My 2015 season started today!

NewCreature · January 14, 2015

Well, for someone as OCD as me, picking out 16 varieties of tomatoes to grow this season is nearly impossible, especially since I stumbled upon this site a week or so ago. Despite that, I finally pulled the trigger on my seed purchases for this year so they get here in time for me to start them by 2/1. Here is the rundown. I would love to some hear some thoughts about how these might do in East Texas. BTW, they will all be grown hydroponically in dutch buckets. If you are interested in my setup, here is a walkthrough video to made last year
http://youtu.be/jBUxnb5JMt4

Cherries
Nectar
Sungold
Petit Chocolat
Isis Candy
Snow Cherry
Ambrosia Rose UBX
Riesentraube
Yellow Gooseberry

Slicers
Cherokee Purple
Kelllog Breakfast
Park's Whopper
Kazachka
Fioletovyi Kruglyi

Sauce
San Marzano
Opalka
Bonnie Best

A bit off topic, these will round out the rest of my hydroponic setup

Cucumbers
Painted Serpent
Poona Keera
Mexican Sour Gherkin
Suyo Long
Summer Dance
Calypso
Dragon's Egg
Tendergreen Burpless

Spinach
Space
Strawberry Spinach
Ching Chang Bok Choi
A wide variety of lettuces

Peppers
California Wonder
Purple Beauty
Big Red
S1$h1to (sorry, the bad word filter forced me to be creative)
Italian Pepperoncini
Trinidad Scorpion

creister · January 14, 2015

Mike,

Cherries usually do great in Texas regardless of the variety. I have grown Cherokee Purple many times, and it usually does very well. It can be stingy as far as production goes, but average seasons it gives a good amount of fruit. Taste is very very good. Last year it was one of my top producers.
I would start my seeds as soon as possible. I have found in Texas that you need to plant out by the middle of March to get the optimum production as the heat comes early. Be prepared to have to protect from frost once or twice in the early spring, extra work, but well worth it. I started my seeds last week.

Good luck,
Curt

NewCreature · January 14, 2015

Thanks for your thoughts Curt. I will probably start my tomatoes next week. I started too early last year and the early April frost almost got me.

I am trying to decide if I will start another set of backup seedlings two weeks later just in case disaster strikes. It is a pretty small price to pay for a little piece of mind. There is an old saying that thunder in January means snow in May. I don't agree with May, I have this saying ring true for frosts in April. That said, we had a pretty hefty thunderstorm just last week.

Mike

Dewayne mater · January 14, 2015

Welcome Mike. I agree with Curt, as usual. I started my seeds on Jan 4 and they are sprouted and under lights now. You may have slightly more forgiving weather out south of Tyler than I do in the Metroplex. In my experience, moving the plant out date up from the traditionally recommended plant out date of the average date of the last frost (end of March for me) to early to mid March makes all the difference. It literally doubles or more the production I get to do it this way in many years because the heat kills fruit set. This is really true in the Metroplex where it doesn't cool off that much at night. I have to be vigilant about covering the plants when freezes are predicted, which is usually at least once after I plant out. However, at that point, plants are small, so, it isn't that difficult to accomplish. I generally will plant out on the first weekend in March in which the 10 day forecast does not include a freeze. For several years now, that has been between the 2nd and 3rd week of March.

I'm growing San Marzano for the first time this year and looking forward to seeing if we can duplicate the flavors of Italy here in Texas. I don't have much overlap with your list. Hope you will report back on how it goes and include pictures!

Good luck and happy growing.

Dewayne Mater

NewCreature · January 14, 2015

Thanks for the Texas-specific thoughts. I just got thinking about frost protection and think I have a good strategy. Because I am doing dutch bucket hydroponics, whenever a freeze is forecast, I can just lift the buckets (16 of them) off the stand and bring them into the garage for the night. This should allow me to easily get my plants out by 3/15 if not sooner.

I have only grown cherries so far and last year, they were still setting fruit in July and August. I don't know if cherries set better or if my hydroponic setup enables them to handle the heat better. It will be interesting to see if I have the same luck with bigger fruit.

This year I think I am going to root suckers around July 1st, pull all the old tired plants in early August and start 32 new plants by August 15th. That should give the new plants about 100 days before the first frost.

Dewayne mater · January 14, 2015

Perfect. I pull my earthtainers into the garage as well, but, those in the ground have to be covered in row cover in a light frost or heavy plastic if it is going to be below 28.

Cherries definitely set better in the heat than anything, regardless of growing habitat. That said, cherries that set in July and August tend to be pretty small and have much thicker skins than at other times of the season. Those that set through the fall are back to normal size and skins, so, I'm pretty sure that is heat driven.

Not sure about DBH, but look forward to hearing more from you this season.

As for fall plants, new plants (and I assume rooted suckers will thrive like a new plant) definitely produce better. Bill, over in Alabama, does a sequential planting of new plants through the season and I think he (and some others) believe that new plants should get out by August 1 at the latest. Cherries will produce in the 100 day time slot you mention, but larger fruits not as much. For me, the larger varieties start strong, but when the sunshine hours drop and the temps do too, ripening takes much longer in the fall. Give your plants as much time as possible for a fall crop, or you'll end up with a bunch of green tomatoes at frost - not the end of the world! You can even pull your buckets back into the garage at that point. I did this year and avoided a frost before Thanksgiving and didn't lose my earthtainer plants to freezing until almost New Years!

Dewayne Mater

AlittleSalt · January 14, 2015

Hi Mike,

I live 150 miles due west of Flint, Texas. Hydroponics helps keep the roots cooler in August than plants planted in the ground. I'm thinking that is probably why you had tomatoes producing in August. You can grow just about anything in East Texas.

Welcome to Tomatoville

Vespertino · January 17, 2015

Hey Mike! that's a nice list. I've grown sungold, kellog's breakfast (kbx). Sungold is a champ, you'll get cherries all summer long and well into the fall. Sungold was the first tomato for me last year, as well as the last before the early freeze. They also set fruit through the worst heat of the summer, albeit they do slow down a bit during that time. KBX did really well for me as well, they're delicious! being beefsteaks, they went dormant during August, and they did perk up when it cooled down and I had some more fruit set but then we had that early freeze that prevented a second crop.

Good luck and keep us posted!

January 14, 2015	#1
NewCreature Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Flint, TX Posts: 19	My 2015 season started today! Well, for someone as OCD as me, picking out 16 varieties of tomatoes to grow this season is nearly impossible, especially since I stumbled upon this site a week or so ago. Despite that, I finally pulled the trigger on my seed purchases for this year so they get here in time for me to start them by 2/1. Here is the rundown. I would love to some hear some thoughts about how these might do in East Texas. BTW, they will all be grown hydroponically in dutch buckets. If you are interested in my setup, here is a walkthrough video to made last year http://youtu.be/jBUxnb5JMt4 Cherries Nectar Sungold Petit Chocolat Isis Candy Snow Cherry Ambrosia Rose UBX Riesentraube Yellow Gooseberry Slicers Cherokee Purple Kelllog Breakfast Park's Whopper Kazachka Fioletovyi Kruglyi Sauce San Marzano Opalka Bonnie Best A bit off topic, these will round out the rest of my hydroponic setup Cucumbers Painted Serpent Poona Keera Mexican Sour Gherkin Suyo Long Summer Dance Calypso Dragon's Egg Tendergreen Burpless Spinach Space Strawberry Spinach Ching Chang Bok Choi A wide variety of lettuces Peppers California Wonder Purple Beauty Big Red S1$h1to (sorry, the bad word filter forced me to be creative) Italian Pepperoncini Trinidad Scorpion __________________ Mike (aka NewCreature) Flint, TX <><

January 14, 2015	#3
NewCreature Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Flint, TX Posts: 19	Thanks for your thoughts Curt. I will probably start my tomatoes next week. I started too early last year and the early April frost almost got me. I am trying to decide if I will start another set of backup seedlings two weeks later just in case disaster strikes. It is a pretty small price to pay for a little piece of mind. There is an old saying that thunder in January means snow in May. I don't agree with May, I have this saying ring true for frosts in April. That said, we had a pretty hefty thunderstorm just last week. Mike __________________ Mike (aka NewCreature) Flint, TX <><

January 14, 2015	#5
NewCreature Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Flint, TX Posts: 19	Thanks for the Texas-specific thoughts. I just got thinking about frost protection and think I have a good strategy. Because I am doing dutch bucket hydroponics, whenever a freeze is forecast, I can just lift the buckets (16 of them) off the stand and bring them into the garage for the night. This should allow me to easily get my plants out by 3/15 if not sooner. I have only grown cherries so far and last year, they were still setting fruit in July and August. I don't know if cherries set better or if my hydroponic setup enables them to handle the heat better. It will be interesting to see if I have the same luck with bigger fruit. This year I think I am going to root suckers around July 1st, pull all the old tired plants in early August and start 32 new plants by August 15th. That should give the new plants about 100 days before the first frost. __________________ Mike (aka NewCreature) Flint, TX <><

January 14, 2015	#2
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	Mike, Cherries usually do great in Texas regardless of the variety. I have grown Cherokee Purple many times, and it usually does very well. It can be stingy as far as production goes, but average seasons it gives a good amount of fruit. Taste is very very good. Last year it was one of my top producers. I would start my seeds as soon as possible. I have found in Texas that you need to plant out by the middle of March to get the optimum production as the heat comes early. Be prepared to have to protect from frost once or twice in the early spring, extra work, but well worth it. I started my seeds last week. Good luck, Curt

January 14, 2015	#4
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	Welcome Mike. I agree with Curt, as usual. I started my seeds on Jan 4 and they are sprouted and under lights now. You may have slightly more forgiving weather out south of Tyler than I do in the Metroplex. In my experience, moving the plant out date up from the traditionally recommended plant out date of the average date of the last frost (end of March for me) to early to mid March makes all the difference. It literally doubles or more the production I get to do it this way in many years because the heat kills fruit set. This is really true in the Metroplex where it doesn't cool off that much at night. I have to be vigilant about covering the plants when freezes are predicted, which is usually at least once after I plant out. However, at that point, plants are small, so, it isn't that difficult to accomplish. I generally will plant out on the first weekend in March in which the 10 day forecast does not include a freeze. For several years now, that has been between the 2nd and 3rd week of March. I'm growing San Marzano for the first time this year and looking forward to seeing if we can duplicate the flavors of Italy here in Texas. I don't have much overlap with your list. Hope you will report back on how it goes and include pictures! Good luck and happy growing. Dewayne Mater

January 14, 2015	#7
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Hi Mike, I live 150 miles due west of Flint, Texas. Hydroponics helps keep the roots cooler in August than plants planted in the ground. I'm thinking that is probably why you had tomatoes producing in August. You can grow just about anything in East Texas. Welcome to Tomatoville

January 17, 2015	#8
Vespertino Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Southlake, TX Posts: 743	Hey Mike! that's a nice list. I've grown sungold, kellog's breakfast (kbx). Sungold is a champ, you'll get cherries all summer long and well into the fall. Sungold was the first tomato for me last year, as well as the last before the early freeze. They also set fruit through the worst heat of the summer, albeit they do slow down a bit during that time. KBX did really well for me as well, they're delicious! being beefsteaks, they went dormant during August, and they did perk up when it cooled down and I had some more fruit set but then we had that early freeze that prevented a second crop. Good luck and keep us posted!