9.2.2016 Tomato Ridge update

WilburMartin · September 2, 2016

this is my first "serious" year to grow anything; lots of great things learned - some triumphs, some disappointments, of course

biggest disappointments:

1 - yield from my "Patio" tomato plant; after a good start, rain toppled the main stem; the second stem produced 6 tomatoes; when another main stem appeared, it has produced 1 3-4 oz globe, and there are about 5 tiny green tomatoes on there at the moment

2 - straight eight cucumber plants - I never could get the water correct, and some herbicide drifted and savaged that plant mainly, as well as hitting parts of others - there was a distinct line of dead, so I have to assume that is what caused the issue

got about 8 cucumbers from the plant, tasted ok; will look for a decent bush, self pollinating cucumber for next year, if I grow cucumbers again

3 - cocozelle zucchini - I planted two plants in a huge barrel-type planter; 1 died after a few weeks; the remaining one has grown great, but only 1 fruit so far has not suffered from blossom end rot - although there is another that appears to be healthy

there are other female buds on the plant - hopefully I can get the watering right and get a few fruit later when the weather cools some here

4 - cilantro - out of three packs of seeds, not a single plant got over 3 inches tall; too hot and humid, I assume

5 - thyme - out of 3 packs of seeds and two Bonnie plants, the seeds died after sprouting, and the plants just died after looking great, they died in about 2 days

biggest triumphs so far:
1 - Ichiban eggplant - all 5 plants have produced abundant, sweet fruit; will grow those again

verdict is still out on my tomatoes - the creole and patio tomatoes were my first plants - set outs from Bonnie; they have done ok - neither have produced like crazy, but I may be to blame with a combination of over and under watering to get them right - they were in poor containers in ancient potting mix that grew who knows what before I transplanted - all in all, I guess they have done ok based on my learning curve

3 Pink Brandywine from Burpee seeds - 1 in a shopping bag, 2 in 5 gallon paint buckets with a mixture of commercial potting mix, compost, and leaf mold/brown leaves in the bottom; the shopping bag plant is huge, and is laden with buds; looking great so far - hope it produces like it promises too; the two plants in the buckets are laden with fruit - already had one turn and picked it - but mom cut it up with another tomato (a creole) and a cucumber and dressed it in Italian dressing - I have no idea how it tased, so teh verdict is out on the taste yet! There are about 8-10 green tomatoes I will probably harvest after the weekend; come on and get cooler, MS!

3 Mortgage Lifter from Burpee seeds - all 3 in 5 gallon paint buckets - same potting mix as the pink brandywine; have 6 fruit ripening inside; and a bunch of green fruit on the vines - looking forward to tasting these - I hope they hold out until it gets cooler.

1 Sweet Careros Pink from seed - holy cow; best looking tomato plant out of mine - about 12 green tomatoes on a huge, sprawling plant; grown in an 18 gallon Sterilite container, with 6 drain holes about 2" up from the bottom on the sides - had two growing initially, but some neighborhood animal disposed of one plant as a seedling - sigh

2 Pink Berkeley Tie Dye in a Sterilite 18 gallon container - huge, sturdy plants - tons of fruit and still flowering like crazy - Wild Boar Farms is no joke when it comes to tomatoes - Sweet Carneros and Pink Berkeley Tie Dye are on my list for next year, and I have yet to even taste a fruit

I have a serrano pepper and a Better Bush Bonnie set out I bought almost as an after thought - local Home Depot was blowing them out late - sharing an 18 gallon Sterilite - one tomato harvested, has not turned yet - lots of tiny fruit are there now - come on cooler weather!

I will try to post the pics top to bottom to match the narrative - I have been scarce because I am seeing an awesome lady, and spending time with her trumps posting pics, but I will try to post more as my fall tomatoes start to ripen

**carolyn137** · September 4, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by WilburMartin

this is my first "serious" year to grow anything; lots of great things learned - some triumphs, some disappointments, of course

biggest disappointments:

1 - yield from my "Patio" tomato plant; after a good start, rain toppled the main stem; the second stem produced 6 tomatoes; when another main stem appeared, it has produced 1 3-4 oz globe, and there are about 5 tiny green tomatoes on there at the moment

2 - straight eight cucumber plants - I never could get the water correct, and some herbicide drifted and savaged that plant mainly, as well as hitting parts of others - there was a distinct line of dead, so I have to assume that is what caused the issue

got about 8 cucumbers from the plant, tasted ok; will look for a decent bush, self pollinating cucumber for next year, if I grow cucumbers again

3 - cocozelle zucchini - I planted two plants in a huge barrel-type planter; 1 died after a few weeks; the remaining one has grown great, but only 1 fruit so far has not suffered from blossom end rot - although there is another that appears to be healthy

there are other female buds on the plant - hopefully I can get the watering right and get a few fruit later when the weather cools some here

4 - cilantro - out of three packs of seeds, not a single plant got over 3 inches tall; too hot and humid, I assume

5 - thyme - out of 3 packs of seeds and two Bonnie plants, the seeds died after sprouting, and the plants just died after looking great, they died in about 2 days

biggest triumphs so far:
1 - Ichiban eggplant - all 5 plants have produced abundant, sweet fruit; will grow those again

verdict is still out on my tomatoes - the creole and patio tomatoes were my first plants - set outs from Bonnie; they have done ok - neither have produced like crazy, but I may be to blame with a combination of over and under watering to get them right - they were in poor containers in ancient potting mix that grew who knows what before I transplanted - all in all, I guess they have done ok based on my learning curve

3 Pink Brandywine from Burpee seeds - 1 in a shopping bag, 2 in 5 gallon paint buckets with a mixture of commercial potting mix, compost, and leaf mold/brown leaves in the bottom; the shopping bag plant is huge, and is laden with buds; looking great so far - hope it produces like it promises too; the two plants in the buckets are laden with fruit - already had one turn and picked it - but mom cut it up with another tomato (a creole) and a cucumber and dressed it in Italian dressing - I have no idea how it tased, so teh verdict is out on the taste yet! There are about 8-10 green tomatoes I will probably harvest after the weekend; come on and get cooler, MS!

3 Mortgage Lifter from Burpee seeds - all 3 in 5 gallon paint buckets - same potting mix as the pink brandywine; have 6 fruit ripening inside; and a bunch of green fruit on the vines - looking forward to tasting these - I hope they hold out until it gets cooler.

1 Sweet Careros Pink from seed - holy cow; best looking tomato plant out of mine - about 12 green tomatoes on a huge, sprawling plant; grown in an 18 gallon Sterilite container, with 6 drain holes about 2" up from the bottom on the sides - had two growing initially, but some neighborhood animal disposed of one plant as a seedling - sigh

2 Pink Berkeley Tie Dye in a Sterilite 18 gallon container - huge, sturdy plants - tons of fruit and still flowering like crazy - Wild Boar Farms is no joke when it comes to tomatoes - Sweet Carneros and Pink Berkeley Tie Dye are on my list for next year, and I have yet to even taste a fruit

I have a serrano pepper and a Better Bush Bonnie set out I bought almost as an after thought - local Home Depot was blowing them out late - sharing an 18 gallon Sterilite - one tomato harvested, has not turned yet - lots of tiny fruit are there now - come on cooler weather!

I will try to post the pics top to bottom to match the narrative - I have been scarce because I am seeing an awesome lady, and spending time with her trumps posting pics, but I will try to post more as my fall tomatoes start to ripen

Looking good except for the dead one.RIP

You've got your priorities straight IMO,spend time with the awesome girl,hope it works out for you since there can be,sometimes, just one good woman, especially if she shares your interest in gardening while there are probably 20,000 tomato varieties alone to chose from,let alone the cukes and squash that you are growing, etc.

Carolyn,just a friendly suggest but you might consider not getting your seeds from Burpee,much overpriced IMO and I and others abandoned them many years ago.