This Year, Finally

[tlcmd]

Thanks to all you Tomatovillians!! My posts much earlier this year were regarding the recent failures of my tomatoes and garden in general. And I promised an update later in the season.

Location is Greensboro, N.C., northern piedmont. (Zone 7)

I finally got a great garden. Following advice and methods suggested here and from my local county agricultural adviser, I'm having the best harvest and prettiest garden ever.

Got a soil analysis from the state lab, (no problems or additives suggested) fertilized with 10-10-10 and doubled tilled the garden, weed barriered with newspapers and straw, and "laterally" planted tomatoes grown from seed in Parks Grow Mix.

Did not try to get fancy with heirloom varieties, but stayed chiefly with Parks Whoppers which have done well in the past for me. Planted indeterminates Parks Whoppers (40%) and an divided the other 60% evenly between Beefy Boys, and Bolseno (spotted Wilt Resistant), and determinant BHN 444 (spotted wilt resistant).

Sprayed weekly with Miracle-Gro for the first 6 weeks, and applied Triazicide twice (May and June", and also another application planned later this week. Kept area around garden well mowed and trimmed, and adjacent flowers well mulched and weeded and sprayed.


Have 23 plants, (one more than my cages) and am getting 20+ lbs of tomatoes daily. No sign of spotted wilt or bugs. Do have toads and a black snake to handle other pests.

Not to mention great squash (crook and straight neck) production, lots of okra, pole and bush Blue Lake beans, bell peppers, and pickling cucumbers.

The garden is 40 x 50 feet, and well fenced.

IMO, Parks Whoppers have the best taste of the 4 varieties. My wife prefers the Beefy boys, but "ain't found a tomato from the garden we didn't like".

Of course maybe my plants are just smarter since I used the Wall Street Journal as my weed barrier.

Again, thanks to all who have posted on spotted wilt virus, insecticides, thrips, mulching with newspaper, etc.

Dick

[Rena]

LOL Sounds like you are having a fantastic season. We really like pictures...............

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by tlcmd

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Did not try to get fancy with heirloom varieties, but stayed chiefly with Parks Whoppers which have done well in the past for me. -----
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"Show me something more beautiful than a beautiful woman and then I'll go paint it." Alberto Vargas ---------------------
Dick

A fully ripe big Brandywine tomato is more beautiful !

dcarch

[mcsee]

tlcmd - It seems like you've put a lot of effort into your garden and I'm sure you'll reap the rewards soon. Grow what grows best for you, maybe some heirlooms next year.

[feldon30]

Next year see if you can make it to Tomatopalooza. This year it was 40 miles from Greensboro in Efland. There were over 130 different tomato varieties up for tasting.

Always good to hear about someone who has had trouble in the past and improved in subsequent years.

[the999bbq]

wow, you have a snake in pest-patrol ? nice ;-) I bought chickens to help me get rid of the slugs but they don't want them ... maybe I should stop the luxury food mix they get now and switch to some boring cheap stuff maybe than they like a bit of meat ;-)

yes, nice that you did well, I did mulch this year too (grass from aerating the lawn) but I going to add a some layers of newspaper underneath too next season...

[Ruth_10]

Hah, I, too, use the Wall Street Journal and yes, it does give good tomatoes. The older, larger format was nice for using in the garden but lousy for reading. Actually, it seems to have less color print than the local paper, which is a plus in its favor.

Congrats on your garden--you are on your way!

[JimM_SC]

I'm pleased to have a King snake in my garden. Glad to hear of your success. I grow Beefy Boys also and they always produce well. I got a 20 oz. one this year and lots of 1 pounders. Highly recommend Tomatopalooza. I usually fetch my grandson from Atlanta and we make the trip together