No, it is informative to those of us in hot and/or humid areas. And always good to hear how different varieties perform.
I tried Black Krim and various Brandywine varieties. BK didn’t do do well for me disease wise, but it was productive. Not so with Brandywine’s, they are vigorous, beautiful plants, but like you they give me about a half dozen fruit per plant. Not worth growing, although my Yellow variety had very tasty fruit. But, my orange KY beefsteak taste great also, but are more productive.
Cherokee Purple hasn’t done well here either, not real productive, and not too vigorous.
Odd that Better Boy has disease on it, being that it’s a hybrid. But, you are in Georgia, so…
You mentioned some of your varieties haven’t set a lot of fruit, that may have to do with the heat. Some tomatoes won’t flower above certain temps.
I haven’t been spraying any of my plants yet, most of them seem to be doing well. I think it’s because it’s been really warm and dry here. But, I’ve been diligent about removing any branches near the ground, and keeping them mulched.
Thanks for the info about the black tomatoes, fusion. I wanted to have a season or two with having some success with the tomatoes before trying to start from seed. If this year goes well, I will have to look for those black tomato seeds you mention.
How big have they got in the containers? My two in-ground CC plants are huge, and getting bigger every day. One is almost 6’ now, and bushy, and the other is about 5’. They’re setting a few fruit now, but not that much.
It doesn’t seem that many of my plants are setting fruit right now, even though they are big enough to produce now. I’m wondering if it’s because of how hot it’s been here in the last couple weeks. It was in the 90s almost every day last week, and it’s been in 90s the last couple of days. I’ve understood that tomatoes don’t pollinate very well when it’s this warm. So, we’ll see.
Thanks. Good to hear I’m not the only one seeing this issue. Looks like many plants are flowering, but some are just shriveling up and dropping. Some plants have set a decent amount, but others hardly any at all.
As far as my nutrient levels are concerned, my P, K and Ca levels were decent the last time I had this plot checked (last Dec). Plus, I added some 10-20-20 to the plot this spring, so I think I’m good there. I also gave them a fert drench a few days ago.
Keep track of what does well, and what does not. Here it’s really hard to choose what to grow. Some years those that don’t set well are the cream of the crop in the cold years. Most years here are cold years. This year is above normal. First time in years. I think we had more 90 degree days this year than the last 2 combined and we are in mid July only.
The drench is 6-12-6 with humate and other beneficial nutrients. I gave all my tomatoes (33) and peppers (30) the drink on Sunday, they seem to have responded already. They had been kinda pale, but when I was out there today staking, they looked a bit deeper green.
My best “setters” so far are Russian Queen, Warrens yellow cherry, Gordost Sibiri, and Siberian Pink. I hardly have any flowers or fruit on Boxcar Willie, Dr Wyche Yellow, Romeo or orange KY beefsteak.
Yes, same for here, I believe. The heat will be back this weekend, in the mid 90s, so there’s not much I can do about that. We got to 99 last Thu, the hottest we’ve seen since we moved here 4 years ago.
Today I got antsy and picked two black Krim tomatoes. Obviously a bit early. But my first full sized tomato of the year. I ate one and it wd just okay. Flavor was certainly different from what I’m used to. I assume these will get a lot better as they turn darker colors.
Also took pics of two tomatoes I’m growing that are both listed as big rainbow. They are distinctly different. One is growing into what I think a big rainbow shape should be. The other is growing into what looks like an oxheart shape with a point on the bottom. Funny thing is I didn’t order oxheart. I guess a couple of stray seeds may have gotten into my big rainbow pack.
Sorry charlie, er… Tony. Genetics do not work that way. The sweet 100 is highly likely to reproduce cherry tomatoes next year but they are not likely to be anywhere near as vigorous, productive, or sweet as the hybrid. As for the Big Beef, it also is a hybrid with very similar issues. If by chance you manage to grow a plant that is a bee made cross of Big Beef X Sweet 100, it will be a small cherry tomato similar to sweet 100. Why? That is how tomato genetics work.
I gave a description above of an F1 hybrid I am growing from a large meaty heart shaped tomato (Tastiheart) crossed with a small cherry size tomato (LA0417). The result is a tomato that is about 3/4 inch diameter. This is typical of tomato genetics. There are 12 identified mutations - and probably many more that are not yet identified - in large fruited tomatoes that make them produce that huge fruit we enjoy so much.
I got to taste my first mortgage lifter today and in a word Phenomenal! It’s my style of tomato. Much better than the Black Krim I ate earlier this week. We made some really great BLTs on Italian bread, guacamole, and I even added a bit of walla walla onion I’m growing. So good.
There’s still a dearth if blossoms on some of my plants, I know it could be the hot weather being the cause, but I’m beginning to wonder if it is a nutrient deficiency. We planted orange KY beefsteak plants in our main patch, grown from seed, and also some down in the corn patch, from a nursery. The OKB in the main patch are large, all three of them over 4ft tall, but with hardly any blossoms or fruit. The ones down in the corn patch are not yet 3ft tall, and they already have blossoms on them, and look like they have some small toms on them already.
The difference? The P and K levels, taken last December, in the corn patch were 609 and 332, respectively, while the same levels in the tomato patch were 77 and 140. The pH of both plots are about 6.0, while the Ca levels in the corn patch were 2315, and in the tom patch, 1486.
Earlier in the spring, before I planted the tomato and peppers in this plot, I added 50lb of ag lime, and 20lb of 10-20-20. I know the P can take a while to be utilized, but this plot isn’t that that poor is it? Except for the Romeo plants, all of them are over 3ft tall, some close to 6ft even.
