Tomatoes in Texas

[texasjack]

Originally Posted by tlintx

Interesting, so the moo-nure doesn't interfere with the wicking action? I hadn't thought to look at Cornelius Nurseries for the fines - the one closest to me was actually on fire the day we stopped by. My family joked that the plants heard I was coming and self immolated rather than endure my gardening skills.

Were they actually labeled fines? Or mulch?

Also, any thoughts on how soon the San Marzanos will go from green fruit to ripe? I have a bunch of fruit on my Viva Italias and I'm really excited.

Tl

Wicking.....To date there does not seem to be any problem with this mix. No hose bib on my balcony so I water by hand with a watering can which gives me a pretty good handle(no pun intended) on water cosumption. Our weather has been cool and moderate by Houston standards and the plants show no indication of being water deprieved. Last summer my earth boxes with 2 plants were taking 11/2-2 gals of water per day even with white plastic mulch.I did make sure I packed the mix tightly into the little areas that act as the wicks. The old "stick your finger in to the first joint" doesn't apply with this stuff, but it's damp further down.

The Cornelius fines come in a 2 cu ft yellow/gold bag marked Premium Mulch and Ground Cover, Aged and Composted. No mention of "fines". Ask the sales people to be sure. The stuff goes on a 2 for 1 sale once a year.

My plums are still very small....BB to pea size. I'd guess they are at least 45-60 days to harvest. Last year that plant produced about 85-100 2-3" fruit mostly after August into early January.

I'll keep posting as the weather gets hot and humid. Mid summer I use an electric tooth brush to beat the sticky pollen. Worked wonders last year.

Jack

[whistech]

TexasJack, thank you for sharing your growing medium receipe.

[Baizanator]

Grow a Porter. If you want, I can send you my grandfather's improved Porter, which has been grown in Texas summers for 35-40 years.

[tlintx]

Thank you, Jack! I'm pretty excited about this season, and I made a rookie mistake of resowing after some of my seeds didn't germinate after a dry spell. Well, now it looks like most will be coming up after all!

If all goes well, I'm going to be potting up quite a few dwarfs so I'll need a good mix! I like the compost, seems like that would make it a little more forgiving on the nutrient front for those of us without the attention span required for container gardening.


Tl

[OldHondaNut]

Originally Posted by Baizanator

Grow a Porter. If you want, I can send you my grandfather's improved Porter, which has been grown in Texas summers for 35-40 years.

good advice. I wish you had real Porter seed. I have some and grow Porter but it is smaller than what the early descriptions describe. The old Porter catalog talked about Pullet egg size tomatoes and all I get are regular cherry size, maybe just a tad larger. I think my seeds are far from the original strain.

[Baizanator]

Originally Posted by OldHondaNut

good advice. I wish you had real Porter seed. I have some and grow Porter but it is smaller than what the early descriptions describe. The old Porter catalog talked about Pullet egg size tomatoes and all I get are regular cherry size, maybe just a tad larger. I think my seeds are far from the original strain.

I would think they were about as close to the original as can be since they've been genetically segregated for four decades.

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/w...Herring_Strain

Originally Posted by Baizanator

Grow a Porter. If you want, I can send you my grandfather's improved Porter, which has been grown in Texas summers for 35-40 years.

I thought Improved Porter or Porter Improved was a more recent variety than 30 or 40 years ago. Someone was asking for seed last year for a Improved Porter variety she called pink egg shaped,

I happened to see some Porter Improved seedlings for sale and bought two plants simply to observe what they produced. They produced pink, egg shaped tomatoes which turned bright red if left on the vine long enough. I saved seed from last years crop and planted them again this year. They were good tomatoes, but I have no idea which name they represent.

Ted

[OldHondaNut]

Porters Pride or Improved Porter is much larger than the original Porter. As I mentioned before. the Porter is a small egg size tomato. Porters Prides looks like a regular tomato and I get them around 5 ounces more or less.

[Baizanator]

Originally Posted by OldHondaNut

Porters Pride or Improved Porter is much larger than the original Porter. As I mentioned before. the Porter is a small egg size tomato. Porters Prides looks like a regular tomato and I get them around 5 ounces more or less.

Originally Posted by tedln

I thought Improved Porter or Porter Improved was a more recent variety than 30 or 40 years ago. Someone was asking for seed last year for a Improved Porter variety she called pink egg shaped,

I happened to see some Porter Improved seedlings for sale and bought two plants simply to observe what they produced. They produced pink, egg shaped tomatoes which turned bright red if left on the vine long enough. I saved seed from last years crop and planted them again this year. They were good tomatoes, but I have no idea which name they represent.

Ted

I think I may have confused you folks. My grandfather's tomato is not a "Porter Improved." It's an improved original Porter, and being that it has been genetically segregated for the past 35-40 years, it should be as close genetically to the original as anything out there. It is bigger than the current Porter but smaller than "Porter Improved." It's about the size of a small hen's egg.

[MikeInCypress]

The original Porter is most definitely an egg shaped 1-2 oz tomato that produces well in Texas Heat. I grew it from seed back in the '80s. Seed was from Porter and Sons, Stephenville, TX. It was pink until it was dead ripe when it became red.

The original "Porter Improved" is a red apple shaped tomato of 2-4 oz. It also produces well in Texas Heat.

Many seed sources get these mixed up.

Baizanator's Tomato is a selected "Porter"

MikeInCypress

[whistech]

Baizanator, you sent me some seed last fall and I only managed to get one seed to germinate. I managed to kill the transplant by over watering it. I have been successful in getting some improved porters to the "planting in the garden" stage now (the plants are about 6" high and very stocky.

I would really like to grow the Charles Herring strain of the porter tomato if you have any available seeds I could buy. The Porter tomato is the only tomato I had ever grown until this year and that was way back in the early 1970s.

[Baizanator]

Originally Posted by whistech

Baizanator, you sent me some seed last fall and I only managed to get one seed to germinate. I managed to kill the transplant by over watering it. I have been successful in getting some improved porters to the "planting in the garden" stage now (the plants are about 6" high and very stocky.

I would really like to grow the Charles Herring strain of the porter tomato if you have any available seeds I could buy. The Porter tomato is the only tomato I had ever grown until this year and that was way back in the early 1970s.

Send me an SASE to the following address and we're all good.

Reed M. Baize
2329 Pinon Place
Edmond, OK 73013

According to Mikes description, I must have the original Porter. It has two rather unique traits I find interesting. The pink color the tomato displays before ripening fully is as bright "pink" as the ribbons worn for breast cancer awareness. The plant produces suckers or new branches from the main stem aggressively making it foliage heavy. Most plants seem to produce suckers only at the terminal where existing branches are attached to the main stem. The tendency to produce the excessive branches seems to decline as the plant grows taller. It was as productive of two ounce fruit last year as any of my other varieties.

Ted

[whistech]

Thank You Baizanator, I put a letter in the mail to you today!

[tlintx]

This is living in one of my SIPs.



Does anyone know what this is, and if it eats people? I don't care about the Patio tomato, but I like my fingers. Which are crossed, hoping this thing eats bugs and leaf worms.


Tl