PNW Tomato Tuesday 2013

Bleh! 38° at my house this morning, and my toms are a shiverin'

WOW... that is cold. I have about 20 tomatoes that are outside now, they seem to have survived the big wind storm the day before.
I very painstakingly staked them all to bamboo poles and I think that is what saved them.

Bleh! 38° at my house this morning, and my toms are a shiverin'

You need to wrap little scarves around their little shoulders...

47 this morning

happy gardening
rose

I'm sneaking in a tomato Tuesday post! Turns out I was out of vermiculite so I made a road trip to Concentrates today and they had a few veggie starts out front from Blue House Greenhouse Farm. I'm trying to be good about supporting local farmers and businesses, so I took the opportunity to buy the two tomato plants I needed. I came home with one Stupice tomato plant and one Sungold Cherry tomato plant, both new varieties for me. They were in 4" pots and cost $2.75 apiece.

My kiddos helped me mix a generous helping of fresh compost into the lowest of our new tabletop beds, then we marked the grid and planted our new tomatoes extra deep.
My little guy is actually standing on a stool. He's determined not to be thwarted by the table tops.

Yay! You have tomatoes to post!

Uh...is the whole table painted pink? I can't wait for a pic of the whole table!

What are your plans for trellises?

boffer wrote:Uh...is the whole table painted pink? I can't wait for a pic of the whole table!

What are your plans for trellises?

Ha! I very purposefully zoomed in as tightly as I could on that bed, kinda hoping no one would pick up on the color. I had promised the girls they could paint the frames pretty colors and I made good on it. In spite of my best attempts to convince them that the blues and browns from my patio umbrella would look pretty, they chose pink, purple, and aqua - their three favorite colors that they choose for everything.

As far as trellising, I have two of those jumbo sized tomato cages that I'll pop on top once they start growing. They'll look funny being so high up in the air!

I LOVE it Gwen!....glad to hear you let them pick the colors

Happy to report on this Tomato Tuesday all but 1 of our tom's seem to be happy the 1 un happy tom is a bit yellow still...but has 2 green fruits and the sun is out and should be out all this week! ya!

happy gardening
rose

gwennifer wrote:...In spite of my best attempts to convince them that the blues and browns from my patio umbrella would look pretty, they chose pink, purple, and aqua - their three favorite colors that they choose for everything. ...

Sounds like memories in the making. Fifteen years from now, the girls will look at your pictures and say, 'Mom, I can't believe you let us paint your tabletop pink!'

Gwennifer, you AND the kiddos will totally love the Sungold tomatoes, they are sooo sweet and delicious. Please let us know when the little darlings discover the taste of this variety. It's one of the few hybrid types we like to grow. Happy growing, Nonna

RAINY Tomato Tuesday.....blah......

SFG and container updates

I love this plant .....*Red Robin*....we have two of these cute tomato plants both in hanging baskets both growing well and the same.....its a great compact plant...cant wait for a taste test.....



maybe its called Red Robin because its robin egg size fruit is tucked away under its dark green leaves.....so cute....



SFG tomatoes.....on the left corner is the *Marglobe*, center is *Oregon spring* and the right front corner is a *Bush Beefsteak*.....they are all healthy and growing well.....



ugly wild looking tomato with limbs that are every where *Maskotka* origin is from U.K. its a cherry tomato that can be planted in a container....its not a pretty plant, but its producing and it seems happy.....



here is the other *Maskotka* its struggling but has fruit



*Super Bush* we have two of these planted in our 4 tier SFG bed out front....they seem very hardy....compact...thick, green and lush....



a struggling *WA Cherry*



a *WA cherry* doing a bit better



*Bush Beef Steak* ...it seems happy....



our other 6 tomatoes that are in the ground are doing well

Sweetie cherry
Thai Pink egg
Boone Dock
Gold Nugget
Super Italian Paste
Jubilee

Happy Gardening
rose

I forgot it was Tomato Tuesday. Here's the only thing new in tomato land. It's not big, but it's red! It's a Super Beefsteak wannabe!

YUMMY

hugs
rose

Look good? Here's the link to the recipe:Fresh Tomato Tart

Nonna.PapaVino, can you tell me if Sungold cherries are indeed actually a yellow tomato?  The tags at the store sometimes show them a golden yellow, and sometimes red.  

I've got two Stupice tomatoes growing.  Getting the first flush of flowers on the Sungold.  For being "hot house" type plants, tomatoes sure seem a lot happier outside than the cukes and peppers.  They're probably twice the size I bought them at already.

Also, someone on the forum mentioned growing all tomatoes 1/square whether indeterminate or determinate.  So that's what I'm doing.  Just want to throw out there that I don't know what I'm doing and am just experimenting.  I'll let them grow up as much as they want, but will trim them to keep them mostly within their squares.  

Here's the crazy tall tomato cages that are probably unnecessary for determinates, but it's all I have:

My Sun Golds were a golden orange when ripe.

These are in my community garden row.  Very prolific and tasty, too.

Thanks quiltbea!

Gwennifer, The only Sungolds I ever raised (over a 3-year period) were all golden yellow and superlatively sweet and tasty. Children absolutely love them. Enjoy! Nonna

happy to report most of our tom's have fruit still waiting on Boone Dock, Jubilee and Super Italian paste.....

Blushing Maskotka



Thai Pink egg



Sweetie Cherry



Gold Nugget



Washington Cherry



happy gardening
rose

Wow, Rose, congratulations on your beautiful tomato garden! Y'all done good! Nonna

Nonna - thanks to you as well for confirming the ripe color of Sungolds. No fruit has set yet - just getting the first flush of flowers. This will be my first time growing any type of cherry tomato. I hope they are abundant and mature more quickly than the big tomatoes. I want to be able to pick them daily for my salads.

Rose, your tomato plants are all so big and healthy and loaded with fruit. You must be thrilled. It's only June after all! Congratulations!

So what do you all think of your toms compared to last year?

So what do you all think of your toms compared to last year?

GWEN I looked thru our tomato thread from last year and it seems like our tom's are doing about the same as they did then. The only difference I believe from last year and this year is we put our tom's out earlier....

now the cole crops are another story....

happy gardening
rose

Definitely a much better year for tomatoes (warmer spring) than last year. Having said that, by planting a few too many tomatoes last year, I did get enough fruit to fill the pantry with tomatoes, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and yellow tomato/citrus/ginger marmalade. This year I want to try drying some tomatoes as well. Garden has 32 tomato plants, so I should have enough to experiment, right? Nonna

Nonna did you ever figure out how to get pictures uploaded?  Would love to see some of your garden.

My tomatoes don't seem unhappy at all with our June.  That Stupice tomato on the right sets fruit like a champ so far.  I've been shaking blossoms when I see them open, but haven't spied any pollen.  Yet each one has made a tomato.  No baby Sungolds yet, but no blossoms have dropped yet either.  The plants have made it up to the first rung of the cages.  They better keep up the pace if they are going to stay ahead of the beans.  

Hi peoples
in some discussions here the advice is to cut/prune OFF all branches & thus suckers below the 1st. group of Tomato blossoms, supposedly increasing yield. This I'm now too starting. - Yet in this thread I notice everyone has full little bushes, whereas my Tallest tomato is now just a 3 foot naked stalk, with blossoms two feet up. - So am I doing it wrong, and should leave the tomato plants alone like yours?

LG I prune my tomatoes pretty heavily, cut off all the lower branches and suckers and maintain one main stalk.
I have done this for a few years and have always had TONS of tomatoes, so don't worry.