How does you veggie garden grow..

[rayinpenn]

Around mid winter I get a yearning for some fresh, flavorful tomatoes. I’ve learned through painful disappointment that no matter how well those tomatoes in the supermarket are packaged they just don’t taste anything like my home grown greatness. In fact they are just plain awful. So to satiate my ever growing need I start planning for next years garden. Inevitably that morphs into how to get the earliest tomato possible. My go to variety for this annual rite is Burpee’s Early Girl. Now I know there are varieties like Sub Artic and others that promise an early crop - their taste rating just isn’t there. I dare not grow a beautiful red fruit expecting deliciousness only to bite into another supermarket like disappointment. “Looks like a tomato, smell like a tomato but tastes like cardboard. I fear it might ruin my palate for what is to come later the summer.

On Sunday, with high hopes I ‘threw caution to the wind’ and a bought two new varieties from Burpee: Independence Day, and 4th of July. They claim 50 something days to first fruit. Firstly the 4th of July would in my mind be a complete failure. I have a table with grow light in my spare bedroom and a small unheated greenhouse on the side of my house. Ah hah you say a green house! Unfortunately my mature neighborhood is blessed with many mature trees. A full sun spot to grow on my woodsy property really doesn’t exist. (And no Im not going veggie inspired ‘bat crazy’ with my chainsaw.). I want a tomato in June and I don’t want to move to NC to do it.

The role of the dice will be how early to start those seeds. Spring these past few years has been a big disappointment. Start to early and Ill have leggy seedlings that will not flourish. Wait too long and my first bite will be on the fourth!

Big cherry’s, one or two Beefmaster’s , grape tomatoes and oh my the golden goodness that is Sungolds!

Anybody else have a Tomato thing?

 

[Amethyst]

We have sun but we also have deer, and stink bugs. If we keep the beer out long enough for the plants to mature, the bugs suck the fruit dry while it is still green.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

I put lots of effort into my garden, but I do not plan well. I used to have lots of peppers, but now that FL has HUGE jalapenos for $1.49, I am cutting back. I always have lots of onions and basil. I have a fence to keep the deer out. Coming from a warmer climate, I always plant too early. I am not going to do it, this year. I AM NOT. I AM NOT. And I am not going to buy the discounted market pack plants.

I am going to plant the majority of my small (20 x 12) garden in tomatoes. Along the fence I plant snow peas. In my climate they do well. Basil in the pots.

I love fresh home grown tomatoes with fresh home grown basilico (Italian for basil) with a splash of olive oil and maybe some fresh home grown oregano. Maybe a little balsamic vinegar and maybe some mozzarella. Have not been able to find any mozzarella plants so as to grow my own.

I do not have problems with stink bugs, but I do have problems with tomato horn worms which are camouflaged and can eat a plant in a day or two. I stare at this plants for a long time trying to find them. The neighbors must think I have issues. "There is that crazy guy just staring at his plants, again."

 

[Mdlerth]

So hungry...

I love fresh home grown tomatoes with fresh home grown basilico (Italian for basil) with a splash of olive oil and maybe some fresh home grown oregano. Maybe a little balsamic vinegar and maybe some mozzarella. Have not been able to find any mozzarella plants so as to grow my own.

I haven't grown mozzarella but I have made it from scratch. DD2 gave me a kit. It was delectable and easy peasy. Only caveat is to avoid overkneading it.

 

[Badger]

We have mixed luck with tomatoes so now we plant a couple of a large variety and the rest with "grape" size variety. we have the best luck with the grape size and enjoy snacking on them while in the garden. In our area (NE Fl) the garden gets tired by July and starts its decline. Generally the fungus sets in and the plants are beginning to dry up. On occasion I will take a terminal branch and plug that into the ground to try and encourage some later summer tomatoes.

Cheers!

 

[Clone]

I usually grow some Big Boy or Beefmaster tomatoes. Love the large slicers. We may grow some Romas for sauce this year. Like the OP, I have started to early and then lost them either by getting too spindly or wind damage when transplanting. We usually are gone for weeks at a time in May, and that makes it tough to give them the care they need. Many years ago, we used to direct seed into the garden, and that seemed to work well. You do give up a few weeks of early tomatoes. I put in a drip irrigation system this past year, and that makes all of the plantings thrive.

I think I created a monster this past year. I was able to obtain 8 ounces of very good sweetcorn seed, and we planted multiple plantings in the field. Friends and associates went nuts over the quality of the corn. We had some last night that we froze last year. Now I am looking for an early variety to go with it. Sweet corn is easy when you plant it with a 4 row planter.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I plant one or two tomato plants each year about tax day (Los Angeles area, Beefmaster or Superbeef). Harvest season alway runs from mid July to late August. Planting earlier or later results in runts. Last year was my worst ever - 19 lbs off 1 plant. 2016 was my 2nd best - 157 lbs off 2 plants.

 

[Plantman]

My favorite is the 'Better boy' variety. It is an indeterminate variety so it keeps producing until a freeze kills it. I believe it holds the record for pounds of fruit from one plant.

 

[pacergal]

Not sure what happened last year, hardly anything in my garden did well! I had success with blueberries and one cherry tomato plant, thats it.
I love fresh tomatoes and grow at least one plant each year, not sure what all I will try this year--guess it is time to start planning!

 

[Ed B]

We have sun but we also have deer, and stink bugs. If we keep the beer out long enough for the plants to mature, the bugs suck the fruit dry while it is still green.

I am not sure how this works but NEVER keep the beer out too long.

 

[MOSAT]

I like playing in the dirt too! We generally plant three or four varieties of tomato, Betterboys, Romas, and, if I can find them a heritage type. We plant up to 24 plants and have enough tomatoes to feed half the neighborhood! Tomatoes grow very well in NC. DW has been giving the surplus to a local food kitchen, they are very grateful for the fresh produce.

Last year we planted entirely too much eggplant, I think 8 plants, we couldn't eat it fast enough nor find neighbors willing to take it after awhile.

Our peppers, again a number of types, (sweet banana, jalapenos, habaneros, Carolina Reapers (for the bragging rights), Thai chilies and Cayenne peppers for cooking) didn't do too well last year.

I tell DW that with all the $$ we drop in renting a tiller, fertilizer, watering, seedling plants etc. we could buy all the produce we do consume at a cheaper price.

BUT, it would not taste as good as what you grow yourself fresh.

 

[Mdlerth]

Playing with fire

Our peppers...Carolina Reapers...

Plenty of produce-destroying deer in our neighborhood, but DW found that planting hot peppers around the perimeter of the garden discourages them.

 

[exnavynuke]

Peppers all grow great for me. Tomatoes are either great, or terrible, depending on how the diseases are any given year. Cucumbers did pretty well last year. Cantaloupe got some disease right after it started producing, maybe I'll get better luck with diseases this year.

 

[GrayHare]

If you want to set plants outdoors early, you can do so about a month earlier than otherwise with those water-filled tipi shaped insulators.

 

[Souschef]

Mine are going crazy. With the combination of mild weather and Winter sun exposure, My 2 plants are 7 feet high and 5 feet across. At the present time I have about 2 dozen green tomatoes ripening.

 

[Mango1956]

I’ll play. I am partial to the heirlooms and grow multiple Brandywines every year-they are my favorite and I freeze whatever I don’t eat fresh (for sauce in Winter). A really lovely orange one is Orange Oxheart. Finally, I’ve enjoyed Japanese Black Trifelle and Sungold for cherry tomatoes. I try a new variety every year for fun. In Winter I grow sprouting broccoli and Kale, lettuce arugula and cilantro-all these overwinter in my inland Northern California climate. Happy growing!

 

[Sunset]

My garden is too small and I plant too many tomatoes,so the soil is depleted and the crop is lousy for 2 years in a row.

I love the taste of home grown tomatoes.

The only thing I have found with store tomatoes is to leave them on the counter and let them ripen more often about a week, it improves them although they are still a poor substitute.

 

[SheitlQueen]

I personally hate tomatoes.
I also had a deer problem. I planted a garden once but didn't put up deer fencing, and they treated it as their own personal salad bar.
That was my first and last attempt at gardening.

 

[Sunset]

Mine are going crazy. With the combination of mild weather and Winter sun exposure, My 2 plants are 7 feet high and 5 feet across. At the present time I have about 2 dozen green tomatoes ripening.

I have always been jealous of CA gardeners since 1980 when BBS'ing with a fellow out in CA about gardening.

 

[Winemaker]

rayinpenn, I,too, live in PA. This is a trick I did for DW and DD years ago, it won't help you now but next year, give it a try. I don't eat fresh tomatoes but will eat anything made with cooked tomatoes. It worked out ok for me, as DW and DD did not complain.

In the fall, before the first frost, pull the plants out of the ground that have the most green tomatoes, pruning the plant of old stems/branches that have no tomatoes. Wrap the plants with newspaper and put in a cool dry place in garage away from any mice/critters.
Take any single green tomatoes from other plants and put in a brown paper bag with a couple of apples. The amount of apples varies with the ripeness and number of tomatoes. Use 3 or 4 bags and vary your mixture. Apples naturally give off ethylene gas, the same gas that the big grocers/ produce distributors use to ripen vast amounts of veggies.
As your "bag" tomatoes ripen, you can harvest the plant tomatoes, and replace them in the apple bags. You will have to replace the apples occaisonally. The harvested tomatoes won't be as good as a fresh one picked in July, but DW says they're better than the store bought 'maters.

 

[HFWR]

Nothing like a good ol’ Indiana mater and a salt shaker!

At this point in FIRE I’m not even planting flowers, since I could be gone for weeks at a time, and not much survives a Texas summer without regular watering. Besides, I usually end up with tomatoes that average about $10/ea...

 

[swakyaby]

I have three 4 ft X 8 ft raised vegetable planters receiving full sun in Northern California. Perfect for tomatoes. I germinate tomato seeds under indoor growlights in individual 4 inch transplant pots with a seedling warming mat in February. A little dilute seedling fertilizer once the true leaves show. Three weeks later, they are ready to transplant in the prepared outdoor garden. But it's still cold outside. I have found that if I transplant deep in the soil outside and put early season plant protectors around each(Wall of Water), the young plants stay protected from wind, occasional hail, and low evening temps. They flower and fruit earlier than if I planted transplants outside April 15. I like beefsteak tomatoes like Brandywines. So tasty.

 

[Wishing]

Love, love, love tomatoes. The heirlooms are so much tastier than the others. I’m partial to the Cherokee Purple and Georgia Streak (when I can find them). I used to order started plants from a grower in New England. Pricey, but worth it. Sungolds are my favorite cherry variety. There’s a product called “Deer Out” that is exceptionally good at keeping deer away from plants. It smells like peppermint, and it is water resistant. You have to keep applying it to the new growth to stay ahead of the deer, again, it is well worth the cost . I purchase online. I’ve used it on hostas, roses, forsythia and any other plants that deer devour with gay abandon.

 

[John Galt III]

I used to grow Brandywine but after a few years of very low production with them, I switched to whatever generic Better-Boy or Early-Girl or Beef-Giant, etc tomatoes are selling at my nearby market in Spring, because they are always (so far) very hardy and disease-resistant, until August at least. I think I may have overused my soil though, at least in one section of my garden, even though I lay in lots of brown oak leaves every Fall. I moved the tomatoes to a different section of the garden last year and they did much better. LOTS of tomatoes. But no matter what, every year I get a brown die off sometime in late August. But...by then I've had pounds and pounds of great tomatoes. My other crop is peppers of all sorts.

 

[cbo111]

Now is the tomato growing season in Florida. We have tried growing tomatoes the last couple years. The plants get big, then lots of blossoms and a few fruits, then the plants seem to wither and go into survival mode. We just don't get the harvest we had in Calif.