Mater count, and other dumb questions ;)

[tgplp]

Hello! I'm super excited, my bigger plants have buds, and my Sungold plant has open and opening flowers! Eeek!

Now I have some dumb questions... Here they are.
1. How many plants do you need to feed an average family of four ?

2. How many tomatoes do you get from an average cherry tomato plant and from an average beefsteak plant?

3. If my sungold is flowering now, when will I have ripe cherries? *drools*!

4. I am worried that my plants won't get fruit set in this weather. It rained and was about 50 degrees on Sunday, yesterday was sunny and about 65 degrees, today is sunny and about 65 degrees, and the next two days are sunny and about 70 degrees. The nights are usually 45-53 degrees. Will this weather set tomatoes?


Thanks for tolerating these dumb questions!

Taryn

[organichris]

Originally Posted by tgplp

Hello! I'm super excited, my bigger plants have buds, and my Sungold plant has open and opening flowers! Eeek!

Now I have some dumb questions... Here they are.
1. How many plants do you need to feed an average family of four ?

2. How many tomatoes do you get from an average cherry tomato plant and from an average beefsteak plant?

3. If my sungold is flowering now, when will I have ripe cherries? *drools*!

4. I am worried that my plants won't get fruit set in this weather. It rained and was about 50 degrees on Sunday, yesterday was sunny and about 65 degrees, today is sunny and about 65 degrees, and the next two days are sunny and about 70 degrees. The nights are usually 45-53 degrees. Will this weather set tomatoes?


Thanks for tolerating these dumb questions!

Taryn

Taryn,

Your questions aren't stupid, but they may be a bit hard to answer. The only thing I'd say is that you may have difficulty setting fruit in the weather you're experiencing, particularly the low nightly temperatures. I know I've had issues here in Oklahoma.

My plants are exploding with blossoms, but to date most of them are dropping. Thank goodness it is supposed to start warming up soon. Who knows how long that will last though.

But depending on the variety, the blossom drop could be more or less severe. My Tigerella seems to be largely unaffected.

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by tgplp

...1. How many plants do you need to feed an average family of four ?

2. How many tomatoes do you get from an average cherry tomato plant and from an average beefsteak plant?

3. If my sungold is flowering now, when will I have ripe cherries? *drools*!

4. I am worried that my plants won't get fruit set in this weather. It rained and was about 50 degrees on Sunday, yesterday was sunny and about 65 degrees, today is sunny and about 65 degrees, and the next two days are sunny and about 70 degrees. The nights are usually 45-53 degrees. Will this weather set tomatoes?

1. I usually grow 20-50 plants for one person, so... Oh, right, you're talking about "average" people, not the tomato-obsessed. No idea. But I'd still plant a variety, because different varieties produce on different schedules.

2. I've gotten around 700-1500 cherry tomatoes per plant, depending on the weather and the variety, in good years. Maybe 20-50 beefsteaks, ditto, though in colder summers some of them were quite small. I love Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes, but it was so prolific one year that at the peak of the season I was picking a couple pints every 2-3 days and was giving them away, too.

4. That was last summer's weather here! It seemed to barely get above the mid-70s -- and I had some of the biggest tomatoes I've ever grown. But I think the crucial factor is nighttime temperatures. Until it gets above 55F at night, I keep my tomatoes protected with walls-o-water or bubblewrapped cages.

[tgplp]

Lol that made me laugh when you said you grow about 20-50 plants for one person. I'm growing 20 plants, so maybe I'll get enough tomatoes for myself... I am obsessed with tomatoes. I have a tiny garden and couldnt help cramming a ton of different varieties in there. Mostly heirlooms. Yum!

Thanks for both of your replies! They were really helpful. Now I hope our nighttime temps heat up....

Taryn

[Mudman]

20 palnts could give you a whole lot of tomatoes, but it kind of depends on what you will use them for. I grew about 20 plants last year (family of5)~ made some sauce, salsa, and ate alot fresh, and still had way more than I could use. They are fun to give away though. And BTW it was the worst growing seasons I have ever had.

[cleo88]

I also grow 20 plants, but since I don't get full sun all day in my gardens, and one of the two gardens was not enriched enough in the past , I got low productivity, so 20 plants produced enough for us (family of 4) but not enough to give away! I enriched my soil this year so we will see if that overrides the decreasing sun issue - our yard is surrounded by very tall trees that just keep getting taller and BLOCKIN' MY LIGHT. One day I'll just get out my chainsaw...

[organichris]

Originally Posted by cleo88

...our yard is surrounded by very tall trees that just keep getting taller and BLOCKIN' MY LIGHT. One day I'll just get out my chainsaw...

I feel ya. I used to have the same problem for years...and then I moved. I should have more tomatoes this year than I've ever had. Good luck, budday!

[tgplp]

Cleo88- I currently have the same problem as you... But the trees are in my neighbors yard so I can't cut them down!!!

Lol I live in a bad place to grow tomatoes... So well see how 20 plants does!

Taryn

[tuk50]

1. We have a family of 7 and grow 30-40 plants each year and except for the neighbors and friends, the compost pile gets very few of them. We dehydrate and freeze a lot.
2. Totally depends on the variety, sun sugar, ildi, yellow pear etc .. tons. We usually only plant 3-4 and beefsteak we grow for taste and fresh use, so usually have about 10 of those and canners are the rest with bonnie best, ashleigh, rutgers, atkins, kbx.. etc..
3. Good time to practice on patience... reminds me of my grandkids on trips.. (are we there yet, grandpa?)LOL.
4. Like posted earlier.. when night temps are in upper 50's .. We have had a cool spring and some varieties are loaded with tomatoes the size of tennis balls and some are still blooming with fruit set just now starting.