Quote:
Originally Posted by PureHarvest
Bill, when do you start harvesting these and when do you harvest the last?
Thanks, PH.
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Last year the plants that I set out on July 1 started producing in about five to six weeks for the earliest varieties like ISPL and Pruden's Purple. Some of the other varieties started producing later and some much later.
The plants that I set out July 30th started producing a little over a month later and both beds produced right up til it froze but I can't remember when that was. I do know we had fresh tomatoes at Christmas from the ones that I had picked before it froze. I have picked tomatoes ripe off the vine as late as the day after Christmas and had them frozen as early as late October since I started growing fall plants. The latest I ever set out a plant and got ripe fruit off it was Sept. 1st and I only got a couple before it got killed by the cold. Last year I think plants set out that late would have done good but usually that is not the case so I try to stop setting out plants by the first week or so of August.
I can't stress enough how much of a factor the variety can be when setting plants out that you want to be productive in the heat and usually very dry weather of August and September. So far for me Indian Stripe PL beats all others hands down in that blistering heat at producing both good tasting and decent numbers of fruits. Later in the early fall other varieties like Arkansas Traveler and Spudakee are champs. The only big caveat to that is if it is very rainy late in the summer and early fall. In that case the black varieties do poorly and are also very disease prone in that wet weather. That is why I try to set out pinks, reds, and black tomatoes for late summer and fall production. It is still important to pick mostly reds and pinks that have shown an ability to set fruit in the heat for fall production. Most of the black varieties that I grow do at least okay in the heat as far as setting fruit. Most varieties will set fruit in the cooler nights of fall but many are too slow to grow and ripen to be really good candidates for fall planting. I try to stick with varieties that make in less than 65 days in the early part of the season because it will take them far longer in the fall to ripen. Of course down here some that are considered late varieties will ripen in less than two months sometimes so it is important to have an idea how fast they produce for you in your climate to judge which ones to try for fall.
Bill