Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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February 13, 2012 | #16 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Alabama Zone: 7b
Posts: 49
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That raised bed looks to be about 6 inches deep. Is that really enough soil for a tomato?
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February 13, 2012 | #17 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
Posts: 5,664
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Quote:
kath |
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March 3, 2012 | #18 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7
Posts: 3,207
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For shade, I use a shed cloth. Perhaps I could plant closer together and remove suckers? Just getting ready to plant out now, giving this some thought. |
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March 4, 2012 | #19 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Pacific North West, zone 8a
Posts: 510
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I just saw this video, and I'm glad I did! Now I don't have to worry about my giant list! I bet this method would work just perfect for PNW's wet, cloudy, cool summers. Pruning to one stem would provide better airflow in wet, disease prone weather, and we won't need to worry about sunscald, because the clouds do the job for us!
I'll definitely use this on at least half my tomato plants... and see how it goes. Taryn |
March 4, 2012 | #20 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5
Posts: 931
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Taryn, that's just what I was thinking! Especially the sunscald bit!
j |
March 5, 2012 | #21 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: North Charleston,South Carolina, USA
Posts: 1,803
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We have a short season here up north, I keep only 1 stem for at least30 days or more, as soon as flowers are there i maybe let the pants go to 2-3 stems. but no stems from the dirt, these will stop the plants growing. I have fruits from this frist flower's first, they should be big ones.
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March 5, 2012 | #22 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: montgomery, al
Posts: 91
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My granddad used that technique when he grew tomatoes to sell at his gas station. I couldn't bring myself to do that last year, but I believe I will try it, have 1-2 stems and trim the rest off.
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gearhead... (with a small garden) 1990 volvo 740 16vturbo, hx-52. Race car. 10.82@129mph 1994 volvo 940 wagon, turbo. 14.5@?. Good at hauling dirt, excellent DD 2003 Evo VIII, ams 35r, cams, etc. 440awhp, fun DD 11.6@123mph |
March 7, 2012 | #23 |
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Posts: n/a
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I saw a video a couple of years ago from a commercial tomato nursery. They grew single stem plants in nutrient rich water. They pruned the stem and harvested ripe tomatoes as the single stem grew vertically to about thirty feet in length. They simply coiled the stem on the floor as the plant grew taller or longer. At about thirty feet in length, they removed the plants and replanted new seedlings.
In the video showing the single stem, square foot gardening technique; the guy kept claiming cherry tomato plants are determinate and don't require single stem pruning. I must be missing something. I don't believe I've ever grown a determinate cherry tomato plant. I'm growing five different cherry varieties this year and none of them are determinate. Ted |
March 7, 2012 | #24 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: North Charleston,South Carolina, USA
Posts: 1,803
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Right maybe Currents he was talking about,But what i found out was every year my cherries grow different. quick fruit which takes forever to ripen, sometimes i find a new stem coming out in the dirt beside the 1 stem.
Last edited by FILMNET; March 7, 2012 at 09:03 AM. |
March 7, 2012 | #25 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: montgomery, al
Posts: 91
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Quote:
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gearhead... (with a small garden) 1990 volvo 740 16vturbo, hx-52. Race car. 10.82@129mph 1994 volvo 940 wagon, turbo. 14.5@?. Good at hauling dirt, excellent DD 2003 Evo VIII, ams 35r, cams, etc. 440awhp, fun DD 11.6@123mph |
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March 7, 2012 | #26 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: North Charleston,South Carolina, USA
Posts: 1,803
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I have posted this before but i leaned from senior Italian friends that they did only 1 stem if they had maybe 8 fruits on 1 plants, They would cut stems and leaf off the bottom and other leaf off. You can not kill the plants if they are growing crazy. Last year to much rain and not much sun. so no cutting for me.
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March 7, 2012 | #27 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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Filmnet,
I saw a post on this forum or possibly another forum claiming he grows tomatoes just like his grand father. As the single stem grows upward, he removes all branches and foliage level with or below the bloom/fruit trusses. He left only the foliage at the top of the stem. I've never had the guts to try it. Since I am growing two plants of forty varieties this year, I may let one plant grow normally and keep one plant pruned to a single stem. I can then compare how each variety produces as single stem plants and normal growth plants. I haven't decided yet. One problem I do have with single stem growing is maintaining enough foliage to protect the fruit from the strong sunlight to prevent sun scald. I do prune all low hanging branches to prevent them from contacting the soil as they grow upwards and prevent soil from splashing up on the leaves during heavy rains. It seems to help prevent or at least delay the onset of foliage diseases. Ted Last edited by tedln; March 7, 2012 at 01:23 PM. |
March 7, 2012 | #28 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7
Posts: 3,207
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I had a lot of trouble with low fruits getting eaten by bugs last year and rotting, even with plenty of mulch. I think I'll at least prune lower branches more, try to keep lowest truss above ground somehow..
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March 7, 2012 | #29 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a
Posts: 1,162
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Pruning for me has been problematic - We dip scissors in Clorox water between cuts but the stems all too often get a yellowed scab/eschar at the cut site which then slowly ascends & becomes circumferential - killing that part of the vine & slowing, then stopping all tomato production. My plants that look like escapes from a dinner theatre production of "Hair" but they do not that that scabby infection... just other stuff...
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March 8, 2012 | #30 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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[determinate cherries]
Gold Nugget and Mini-gold are determinate. Mini-gold has the better flavor of the two, to my palate. [pruning] Where sunscald is a problem but you need to prune for space reasons, one can try "Missouri pruning". Instead of pinching out a new stem as soon as you see it, you let it grow until it has a pair of new leaves and then pinch off the top of it. This has a downside in that two more stems can sprout from the two new leaves on it, so this can get exponential in how much pruning you end up doing per plant, but besides sunscald protection, the plant has more area for photosynthesis, and this could improve the flavor (remembering nctomatoman's theory that a lot of determinates have so-so flavor because they simply produce too many fruit for their leaf area to supply with sugars and so on).
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-- alias Last edited by dice; March 8, 2012 at 08:25 AM. Reason: readability |
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