Tomatoes still going

b54red · December 1, 2021

This has been an unusual year for me in that my tomatoes have done far better than I thought possible with all the rain we got over the course of 6 or 7 weeks in midsummer. I thought I would be overwhelmed with diseases and pests and that was not the case. I used copper spray and sometimes Daconil when it looked like we would have a few days in a row without rain and the rest of the time I sprayed with the diluted bleach spray. I did have to spray a couple of times for stink bugs and leaf footed bugs and I kept my plants liberally doused with BT which kept most of the worms at bay. The craziest thing this year was the overall size of the tomatoes especially as late summer arrived. Commonly the tomatoes get much smaller starting in August but this year I kept getting much larger than normal tomatoes and larger numbers of tomatoes despite the hot dry weather. Now that we have had two light freezes I would have expected the plants to start dying back or dying from the cold nights and frosts but that is not the case this year. Although I quit tending the plants over a month ago they are still putting out a surprising number of good looking tomatoes though they are more acidic than during the summer and they frequently do not ripen evenly.

Even more amazing than the tomatoes is the bell pepper plants. Most of my plants are from 5 to 8 feet tall now and still putting out good looking peppers. I was still picking a moderate number of very large peppers through mid November, like you get early in the season. The past two weeks the plants are showing the first signs of slowing down and the leaves are starting to get ragged looking but I did stop feeding them over a month ago so they have been in the ground for over 8 months so far. I have bells planted in three different places in my garden and all have done very well but the ones with sweet potato vines growing under them have been much more productive, with larger fruits and larger plants than the ones with just mulch under them.

I am at a loss to know why this year was so much better for peppers and tomatoes. The only thing I did different was add some extra Epsom salts and extra Potassium Sulfate when preparing my beds for planting. I mostly used Texas Tomato Food on my tomatoes and Vegetable food and Miracle Grow on my peppers which is my usual method of side dressing. My best friend gardens very much like me but he didn't add the extra Epsom Salts to his beds when preparing them and his results with particularly the bell peppers was not as good. It is just so weird to be going out in the garden in December and finding lush tomato plants with lots of nice size tomatoes on them and bell peppers ready to pick every few days.

Has anyone else had this kind of season that seems never ending down here in the deep south this year? Of course I know it will end very suddenly and I will have frozen tomatoes and peppers to pick up by the bucket full when that just right cold spell hits. I am bringing in a few half ripe tomatoes and peppers inside every few days just so I will have some when the inevitable happens and giving the rest away.
It is almost time to start my Willet Wonder peas and I am going to have to pull up a bed of well producing tomatoes and peppers if a freeze doesn't hit in the next two weeks. I had to pull my okra and one bed of tomatoes in order to plant my greens and cole crops a month ago. At times like this I wish I had more room in my garden but when it comes time to clean all this out I will be thinking of downsizing next year which I probably should do anyway.

Bill

ScottinAtlanta · December 1, 2021

No, my season ended with the first hard frost in Atlanta. I hate to generalize from one datum, but I wonder if you see causality between the epsom salts and Potassium Sulfate and your good season?

rxkeith · December 1, 2021

i was happy to get an extra three weeks or so of growing here in the deep north.
october 23rd is when frost killed everything. the only thing usually growing here in
november or december is the height of the snow bank. just under 13 inches of snow
has fallen, and most of that has melted.

keith

b54red · December 2, 2021

Scott, I really have no idea. It is the only other thing that I can think of but it just could be that this year was just different in some way that affected the tomatoes and peppers. All my other plants like squash, cucumbers, and beans all seemed to be rather average in production. My okra on the other hand was fantastic but that I attribute to the extra rain we got allowing it to grow a bit faster than normal so when it started producing the plants were larger and had more stems resulting in more pods per plant.

I will again apply the Epsom salts and Potassium sulfate heavier when prepping my beds this year and see if I get the similar results but I doubt I can have another year like this season. I have been growing in the same plot for over 40 years now and I have had one or two spectacular seasons with tomatoes but never one like this with bell peppers. My arthritis and other ailments are making it more difficult each year to maintain my garden and I feel I may have to cut back out of necessity.

Bill

Salsacharley · December 2, 2021

I've still got 3 Rainbow Jazz Heart plants, a Benevento, a Brad's Atomic Grape, a KARMA Apricot and a paste I planted from grocery store seeds, although it has BER all the time. These plants have survived 3 light freezes and regular daily low temps of 34 - 37° and they keep chugging along. I haven't had any new fruit form but flowers are still being made. I haven't fed these in 2 months and they are in containers. They look very shabby but I'm just watching to see how much they can take. I'm waiting for existing fruit to get enough blush to harvest, and I think I only have a week left of this weather.

ScottinAtlanta · December 2, 2021

I just wonder how long the Epsom salts and Potassium sulfate survive in the soil if you apply when prepping. Both are soluble, and would likely wash out in Georgia after the first few heavy rains.

PaulF · December 2, 2021

There have been only two nights with below freezing temps here. Most likely a few plants would be alive if their grower had covered them up with blankets. In the past those tomatoes were not worth the effort, so it probably not have worked out. But, yes, this year has been one for the record books.

Today will be a record high temp of 70F, unheard of in S.E. Nebraska in December.

Goodloe · December 2, 2021

My tomatoes were pretty much done by late July. They just never recovered from the 15" of rain in June (almost 9" of that in one week...) I use Epsom salts as a foliar spray, though not on a regular schedule; I need to either get better about that, or learn how much to work into the soil at planting time...

My peppers, on the other hand, were gangbusters this year. All are in containers. My 12 Prairie Spice plants produced almost 300 peppers. Just amazing...

edweather · December 3, 2021

5 to 8 foot bell pepper plants. Wow. I was going to brag about my 2' plant in a 5 gal bucket, that we have gotten about 50 peppers off of. It's still blooming.

b54red · January 21, 2022

Well I finally got a hard enough frost to kill my bell peppers and tomatoes. It got down to into the upper 20s a couple of times but the last two times a week or so ago it stayed below freezing for a minimum of 6 to 8 hours two nights and most of the new growth and some of the fruits froze.

I pulled all of my tomatoes and picked all the decent fruit before the heavy frost and many green ones that didn't have freeze damage. I picked all the decent red and green bell peppers from the plants two days after. I ended up with about 8 gallons of each including a couple of tomatoes in the 1 1/2 lb size which is really freaky.

My wife and I canned 24 pints combined of salsa and marinara sauce yesterday. In all my years of gardening I have never had fresh tomatoes and peppers to preserve so late in the season. This was really an unusual year.

I also started my first seed for tomatoes and peppers for the next season this week.

Bill

MrsJustice · February 2, 2022

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

Well I finally got a hard enough frost to kill my bell peppers and tomatoes. It got down to into the upper 20s a couple of times but the last two times a week or so ago it stayed below freezing for a minimum of 6 to 8 hours two nights and most of the new growth and some of the fruits froze.

I pulled all of my tomatoes and picked all the decent fruit before the heavy frost and many green ones that didn't have freeze damage. I picked all the decent red and green bell peppers from the plants two days after. I ended up with about 8 gallons of each including a couple of tomatoes in the 1 1/2 lb size which is really freaky.

My wife and I canned 24 pints combined of salsa and marinara sauce yesterday. In all my years of gardening I have never had fresh tomatoes and peppers to preserve so late in the season. This was really an unusual year.

I also started my first seed for tomatoes and peppers for the next season this week.

Bill

Yes, My Green house plants are doing great, but those outside tomatoes in 20s and thrown by the Storms said goodbye to weeks ago. But I am thankful that these tomatoes lasted after Christmas. My Dr. Carolyn'S Cherry Tomatoes just wanted to stay next to my farm, Amen!!. "But this was the First Time any tomatoes lasted to New Year's. Maybe that was a taste of Heaven

D.J. Wolf · February 2, 2022

It was an unusually late freeze/frost here this year as well. Looking at my records, I picked the last tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapenos on 10/29. I could have probably stretched that by 3 or 4 days more, but we did get a hard freeze not long after that. There were enough ripe/partially ripe/green tomatoes that I managed to can up 37 pints of salsa at the end of everything

December 1, 2021	#1
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Tomatoes still going This has been an unusual year for me in that my tomatoes have done far better than I thought possible with all the rain we got over the course of 6 or 7 weeks in midsummer. I thought I would be overwhelmed with diseases and pests and that was not the case. I used copper spray and sometimes Daconil when it looked like we would have a few days in a row without rain and the rest of the time I sprayed with the diluted bleach spray. I did have to spray a couple of times for stink bugs and leaf footed bugs and I kept my plants liberally doused with BT which kept most of the worms at bay. The craziest thing this year was the overall size of the tomatoes especially as late summer arrived. Commonly the tomatoes get much smaller starting in August but this year I kept getting much larger than normal tomatoes and larger numbers of tomatoes despite the hot dry weather. Now that we have had two light freezes I would have expected the plants to start dying back or dying from the cold nights and frosts but that is not the case this year. Although I quit tending the plants over a month ago they are still putting out a surprising number of good looking tomatoes though they are more acidic than during the summer and they frequently do not ripen evenly. Even more amazing than the tomatoes is the bell pepper plants. Most of my plants are from 5 to 8 feet tall now and still putting out good looking peppers. I was still picking a moderate number of very large peppers through mid November, like you get early in the season. The past two weeks the plants are showing the first signs of slowing down and the leaves are starting to get ragged looking but I did stop feeding them over a month ago so they have been in the ground for over 8 months so far. I have bells planted in three different places in my garden and all have done very well but the ones with sweet potato vines growing under them have been much more productive, with larger fruits and larger plants than the ones with just mulch under them. I am at a loss to know why this year was so much better for peppers and tomatoes. The only thing I did different was add some extra Epsom salts and extra Potassium Sulfate when preparing my beds for planting. I mostly used Texas Tomato Food on my tomatoes and Vegetable food and Miracle Grow on my peppers which is my usual method of side dressing. My best friend gardens very much like me but he didn't add the extra Epsom Salts to his beds when preparing them and his results with particularly the bell peppers was not as good. It is just so weird to be going out in the garden in December and finding lush tomato plants with lots of nice size tomatoes on them and bell peppers ready to pick every few days. Has anyone else had this kind of season that seems never ending down here in the deep south this year? Of course I know it will end very suddenly and I will have frozen tomatoes and peppers to pick up by the bucket full when that just right cold spell hits. I am bringing in a few half ripe tomatoes and peppers inside every few days just so I will have some when the inevitable happens and giving the rest away. It is almost time to start my Willet Wonder peas and I am going to have to pull up a bed of well producing tomatoes and peppers if a freeze doesn't hit in the next two weeks. I had to pull my okra and one bed of tomatoes in order to plant my greens and cole crops a month ago. At times like this I wish I had more room in my garden but when it comes time to clean all this out I will be thinking of downsizing next year which I probably should do anyway. Bill

December 1, 2021	#3
rxkeith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in da U.P. Posts: 1,839	i was happy to get an extra three weeks or so of growing here in the deep north. october 23rd is when frost killed everything. the only thing usually growing here in november or december is the height of the snow bank. just under 13 inches of snow has fallen, and most of that has melted. keith __________________ don't abort. we'll adopt.

December 2, 2021	#7
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,283	There have been only two nights with below freezing temps here. Most likely a few plants would be alive if their grower had covered them up with blankets. In the past those tomatoes were not worth the effort, so it probably not have worked out. But, yes, this year has been one for the record books. Today will be a record high temp of 70F, unheard of in S.E. Nebraska in December. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

December 2, 2021	#8
Goodloe Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Steens, MS 8a Posts: 410	My tomatoes were pretty much done by late July. They just never recovered from the 15" of rain in June (almost 9" of that in one week...) I use Epsom salts as a foliar spray, though not on a regular schedule; I need to either get better about that, or learn how much to work into the soil at planting time... My peppers, on the other hand, were gangbusters this year. All are in containers. My 12 Prairie Spice plants produced almost 300 peppers. Just amazing... __________________ ~Jon~ Downheah, Mississippi

December 3, 2021	#9
edweather Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Southeast GA, USDA 9a, HZ9, Sunset Z28 Posts: 392	5 to 8 foot bell pepper plants. Wow. I was going to brag about my 2' plant in a 5 gal bucket, that we have gotten about 50 peppers off of. It's still blooming. __________________ You'll be surprised what you'll never have to do, if you put it off long enough.

December 1, 2021	#2
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	No, my season ended with the first hard frost in Atlanta. I hate to generalize from one datum, but I wonder if you see causality between the epsom salts and Potassium Sulfate and your good season?

December 2, 2021	#5
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	I've still got 3 Rainbow Jazz Heart plants, a Benevento, a Brad's Atomic Grape, a KARMA Apricot and a paste I planted from grocery store seeds, although it has BER all the time. These plants have survived 3 light freezes and regular daily low temps of 34 - 37° and they keep chugging along. I haven't had any new fruit form but flowers are still being made. I haven't fed these in 2 months and they are in containers. They look very shabby but I'm just watching to see how much they can take. I'm waiting for existing fruit to get enough blush to harvest, and I think I only have a week left of this weather.

January 21, 2022	#10
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Well I finally got a hard enough frost to kill my bell peppers and tomatoes. It got down to into the upper 20s a couple of times but the last two times a week or so ago it stayed below freezing for a minimum of 6 to 8 hours two nights and most of the new growth and some of the fruits froze. I pulled all of my tomatoes and picked all the decent fruit before the heavy frost and many green ones that didn't have freeze damage. I picked all the decent red and green bell peppers from the plants two days after. I ended up with about 8 gallons of each including a couple of tomatoes in the 1 1/2 lb size which is really freaky. My wife and I canned 24 pints combined of salsa and marinara sauce yesterday. In all my years of gardening I have never had fresh tomatoes and peppers to preserve so late in the season. This was really an unusual year. I also started my first seed for tomatoes and peppers for the next season this week. Bill

February 2, 2022	#12
D.J. Wolf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Illinois Posts: 199	It was an unusually late freeze/frost here this year as well. Looking at my records, I picked the last tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapenos on 10/29. I could have probably stretched that by 3 or 4 days more, but we did get a hard freeze not long after that. There were enough ripe/partially ripe/green tomatoes that I managed to can up 37 pints of salsa at the end of everything __________________ Kevin (aka the DJ)