Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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July 26, 2018 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: 7B
Posts: 281
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Oxhearts - Wes - BER
1st Pull of the season. Pulled up the double Wes I had in a container. I got 1 large fruit - everything else is BER and lagging.
The Wes I have in dirt seems fine though. 1 Ripe, and a handful of them with fruit of good size with no BER. After the summer noreaster, the container wes was throwing a fit. 85% of the leaves yellowed out. The rest of my containers are fine....it was just the wes. Interestingy enoughly, the mix for the wes is different than my primary container mix. My container mix is primarily bark. The Wes was leftover from a bale of Promix, it was all ProMix. Last edited by mobiledynamics; July 26, 2018 at 02:40 PM. |
July 26, 2018 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Detroit
Posts: 688
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How was the container plant getting calcium? That's my first thought when reading your post.
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July 26, 2018 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: 7B
Posts: 281
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CalMag liquid diet
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July 26, 2018 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: MA
Posts: 4,966
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All ProMix sounds like you have to much moisture retention going on (yellow leaves), then drying out too fast. While I've never figured out the cause(s) of BER, I've heard many say that even, steady, just enough moisture is the goal.
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July 26, 2018 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: 7B
Posts: 281
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I use Promix all the time on Indoor Plants....
Since reading how the fellow *earthbox* guys over at the 'ville like ProMix that much, figuered I would just give it a whirl. Watering in pots are consistent for the most part. I have them all on drip and check to see if it's good depending on the temps. |
July 26, 2018 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: 7B
Posts: 281
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Was kinda suprised as the PBTD was the one I was expecting to give up the ghost 1st . Not that the rain has gone, yeah, the entire foliage went toast on the Wes.
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July 27, 2018 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
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Mostly bark? No wonder you have BER everywhere, that stuff if for subirrigation only.
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July 27, 2018 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: 7B
Posts: 281
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Composted bark mix in containers is my preferred mix for my container plants. THIS yes, the mix is slightly ~off~ due to me adding more containers last minute and speading the mix across all pots and then adding new bark. The ONLY one that seems to suffered the most on the BER was the Wes in ProMix though. Got a single large fruit out of it and that with 2 plants in the container. Everything else has shown BER in the early youngling stages and the ones that look like no BER, eventually show as well.
On the flipside, literally, the same WES in dirt has got set of fruit the size of 2 fists with one or 2 close to ripe. |
July 27, 2018 | #9 |
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a
Posts: 21,169
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If I'm wrong please correct me but you are only talking about the variety Wes, and yes I know it well.
Fact is that I'm a huge lover of heart varieties as several here at Tville already know and to date have grown several hundreds of them. And not ONCE have I ever seen BER affect a heart variety,either external or internal BER. And yes, the variables at work with BER are very well known and I can give you a link if you want me to. I should also say that my experience with hearts as to growing them, was sprawling them in what one might got call dirt, others might say soil. And that until just a few years ago when I had to have them grown in large individual containers with one of those spiral three pronged cone shaped supports jammed into the contents of the containers. Carolyn
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Carolyn |
July 27, 2018 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Vancouver Island Canada BC
Posts: 1,253
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Oh well, always a first time for everything. I got three fruits with BER on a container grown Dotson's Lebanese heart yesterday. Planted in a Promix HP and mushroom manure mixture.
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July 27, 2018 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Spartanburg, SC
Posts: 1,262
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Coastal- I also observed BER on DLH on the actual discovery plant in 2015. I treated with calcium at that point, but it was already too far gone. I was only able to save two fruit, the seeds of which carried on to later generations. You can see the BER in the below picture on that plant. Sorry you're going through this too!
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July 27, 2018 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Williamsburg VA Zone 7b
Posts: 1,110
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I've pretty much assigned BER as one of those mysteries in life! Not sure what caused it, hate it when it's here, happy when it's gone!
I know that calcium does not always help & it does seem to be associated with fluctuations in watering. But then again, I don't grow in a greenhouse so there are always fluctuations in watering! I trying to think if I've ever seen BER on a heart. Huh. Jeff |
July 27, 2018 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: 7B
Posts: 281
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Wowsers, on all the comments. All season long leading up to the other day when I decided to pull it....I was plucking BER Wes almost everyday. Somedays, I said, yes, no BER on these, I think it's going to make it. The following morning, black bottoms...
Wes so far in the ground is doing jusst fine. It's a give or take with no rhyme or reason. Some years, I fare out better in ground. Last year, containers seemed to be doing better than the in ground. This year (and I know my mix was not on point), I'm doing better in ground on some, but others like BWSS, CP , both pots and ground and just in point ! |
July 27, 2018 | #14 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Omaha Zone 5
Posts: 2,514
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Quote:
In my shady backyard garden, I grew the standard PBTD and has bug issues and poor production too. Its been hot and dry, then hot and wet. I loved the taste but this year the blacks are watery. No BER though. - Lisa |
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July 27, 2018 | #15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: San Diego-Tijuana
Posts: 2,594
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I've seen BER on a few hearts.
Methinks Wes shares the S. Marzano susceptibilities. I've given up on this variety, its performed awful for me on my RGGS tubes and in large rootpots. I agree it tastes great (on the few that I've actually sampled), with texture, and puts out big ones. For large hearts my pick is Nicky Crain. There are others that do better in my garden. |
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