Big Beef! - Page 4

Gardeneer · April 20, 2017

Gurrrreat !

My Big Beefs are doing just fine but no fruits yet. I think I planted them out about 4 weeks ago. They have flowers and maybe some tiny tomatoes too.

edweather · April 21, 2017

Great catch Dark Rumor! Yea, I have plenty of 'em then. Dang, didn't think I'd have to start seriously spraying in April :-( Just learning about all the "stuff" we have here in the south. I'll look for some neem.

edit: ok, so the bad news is that there looks to be some damage to the mostly older growth, but the good news is that I could only find two pupae alive. Maybe the hot sun cooks them. Most of the damage looks old, and either the pupae hit and ran or died and dried up. I might spray a little and see if it helps. I also noticed a little damage to some cucumber seedlings. Thanks again for the heads up.

Dark Rumor · April 21, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by edweather

Great catch Dark Rumor! Yea, I have plenty of 'em then. Dang, didn't think I'd have to start seriously spraying in April :-( Just learning about all the "stuff" we have here in the south. I'll look for some neem.

edit: ok, so the bad news is that there looks to be some damage to the mostly older growth, but the good news is that I could only find two pupae alive. Maybe the hot sun cooks them. Most of the damage looks old, and either the pupae hit and ran or died and dried up. I might spray a little and see if it helps. I also noticed a little damage to some cucumber seedlings. Thanks again for the heads up.

This is the first year I have seen the leaf miners, I have sprayed two weeks in a row and trimmed the bottom branches and any branches with affected leaves. I will spray again this weekend and hope that will do it. They have gotten on my cucumbers too.

I started out by ignoring them, but that did not seem to work.

edweather · April 22, 2017

I sprayed this am. Just the fact that I did find two larvae was creepin' me out a bit. Hopefully it's a temporary "minor" problem:-) Most new growth in the past 2 weeks looks almost untouched.

Deborah · April 30, 2017

More blossoms now and one teeny baby!

Deborah · May 11, 2017

Now there's one king marble, one baby and three blossoms. There's only about three hours of sun on the balcony. But hopefully I'll get to taste my first Big Beef.

Gardeneer · May 11, 2017

Mine has some bigger than golf ball size tomatoes.
I planted out on/about March 22nd.

SteveP · May 11, 2017

Mine went into the ground April 25th and were only 5" tall. Then tons of rain, cool temps and
Cloudy skies for the next week. We then had about a week of nice sunny warmer (near 80) days and they are around 12" tall and looking very good. I fed them after all of the rain and they are responding well. No flowers yet and I hope flowering wait at least another week to 10 days. They need to keep growing more.

AlittleSalt · May 11, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Mine has some bigger than golf ball size tomatoes.
I planted out on/about March 22nd.

Same here, I think we're finally going to get to taste Big Beef tomatoes.

edweather · May 11, 2017

Mine are 5 feet tall with tons of tomatoes. None blushing yet though. With the extremely warm weather lately, expect to see some red soon.

SteveP · May 12, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by edweather

Mine are 5 feet tall with tons of tomatoes. None blushing yet though. With the extremely warm weather lately, expect to see some red soon.

That's awesome Ed. I am always glad to hear when someone is close to being rewarded with fruits of their labor. I figure I am likely at least a month away, but will be ready.

edweather · May 23, 2017

Here's a pic of the plant and the first two ripe ones. Plenty of leaf miner damage around the middle of the plant, but hopefully they're under control now. I've never tasted a Big Beef that I can recall, so it should be fun. Normally the first one gets eaten right on the spot.

edweather · May 25, 2017

Tasted my first Big Beef yesterday, and it was very good, better than I expected. It had a nice little zing, with the right amount of sweetness, and good tomato flavor. Kept my expectations low and was pleasantly surprised.

Deborah · May 25, 2017

That's good news. My biggest one is about the size of a saladette.

wildcat62 · May 25, 2017

Consistently good

April 20, 2017	#46
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,916	Gurrrreat ! My Big Beefs are doing just fine but no fruits yet. I think I planted them out about 4 weeks ago. They have flowers and maybe some tiny tomatoes too. __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

April 21, 2017	#47
edweather Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Southeast GA, USDA 9a, HZ9, Sunset Z28 Posts: 396	Great catch Dark Rumor! Yea, I have plenty of 'em then. Dang, didn't think I'd have to start seriously spraying in April :-( Just learning about all the "stuff" we have here in the south. I'll look for some neem. edit: ok, so the bad news is that there looks to be some damage to the mostly older growth, but the good news is that I could only find two pupae alive. Maybe the hot sun cooks them. Most of the damage looks old, and either the pupae hit and ran or died and dried up. I might spray a little and see if it helps. I also noticed a little damage to some cucumber seedlings. Thanks again for the heads up. __________________ You'll be surprised what you'll never have to do, if you put it off long enough. Last edited by edweather; April 21, 2017 at 02:21 PM.

April 22, 2017	#49
edweather Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Southeast GA, USDA 9a, HZ9, Sunset Z28 Posts: 396	I sprayed this am. Just the fact that I did find two larvae was creepin' me out a bit. Hopefully it's a temporary "minor" problem:-) Most new growth in the past 2 weeks looks almost untouched. __________________ You'll be surprised what you'll never have to do, if you put it off long enough.

April 30, 2017	#50
Deborah Riding The Crazy Train Again Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Marcos, California Posts: 2,562	More blossoms now and one teeny baby! __________________ "The righteous one cares for the needs of his animal". Proverbs 12:10

May 11, 2017	#51
Deborah Riding The Crazy Train Again Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Marcos, California Posts: 2,562	Now there's one king marble, one baby and three blossoms. There's only about three hours of sun on the balcony. But hopefully I'll get to taste my first Big Beef. __________________ "The righteous one cares for the needs of his animal". Proverbs 12:10

May 11, 2017	#53
SteveP Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Joplin MO Posts: 1,398	Mine went into the ground April 25th and were only 5" tall. Then tons of rain, cool temps and Cloudy skies for the next week. We then had about a week of nice sunny warmer (near 80) days and they are around 12" tall and looking very good. I fed them after all of the rain and they are responding well. No flowers yet and I hope flowering wait at least another week to 10 days. They need to keep growing more.

May 25, 2017	#58
edweather Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Southeast GA, USDA 9a, HZ9, Sunset Z28 Posts: 396	Tasted my first Big Beef yesterday, and it was very good, better than I expected. It had a nice little zing, with the right amount of sweetness, and good tomato flavor. Kept my expectations low and was pleasantly surprised. __________________ You'll be surprised what you'll never have to do, if you put it off long enough.

May 25, 2017	#60
wildcat62 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Zone 6 Northern Kentucky Posts: 1,094	Consistently good