening..I think i replyed on another thread you posted on about Old German.

materlvr · July 13, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by barefootgardener

I just want to say that for me, Old German is not a spitter..It is one of my favorite tomatoes!! Been growing it for many years now! Hope you enjoy it! If it gets mealy, it is because of too much water when ripening..I think i replyed on another thread you posted on about Old German.

So far I agree, barefootgardener........but my plant is so heavy with fruit they are very small, golf ball sized. But they ARE tasty!!!!!!!!!!!!!

barefootgardener · July 13, 2012

materlvr, Old German is a medium to large bi color tomato. If you are picking them ripe and they are golf ball size, might be a mix up on the plant label name. Plus production is average.. Can you post a picture of your tomato and plant of OG?

materlvr · July 13, 2012

I'll try to get a pic this weekend. That one plant has about 100 tomatoes on it, it's so tall and wide I have stakes all over it to prop it up. It's a monster plant that so far produces small, gold maters. If it isn't Old German I want to know what it is........I'm saving seed for sure, it's really tasty.

July 13, 2012

I am so glad to hear you only discarded 20 tomatoes instead of 20 plants.

I am at the end of my spring season and now consider it a blessing that I had to discard a few tomatoes early in the season. I now have tomatoes literally rotting on the vine. I've never had so many tomatoes to eat, dehydrate, give away, or deal with in any way I could think of. I'm suffering from a severe case of tomato fatigue. The amazing thing is I am already building my plant list for next year. Maybe I should be selecting varieties for low production instead of high production.

Ted

Sun City Linda · July 13, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedln

I am so glad to hear you only discarded 20 tomatoes instead of 20 plants.

Ted

I knew you would figure it out!

HA! Janie WISHES she had 20 Druzba plants!

Sun City Linda · July 13, 2012

Matr- Have you ever grown Jaune Flamme? Solid gold, golf ball size JUicy, great balance, not overly sweet. Thick walls, inside has a red tinge? Could that be what you have?

materlvr · July 13, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

Matr- Have you ever grown Jaune Flamme? Solid gold, golf ball size JUicy, great balance, not overly sweet. Thick walls, inside has a red tinge? Could that be what you have?

Linda, looking at Carolyn's book they don't look like that. They are mostly yellow/gold and have a fluted/ruffle at the stem. I figured they were so small because of the incredible amount of fruits on it. Plus, I hear Old German is a very late tomato but I've been picking fruits for a week and planted out mid-April.

The ones I'm waiting on are Pruden's Purple, Neves Arozean Red and Aunt Ruby's German Green (not at all impressed with this one). And I have another large Kelloggs Breakfast I'll pick this weekend.

Ted, I can't wait to have too many tomatoes! BLT's every day!!!!!!!!

dice · July 23, 2012

It could be a chance cross of Old German with a cherry. I had a
chance cross that was supposed to be Red Barn one year.
It produced delicious, sweet, yellow-red bicolor cherries, starting
a bit later than most other cherries in the same season. I guessed
that it had maybe crossed with Sungold or Sun Sugar in a previous
seed-saver's garden.

As for soil amendment, the one fertilizer that can increase
the rate of BER, according to some research I read, is ammonia
(probably fertilizers high in ammonia, like sulfate of ammonia
or ammonium nitrate, rather than ammonia itself).

But if you mix it in or top-dress it in the spring, by the time fruit
are developing, the ammonia is all gone. What ammonia has
not evaporated has been converted from ammonia to nitrates
by bacteria, a process that only takes a couple of weeks. The only
way for a fertilizer or soil amendment to still be releasing ammonia
when fruit are ripening is if it is artificially slow-release or if it was
added at mid-season.

Neither of those seem to apply to Kellogg's Amend applied to the
top layer of soil in spring, so your BER probably has some other
cause.

(Mushroom compost does not last long, a few months in your
climate, but it is really good stuff, so you might keep an eye out
for it while you are looking for soil amendments.)

July 13, 2012	#35
tedln Guest Posts: n/a	I am so glad to hear you only discarded 20 tomatoes instead of 20 plants. I am at the end of my spring season and now consider it a blessing that I had to discard a few tomatoes early in the season. I now have tomatoes literally rotting on the vine. I've never had so many tomatoes to eat, dehydrate, give away, or deal with in any way I could think of. I'm suffering from a severe case of tomato fatigue. The amazing thing is I am already building my plant list for next year. Maybe I should be selecting varieties for low production instead of high production. Ted Last edited by tedln; July 13, 2012 at 02:04 PM.

July 23, 2012	#39
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	It could be a chance cross of Old German with a cherry. I had a chance cross that was supposed to be Red Barn one year. It produced delicious, sweet, yellow-red bicolor cherries, starting a bit later than most other cherries in the same season. I guessed that it had maybe crossed with Sungold or Sun Sugar in a previous seed-saver's garden. As for soil amendment, the one fertilizer that can increase the rate of BER, according to some research I read, is ammonia (probably fertilizers high in ammonia, like sulfate of ammonia or ammonium nitrate, rather than ammonia itself). But if you mix it in or top-dress it in the spring, by the time fruit are developing, the ammonia is all gone. What ammonia has not evaporated has been converted from ammonia to nitrates by bacteria, a process that only takes a couple of weeks. The only way for a fertilizer or soil amendment to still be releasing ammonia when fruit are ripening is if it is artificially slow-release or if it was added at mid-season. Neither of those seem to apply to Kellogg's Amend applied to the top layer of soil in spring, so your BER probably has some other cause. (Mushroom compost does not last long, a few months in your climate, but it is really good stuff, so you might keep an eye out for it while you are looking for soil amendments.) __________________ -- alias

July 13, 2012	#31
barefootgardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Zone 4b Posts: 1,291	I just want to say that for me, Old German is not a spitter..It is one of my favorite tomatoes!! Been growing it for many years now! Hope you enjoy it! If it gets mealy, it is because of too much water when ripening..I think i replyed on another thread you posted on about Old German.

July 13, 2012	#34
materlvr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Temecula, CA Zone 9b Posts: 181	I'll try to get a pic this weekend. That one plant has about 100 tomatoes on it, it's so tall and wide I have stakes all over it to prop it up. It's a monster plant that so far produces small, gold maters. If it isn't Old German I want to know what it is........I'm saving seed for sure, it's really tasty.

July 13, 2012	#37
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	Matr- Have you ever grown Jaune Flamme? Solid gold, golf ball size JUicy, great balance, not overly sweet. Thick walls, inside has a red tinge? Could that be what you have?