Things I learned growing heirloom tomatoes this summer

[Kenny_H]

@Mel Hill

I liked the sauce I made with the black krims and I would
Agree with the “meaty” comments. My 12 YO described it as earthy… The leftovers from the braised cauliflower got blended into a Hazen tomato butter and onion sauce over spaghetti squash the following night and was a big hit.

You have lucky kids Mel.

[Mel_Hill]

I like to pressure cook 1/4’ed tomatoes for about 5 min then separate the tomato water from the solids.
I guess you could steam away all that liquid but I’d rather save it and add is where it can bring a bit of tomato to things like rice or soups.

[mgriffith]

@Kenny H

Number 1 was covered in my book on heirlooms. The next two tips are gold, particularly the hosiery! Thank you sir.

Cheap SOB tip for anyone buying tomato plants rather than starting with seed: Look for the older, overgrown, ugly versions at the nursery. These are often in the back of the lot rather than among the more attractive pots. These do not sell well as most people want the pretty, fresh from the grower dark green and a few inches tall specimens. When they get 8 inches or more tall the odds are that they won’t sell at all and will be a loss for the vendor. Make a highly discounted offer to buy. If you can get them for pennies, just follow the deep planting path and you get almost free tomatoes!

[Brian_Tuite]

@mgriffith

@Kenny H

Number 1 was covered in my book on heirlooms. The next two tips are gold, particularly the hosiery! Thank you sir.

Cheap SOB tip for anyone buying tomato plants rather than starting with seed: Look for the older, overgrown, ugly versions at the nursery. These are often in the back of the lot rather than among the more attractive pots. These do not sell well as most people want the pretty, fresh from the grower dark green and a few inches tall specimens. When they get 8 inches or more tall the odds are that they won’t sell at all and will be a loss for the vendor. Make a highly discounted offer to buy. If you can get them for pennies, just follow the deep planting path and you get almost free tomatoes!

The only problem here is that the nurseries rarely sell Heirlooms and the genetically modified ones are flavorless.

[Poppy_Davis]

@Brian Tuite

@mgriffith

@Kenny H

Number 1 was covered in my book on heirlooms. The next two tips are gold, particularly the hosiery! Thank you sir.

Cheap SOB tip for anyone buying tomato plants rather than starting with seed: Look for the older, overgrown, ugly versions at the nursery. These are often in the back of the lot rather than among the more attractive pots. These do not sell well as most people want the pretty, fresh from the grower dark green and a few inches tall specimens. When they get 8 inches or more tall the odds are that they won’t sell at all and will be a loss for the vendor. Make a highly discounted offer to buy. If you can get them for pennies, just follow the deep planting path and you get almost free tomatoes!

The only problem here is that the nurseries rarely sell Heirlooms and the genetically modified ones are flavorless.

Maybe in your area, but here in LA non-GMO heirloom seedlings are easy to find.

[Brian_Tuite]

@Poppy Davis

@Brian Tuite

The only problem here is that the nurseries rarely sell Heirlooms and the genetically modified ones are flavorless.

Maybe in your area, but here in LA non-GMO heirloom seedlings are easy to find.

Heirlooms never last so long that they grow 12" tall and get put in the back of the store. Those kind of nurseries don’t sell heirlooms. Sorry I wasn’t more specific.

[P_Willenberg]

Just ordered Black Krim seeds on amazon. 30 for $1.60.

[alan_weinberg]

@Poppy Davis

Things I learned about growing heirloom tomatoes this summer: Hornworms SUCK! The evil bastards pretty much wiped out my entire crop. Check the plants daily.

they destroyed my plants. Will never try again.

[Frank_Drew]

Alan,

Do you mean that you’ll never grow heirlooms again? Will hornworms leave hybrids alone? Or did you mean that you’ll never grow any kind of tomatoes again?

Through no effort on my part, my garden somehow became host to those tiny, predatory wasps that lay their eggs on the hornworms – natural control of those fiendish creatures.

[Kenny_H]

Like Alan I found the insect pressure in SoCal was brutal, particularly hornworms. But every other worm too. And white fly, and mildew, etc, etc, etc. I had to be on top of them every single day. Unfortunately there was no natural pest control. Here in Iowa I have found the same as you Frank, predatory wasps, birds, etc, took care of all my issues except for the very occasional leaf cutter. Late in the season the birds became a problem and started eating tomatoes!

[M_Chacchia]

Great thread! I’ll keep it in mind this spring when I plant. I’m lucky, I live only 20 minutes from White Flower Farm and they have a huge tomato weekend every May with what must be near/over 100 varieties (many heirloom) available. Will try Black Krim again. I love those Brandywines but I have had trouble the last 2 years growing them. Orange Oxhart are gorgeous. Sungolds seem to grow under any conditions and give out a constant bounty. Moving my bed this year for more sun and (hopefully) improved soil.
Making salsa tomorrow, but alas, the flavor will be shite.

[alan_weinberg]

@Frank Drew

Alan,

Do you mean that you’ll never grow heirlooms again? Will hornworms leave hybrids alone? Or did you mean that you’ll never grow any kind of tomatoes again?

Through no effort on my part, my garden somehow became host to those tiny, predatory wasps that lay their eggs on the hornworms – natural control of those fiendish creatures.

I spent hundreds of dollars–half barrels, soil, trellises, fertilizer, etc in addition to the heirloom cost as well as time and ended up w 5 lbs of tomatoes–I will just buy henceforth. No gardening.

[Kenny_H]

Just about ready to go! This is a corner of my garage and I have radiant floor heat, but run around 60* so I have a heat mat under them.

[alexnicholas]

I had my first success after a few years of failures due to too much rain, deer, rabbits, and woodchucks, plus some white fungal stuff. Last year I bought a bunch of seedlings from a quality nursery with good choices and planted them in between knockout roses along a sunny border. sprayed them every few days with some kind of predator urine - although I hear you can pee on them yourself. I don’t think my neighbors would like that too much. Planted in Mid May and had a great return in July and a later 2nd round, but not as tasty - in September. Those Brandywines are killer! I will be on the lookout for black krim seedlings.

[M_Sai]

@Brian Tuite

@Kenny H

Although the problem with treated wood used to be arsenic, that stopped in 2003. The problem remains that they are soaked in several forms of copper and use a solution that contains ammonia. You are much better off to use brick, concrete block, recycled lumber containing recycled plastic, etc.

I’d just use the damn ground if it weren’t for the invasive gophers in these parts.

I did raised beds for our garden with pressure treated lumber with no issues. I think the key is putting-in a plastic barrier on the inside. I bought super-thick plastic sheeting and stapled it to the inside of the structure. I was concerned with both chemicals from the wood leeching into the soil and long-term moisture contact degrading the wood. So far, so good.

[Marshall_Gelb]

Crazy “El Nińo” winter…very mild. We decided to stagger out tomatoes this year so we actually put two plants in the ground yesterday. Last year we also did early March for the plants and got an abundant but early crop. Since we always like to try new varieties, we found two “early ripening” plants that we have never seen before…“Bloody Butcher” and a Japanese tomato called “Aiko” that is actually olive shaped. Later this month and in April, we shall see what else we will find. We live near the beach and don’t have much room so we usually stick to 6 or 7 plants.

Cheers!
Marshall


Quoting myself…We had a strange year here as the weather was erratic and never got warm. We also have a problem where a tree in my neighbor’s yard has gotten so tall that it blocks a lot of sunlight for us. We have discussed trimming it with them so next year should be better. The “Aiko” did very well and produced a lot of tomatoes as did the “Bloody Butcher.” Our later developing plants are not doing as well and are rather scrawny. We will be getting a few nice tomatoes but overall not a real bumper crop. We have one plant called “Tangerine” that has wonderful fruit but, alas, is producing very few. Our other earlier "Green zebra " also produced well but is already dying. Still love my tomatoes!


Cheers!
Marshall

[Scott_Butler]

@Poppy Davis

Things I learned about growing heirloom tomatoes this summer: Hornworms SUCK! The evil bastards pretty much wiped out my entire crop. Check the plants daily.

Ben checking my plants daily. This weekend through today I found 15!!! 9 were alive but babies, and 6 were still in the cocoon. I figured out how to spot them before they hatch. If the leaf is folded over tight…check it.

[Poppy_Davis]

@Scott Butler

@Poppy Davis

Things I learned about growing heirloom tomatoes this summer: Hornworms SUCK! The evil bastards pretty much wiped out my entire crop. Check the plants daily.

Ben checking my plants daily. This weekend through today I found 15!!! 9 were alive but babies, and 6 were still in the cocoon. I figured out how to spot them before they hatch. If the leaf is folded over tight…check it.

Glad you found them in time! Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to plant my garden yet. I’ll still probably be able to plant in the next couple of weeks and have tomatoes into November.

[CFu]

Something destroyed my whole veggie garden last year. Everything was growing great, flowers sprouting. Then suddenly everything died. Couldn’t revive a single plant. I had cleared out a raised area in the yard and pulled a tree for that garden.

Next year maybe back to pots

[P_Willenberg]

on the advice of this thread, I planted Black Krim along with the usual San Marzano. I will report back on their pizza sauce ability!