2011 Tomatoes! Wha'cha growin'?!

I have Giant Belgium, Beefsteak, Mr Stripey, and Dixie "Sweet" started. I will buy a cherry tomato plant later.

Tomato: Buckbee's New 50 Day
Tomato: Chadwick Cherry
Tomato: Delicious
Tomato: EGG red tomato
Tomato: Fox Cherry
Tomato: Hazelfield Farm
Tomato: Illini Star
Tomato: Jujube Cherry
Tomato: Lollipop Tomato
Tomato: Morning Sun
Tomato: Mule Team
Tomato: Stupice
Tomato: Thessaloniki
Tomato: Tomato Cour di Bue
Tomato: Tomato Egg Yolk
Tomato: Tomato Orange Banana

Currently growing:

Sunsugar
Sweet Baby Girl
Brandywine x 4
Cherokee Purple x 4
La Roma x 4
Tumbling Tom
Patio

This is a first for me. I have absolutely nothing started and no idea of what will be grown. Usually I have started and grow up to 200 tomato plants. Due to a sick wife a way word son and the need to get it down to just one house to live in everything else has suffered to say the least. I will be trying black krem this year after reading so many good comments in Dave's and GardenWeb. Celebrity is my main canner, also San Marzano because Rachel Ray says they are the best. Roma for salsa. Of course a few Early Girls. Big Mama, stupice and Parks whopper. Obviously a few cherries. Have tried opalka and momotaru without much fondness for either. Healing garden I followed your really nice blog to a planning software subscription and wonder if you use it ?

As of now I have started indoors:

Sara's Galapagos
Arkansas Traveler
Pink Ponderosa
Green Sausage
Roma
Beefsteak
Rio Grande
Yellow Pear
Yellow Perfection (delicious)
Brandywine
Early Treat ( 100+ lbs per plant)

That is just off the top of my head as my records are at home and I am getting paid at work to write on the forums. I still have one more wave of indoor seed starting to do before the new moon this weekend too so who knows how big this list will get!?

My plan so far:

2 plants of beefsteak (one is better boy hybrid, not sure about the other)
3 plants of cherry style
5 plants of paste variety (roma) for saucing

That still leaves 3 squares for tomatoes though... hmmm..... maybe an heirloom like cherokee or something...

I thought growing 16 different varieties last year was too many. Glad to know that I'm not the only tomato nut! They are all so good.. I've scaled down a bit this year. I think I only have about 12 different kinds this year..

I had posted the message below in another thread, but just found this one and thought perhaps it would be better here . . .

Another newbie here with some basic tomato questions. What does "determinate or indeterminate" refer to and how does it impact which tomato types to choose? Also, I picked up several packs of seeds hoping to get a variety of tomatoes good for salads, salsa, sauce and sandwiches. Would these work?

- Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato (open pollinated) - High Mowing Organic Seeds
- Yellow Pear Cherry Tomato (heirloom) - High Mowing Organic Seeds
- Cherokee Purple Tomato (heirloom) - High Mowing Organic Seeds
- San Marzano Paste Tomato (open pollinated) - High Mowing Organic Seeds
- Crimson Beefsteak Tomato - Grow Organic

Many thanks!

MasonGarden wrote:Another newbie here with some basic tomato questions. What does "determinate or indeterminate" refer to and how does it impact which tomato types to choose? Also, I picked up several packs of seeds hoping to get a variety of tomatoes good for salads, salsa, sauce and sandwiches. Would these work?

- Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato (open pollinated) - High Mowing Organic Seeds
- Yellow Pear Cherry Tomato (heirloom) - High Mowing Organic Seeds
- Cherokee Purple Tomato (heirloom) - High Mowing Organic Seeds
- San Marzano Paste Tomato (open pollinated) - High Mowing Organic Seeds
- Crimson Beefsteak Tomato - Grow Organic

Determinate and Indeterminate refer to the growing habit of tomatoes and how long they will produce new fruit.
A determinate tomato grows in more of a bushy manner (which takes up to 9 sq ft - or 3X3 squares) plus, the crop usually matures close to the same time. this is really good if you are canning or making sauces.
An Indeteriminate tomatoes grow in more of a viney manner, which makes it good for putting on a trellis. The crop continues to produce until frost, so you have tomatoes maturing over a longer period of time.

Matt's Wild Cherry and yellow Pear Cherry tomatoes are both really good in a salad.
San Marzano is great for salsa and sauces
Cherokee Purple (yummmm) and Crimson Beefsteak are both good slicers for sandwiches

Hope this helps

Phew! I had to check back with my seed order and look up each tomato to see if it was determinate or indeterminate. Thankfully they were all indeterminate (I wasn't planning on 9 sf for one tomato plant) but I did see the Roma tomato was semi-determinate. I'm going to assume that's closer to indeterminate than determinate. He'll just have to squish.

Brandywine pink
Yellow Pear
Sweet 100
Better Boy

So far, Marion, German Queen and Mr Stripey ( I like that name )
More to come
Ha-v-v

WV 63 (all purpose/indeterminate)
Opalka (paste/indeterminate)
Mountain Princess (early/determinate)
Sweet 100 (cherry)
Dixie's Sweet (eating!)

I'll be planting a dozen each of the WV 63's and Opalkas. they are my canning tomatoes. Perhaps a half dozen or more of the Mountain Princess in pots and containers. And maybe 4 of the Sweet 100's -- want to sow roast more of these babies!

I've started my the WV '63's and Opalka from seeds saved from last year. Bought the heirloom Mountain Princess seed -- had to try them since they are native to my area. Hoping to get some early tomatoes from them!

pattipan

Is there a source to check seeds to see whether they are determinate or indeterminate?

MasonGarden wrote:Is there a source to check seeds to see whether they are determinate or indeterminate?

If you're using tomato seed you ordered or bought local, it should say somewhere in its description of the tomato, or on the seed packet. What kind do you have and where did you order/buy them?

pattipan

westie42 wrote:..... Healing garden I followed your really nice blog to a planning software subscription and wonder if you use it ?

Yes, I use growveg.com to plan my garden. It has worked really well for me using square foot gardening approach. You can also use it for row gardening.

Ha-v-v wrote:So far, Marion, German Queen and Mr Stripey ( I like that name )
More to come
Ha-v-v

I know Im quoting myself lolol (scarey isnt it )

Ive added to the tomatoes in the garden, thanks to my precious neighbor that puts tears in my eyes she is so kind to me. My neighbor plants all these seeds and then shares the plants with me.

All Heirloom

Black Krim
Black Cherry
Brandywine
Creole
Green Zebra

I purchased a Cherokee purple (heirloom)

Ok thats it on the tomatoes until my neighbor puts out more seeds I will share with her the ones I have purchased as they get older. I take cuttings to root from my tomato plants and its worked quite well.

Ha-v-v

Among many others I got two (one healthy looking) Sara's Galapagos sprouts that are still inside the closet. Anyone else ever tried this variety? I need more seeds!!!

I thought I had grown/purchased all of my tomato seedlings for this year but visted the Sand Springs Herbal Affair today and somehow left without a single herb but bought an armload of tomato plants. I think I have an illness! I am going to run out of trellis squares very quickly and end up growing a lot in containers. It isn't much compared to some of you, but after today I have:

Cherokee Purple
Mortgage Lifter
Carbon
Sweet 100 Cherry
Yellow Pear
Better Boy
Roma
Arkansas Traveler

Some of these are old standbys and some it is my first year trying. Also scored some cool varieties of eggplant and some rhubarb that I am going to try to keep alive in this Oklahoma heat against the odds. Off to round up buckets fot all these excess plants. (If there is a 12 step program for compulsive tomato buying, someone please point me in the right direction.)

I've never gardened before, so I wasn't really sure what to buy and I got a Bonnie Original, a Better Boy and a Roma at Home Depot. Then I started to learn about heirlooms. I ordered a Heinz and an Amish Paste from a farm in MO.
Well, there was a huge storm last night with quarter-size hail, and it looks like my Home Depot plants are toast. They got hit pretty bad.
I may end up ordering replacements, probably funky looking heirlooms.

I'm so jealous of the people that have room to plant tons of different varieties! I have room for just 4 tomato plants, so my choices this year were:

-sweet 100
-better boy
-big beef
-black krim

I would love to be able to grow enough to make sauce and freeze them etc, but at least with my 4 plants I will have cherry tomatoes to snack on and hopefully lots of yummy tomato sandwiches.

I found a pretty neat source for tomato seeds, I know some of you frown on collections, but they do have some neat collections, one is for kids, one for cool coastal areas, one for warm coastal areas, and so on.
http://www.tomatofest.com/Tomato_Seeds_collections_s/4.htm

They also have a map, the Tomato Growing Zone Map, a bit more detailed than the USDA map. It's more of a growing zone map, broken down by climate.
http://www.tomatofest.com/tomato-growing-zone-map.html#BGClimate10e


Also if you use containers, or want to use containers, or are moving soon, here is some free info on the EarthTainer.
http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/

I'ts a pretty neat concept, but to me personally too much left over material. There are 3 videos on making the EarthTainer, makes for a good rainy time spender.

Wow, and I thought I had lots of different varieties.  I'm humbled by some of these lists.  My selection this year:

Black krim
Brandywine
Creole
Beefsteak
Beefmaster
Cherokee purple
Yellow pear
Red cherry large fruited
Early girl
Early treat
Super boy, which was a cubscout project.
And up to 2 other mystery varieties caused by a tag mix up either at the warehouse or the nursery.  Their in house expert thinks they may be brandywines.  I hope so, because the ones I started from seed haven't set a tomato yet, and these are setting up to 6 a day.

Already planned additions for next season:
German Johnson
Black pineapple
Bull heart

A plant database would be nice on this forum.  Then we could share success and failures, taste ratings, or overall ratings for different areas.

I have a question about tomatoes. Mel says that you should trim all the sides off the tomato vine. I trust Mel, but I am worried about damaging the tomato. Can somebody help/reassure me? Thanks, Marc

Also, I am growing:
Beefsteak
Early Girl
Roma
Yellow
Better Boy Hybrid
and I bought a Mr. Smiley Heirloom plant yesterday. The kids liked it!

I pruned my tomatoes quite a lot last year, primarily to promote good ventilation through the bed. You can see more of them in my Album in the Gallery. There are multiple threads on this forum about pruning and pinching. You can use the search feature to find them.