New tomato season!

b54red · March 24, 2023

I just set out eleven grafted tomato plants and three non-grafted tomato plants. I am sure glad I waited for them to get a bit larger. My son put out 10 or so two weeks ago and his plants were really hit hard by the little freeze we had last week and several or all of them are severely damaged and may not recover at all. I had some ginger I set out two weeks ago and even with a frost cloth over them they look totally burned but I hope they will recover as they have a nice tuber under them to send up some more shoots.

I have had fairly good luck with my grafting so far this year and have nearly 100 plants out of the healing chambers and slowly recovering. I am going to attempt more grafts this next week though I doubt I will need them unless I have the massive die off from TSWV that I had last year. Despite the early destruction I grafted more plants last year and set them out mid summer with little hope of making anything. Despite near drought conditions and extreme heat those late tomatoes set an amazing amount of fruit though most of them ripened after the cool nights started in the fall resulting in tomatoes that were not the best tasting but far superior to store bought and they were the largest fall tomatoes I have ever grown.

We didn't put up many tomatoes last year but did manage to can a good bit of salsa since we had a massive amount of Jalapenos and bell peppers in the fall so we had to do something with those tomatoes.

We have had a great winter and spring harvest of broccoli, cabbage, mustard greens and rutabagas with the help of lots of frost cloth to get through the worst of the freezes. We didn't do so well with Brussels sprouts and had some kind of damping off hit our onions two weeks after they were set out resulting in almost a total loss.

We are trying to plant a flower bed that will attract more hummingbirds and any good tips will be appreciated. The bed is not very large but it has full sun and has been worked up and mulched so it is ready to plant. I called a few local nurseries and was shocked at the prices of small pots of flowers. Kinda like going to the grocery store hungry for beef.

I hope everyone has a good season this year,
Bill

habitat_gardener · March 25, 2023

Bill, Are there any native plant sales in your area? That might be a good source for the best and most economical hummingbird plants.

Dark Rumor · March 25, 2023

Bill
I know from reading your posts you plant a group of tomatoes every month, do you start all from seed at the same time and then put some out each month? Or do you start seed every month and graft every month.

I have typically planted two groups, I start the first group of seeds on January 1st and put that group out as early as early March and the second group of seeds are planted on February 1st and they are put out in mid to late March. Gonna try another group or two for April and May.

hl2601 · March 26, 2023

Bill-for the hummingbirds any Salvia is terrific!

b54red · March 28, 2023

I ended up planting a bunch of Lantana, Salvia, Snapdragon, and a few Cigar plants. I am trying to stay away from any very invasive plants. Some of the best native plants are also super invasive, but I have a small area at the bottom of the garden where I may plant a few and if need be use Roundup if necessary to stop them from spreading. I fought morning glories and honeysuckle for a couple of decades and don't want to mess with anything like that again.

Bill

b54red · March 28, 2023

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark Rumor

Bill
I know from reading your posts you plant a group of tomatoes every month, do you start all from seed at the same time and then put some out each month? Or do you start seed every month and graft every month.

I have typically planted two groups, I start the first group of seeds on January 1st and put that group out as early as early March and the second group of seeds are planted on February 1st and they are put out in mid to late March. Gonna try another group or two for April and May.

I don't plant every month but I do try to set my tomatoes out staggered through mid summer. Last year I had to plant a lot in June and July and had a lot of late tomatoes. I am hoping the thrips carrying TSWV got thinned out by the cold this year and I won't have that problem so bad this year. I will have plenty of grafted plants early this year as my grafting success the last two weeks has been through the roof after a very rocky start. Right now I have over a hundred successfully grafted plants that are out of the healing chambers. I have even been trying to harden off a batch or two slowly because they are still small. I don't know what I am going to do with so many plants. I will give as many away as possible that I don't need. I plan to do my last grafting in May with a lot of black varieties for late summer when they usually surpass most of the pinks and reds in that miserable heat we usually have then.

My first eleven plants I set out are taking a beating right now as we are enduring our fourth day of very bad weather with lots of rain and wind. Hopefully they will recover and not catch any diseases due to the over saturated and damaged foliage. I should have some more ready to plant in a couple of weeks. I will be doing single stem lean and lower with all my plants this season.

Bill

PaulF · March 28, 2023

Staggered planting will most likely take place for me as well this year. Not on purpose, but because of some poor germination, re-planting and late planting because some new varieties sounded good. First batch out in the first week of May as usual. Then the end of May and maybe the first of June. This has been the craziest year ever so far.

hl2601 · March 29, 2023

I love when you have unplanned staggered planting! I had extras I had saved from my sale last year and threw them in super late. Loved having them when they peaked, really late. It was just a good thing we had a longer summer that year.

wildcat62 · March 31, 2023

Good luck with the garden this year Bill. Just got a few things planted myself this week & it's raining now. Another season begins.

ddsack · April 8, 2023

Bill, which root stock(s) are you now using for your grafted tomatoes?

March 24, 2023	#1
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	New tomato season! I just set out eleven grafted tomato plants and three non-grafted tomato plants. I am sure glad I waited for them to get a bit larger. My son put out 10 or so two weeks ago and his plants were really hit hard by the little freeze we had last week and several or all of them are severely damaged and may not recover at all. I had some ginger I set out two weeks ago and even with a frost cloth over them they look totally burned but I hope they will recover as they have a nice tuber under them to send up some more shoots. I have had fairly good luck with my grafting so far this year and have nearly 100 plants out of the healing chambers and slowly recovering. I am going to attempt more grafts this next week though I doubt I will need them unless I have the massive die off from TSWV that I had last year. Despite the early destruction I grafted more plants last year and set them out mid summer with little hope of making anything. Despite near drought conditions and extreme heat those late tomatoes set an amazing amount of fruit though most of them ripened after the cool nights started in the fall resulting in tomatoes that were not the best tasting but far superior to store bought and they were the largest fall tomatoes I have ever grown. We didn't put up many tomatoes last year but did manage to can a good bit of salsa since we had a massive amount of Jalapenos and bell peppers in the fall so we had to do something with those tomatoes. We have had a great winter and spring harvest of broccoli, cabbage, mustard greens and rutabagas with the help of lots of frost cloth to get through the worst of the freezes. We didn't do so well with Brussels sprouts and had some kind of damping off hit our onions two weeks after they were set out resulting in almost a total loss. We are trying to plant a flower bed that will attract more hummingbirds and any good tips will be appreciated. The bed is not very large but it has full sun and has been worked up and mulched so it is ready to plant. I called a few local nurseries and was shocked at the prices of small pots of flowers. Kinda like going to the grocery store hungry for beef. I hope everyone has a good season this year, Bill

March 28, 2023	#7
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,295	Staggered planting will most likely take place for me as well this year. Not on purpose, but because of some poor germination, re-planting and late planting because some new varieties sounded good. First batch out in the first week of May as usual. Then the end of May and maybe the first of June. This has been the craziest year ever so far. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

March 31, 2023	#9
wildcat62 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Zone 6 Northern Kentucky Posts: 1,094	Good luck with the garden this year Bill. Just got a few things planted myself this week & it's raining now. Another season begins. __________________ Mark

April 8, 2023	#10
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	Bill, which root stock(s) are you now using for your grafted tomatoes? __________________ Dee **************

March 25, 2023	#2
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	Bill, Are there any native plant sales in your area? That might be a good source for the best and most economical hummingbird plants.

March 25, 2023	#3
Dark Rumor Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 287	Bill I know from reading your posts you plant a group of tomatoes every month, do you start all from seed at the same time and then put some out each month? Or do you start seed every month and graft every month. I have typically planted two groups, I start the first group of seeds on January 1st and put that group out as early as early March and the second group of seeds are planted on February 1st and they are put out in mid to late March. Gonna try another group or two for April and May.

March 26, 2023	#4
hl2601 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Metro Denver Posts: 767	Bill-for the hummingbirds any Salvia is terrific!

March 29, 2023	#8
hl2601 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Metro Denver Posts: 767	I love when you have unplanned staggered planting! I had extras I had saved from my sale last year and threw them in super late. Loved having them when they peaked, really late. It was just a good thing we had a longer summer that year.