Tomato Tuesday- LOWER SOUTH 2012

I'm reviving Tomato Tuesday for this region so that we can have our own thread to showcase progress, successes, and even problems with our tomatos. SHOW ME WHATCHA GOT!!

Just in case you don't remember, here is the description of the Lower South.

Lower South USDA Hardiness zones 7-8; AHS heat zones 8-11
The southern tip of costal Virginia, Costal plains of North Carolina and South Carolina, into central Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, continuing west through central Texas just west of San Antonio and includes Austin, Huston and Temple Manor with Laredo at its south-west edge.


I expect some of you are already harvesting and starting to push toward the time when heat will prevent tomato production, but up here on the northern edge I just got my first tomato, a San Marzano Paste.



Kay

the Roma tomatoes I put in on April 13th were only about four inches tall. They're blooming some now and I have 3 teeny tiny 'maters. I certainly hope it doesn't get too hot for me to get a good harvest!

Welcome Kay as the Lower South host! You will do a good job!

I would be in the tropical south, except that I do get freezes and some cold weather most yrs in the winter. I'm on the far south of this region, but it gets so very hot in the summer. I planted under a large pine tree to give each bed some bit of shade at some time during each day. All my boxes are 12 in. deep, except for the 1 carrot square(6 in) which was built just for carrot week, and potato boxes, (tall)

Here are my tomatoes:

Reg. tomatoes, this is a Mr. Stripey.





Cherry toms.



Tomato cages. We made these of wood because last yr. they were over 9 ft tall, bent over into the isles. Will have to get a ladder to pick if they grow that tall this yr!



Onions on the far right edge. Indeterminate toms in the 1st ft. Cherry toms on the left ft. There is a short fence on that edge.

All these great looking Southern maters I'm a bit jealous

I planted some early girl and roma tomatoes in mid March and they are moving along pretty well. Sometime after that in April I had a coupon for a free tomato plant at a local nursery. I picked out the yellow pear tomato and planted it in a terracotta pot about 11 or 12 inch in diameter. I also planted some lemon basil in the pot beside it. The basil has flowered and the tomato plant is tall and somewhat thin and nothing like my other tomato plants in my boxes. It just produced some flowers near the top but other than that seems to be troubled.

Is the pot not big enough, under watered, malnourished? I'm really at a loss as to what to do.

Funny thing. Yellow pears are the ones I had trouble keeping alive this year. Only managed to save 3 of the 10 that sprouted. Is anyone else having trouble with this variety this year?

Kay

Kay, that makes me feel better. This is the first time I have tried growing these yellow pear tomatoes and the first time I have attempted anything in a container. They are not dead but not really thriving either. Since there are two of us and only one of them we can blame the plant.

Here it is Tues again. We had rain today so I didn't get pics, but I did check out my maters and they are growing. Most plants have set tomatos and all are blooming.

I put a basil plant in each of the tomatos in buckets. I figger it will hide the stalk as I prune the lower leaves.

What is your mater doing?

Kay

Been raining here too. Romas are slow, seems like it any way. Have 3 on but they don't seem to be growing. The cherry toms are loaded down. Cherokee purple heirloom has one tom growing slowly. I think I will have to be patient for it takes a while for them to ripen.

JO

I have to get out this morning and isolate or destroy one of my heirlooms a Cosoluto Genovese. It has developed black spots on the stems. Either I wasnt' paying close enough attention yesterday morning or it came on really fast. Since it is one of the 4 maters on the cattle panel, I'm going to untie it and move it way out into the yard. Or maybe just destroy it. I also want to treat the other 3 vigorously.

What, besides Neem, would be a good treatment? My one rose bush seems to be affected as well and may be the source of infections. It is pretty, but not is not a real fancy rose, so I'm going to fill a glass full of alcohol and start snipping away. Will spray all tomato and peppers.

Bummer Kay Good luck!

Kay, do you think it is a fungus? I found a page that is for home made remedies, and it lists acohol as 1 of the things that works, Cinnamon too!



http://www.ehow.com/way_5879202_homemade-fungus-spray.html

It is most likely early blight according to some sites I checked. Found some small spots on a few others and either snipped or sprayed heavily with Neem and a drop or two of Dawn. I really hated to cut off all those stems that were heavy with blossoms. Hope I didn't hurt the maters, but in addition to spraying my hands and clippers with alcohol/water mix, I sprayed the cuts as well.

after moving to another area of the yard and before trimming.







after trimming



and the rose. Cut it almost to the ground. This rose is almost 20 yrs old so I don't expect I killed it. May break down and get some systemic rose stuff today. That stuff is the only way I've EVER been able to keep a rose looking ok.



Kay

Well, I can definately blame the potatos in my area for my tomato blight. I'm at my son's house and his tomato are fine. Same MM, and I grew all the tomatos from seed.

Forgot to get a tue picture,but I'll get and post his tomatos tomorrow.

Kay

If it will quit raining , maybe I can get some pics for Tomato tues tom. I guess I shouldn't complain of the rain. This time last yr. I was in the middle of a drought, had to water twice a day, this yr. it rains every day,

Jo

As promised, tomatos from the Wilmington, NC garden.
First the bucket brigades
Strung up indeterminates

and portable to chase sun and shade. Indetermanates to the back, determanates to the front.


Didn't get these two tied up soon enough so they are leaning and wrapped into the beans.


But look at the maters on the san marzano


And his are not showing signs of the blight like mine are. Same formula MM and same varieties, started from seed at my house.

Kay

These maters are at your sons house correct? They all look great!!

I guess my tomatoes either have bugs(haven't found any) or some disease/blight or maybe just too much rain!

This is Romas, all the leaves are gone from the bottom. The stems are very weak, can hardly support the toms.



The cherry toms are bearing good, but the stems are weakly looking and have a hard time holding the toms.



This tomato has been on the plant for a really long time, the leaves are gone off this one too.

RoOsTeR wrote:These maters are at your sons house correct? They all look great!!

Yes, I am visiting

Kay

Well here we are at another Tues. I'm back at my house and took time between rain showers today to get some pics of my tomatos.
Two replacements in case all my blight ridden vines croak.

A Solar Power that was 1/2 price


Another 1/2 price tomato that was in a tiny hanging basket. I moved it into a bigger basket of MM. Rambling Red Stripe



The original lineups that have been blight struck
L-R Red Cherry, Brandywine, Arkansas Traveler, Thesaloniki

View from other side of trellis. Thesaloniki on L

Eva Purple Ball and Costoluto Fiorentino

The determanants. Roma, Roma cuttings you can's see, Superboy and Homestead



L-R on the cattle panel Costoluto Genovese, Great White Beefsteak, Genovese, Mortgage Lifter


L-R Yellow Pear, Purple Calabash, Sungold Cherry, San Marzano Paste


Patio tomato


Trying to ripen
San Marzano


and Sungold


What's happening to your maters? I'll bet you have been eating for weeks while I still just drool.

Kay

We have been getting too much rain this year. Only thing that has ripened is the cherry toms. We have probably got 10 inchess the last 2 days. My boxes are 12 in. deep with the mm only about 10 in. to allow for mulch, but am glad because the heavy rain has not washed my mm away! The isles are deep with water, so no pics today.

Jo

Returned home from my daughters house this afternoon. Picked 2 red cherry maters, 1 yellow pear, and 2 bug (or bird) pecked purple calabash tomatos when I got here. Made a tomato sandwich. YUM.

Kay

walshevak wrote:Returned home from my daughters house this afternoon. Picked 2 red cherry maters, 1 yellow pear, and 2 bug (or bird) pecked purple calabash tomatos when I got here. Made a tomato sandwich. YUM.

Kay

That sounds really good about now! Nice and refreshing on an incredibly hot day.

I'm jealous right now, I have 4 ripe cherry toms from the tumbler tomato and 3 kids that want to eat them. Now I want a tomato sandwich but what kind of mother would I be to refuse kids veggies that they are requesting... I want to move to the south!

I had to read back to see this is a "show me" thread. I have 13 tomatoes four rutgers, four homestead heirloom;one cherokee purple( I accidently broke the main stem it has finally restarted) behind that is my first sweet100 cherry.

closer look

the cherry's

the back side

the extra group planted much later than bed 2 they are beginning to flower. Better boy on left,sweet 100 cherry in center, cherokee purple on the right.

We have had several already esp the cherry's. the first eight are determinates so we about to get swamped several are nearing ripe