How did your tomatoes do this season? - Page 2

CrazyAboutOrchids · October 17, 2022

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenO

Hmmm that has not been my experience with sunrise bumblebee at all and it gets consistently strong reviews that I have seen. Are you sure it’s correct seed? Where were your seeds from.
KarenO

I believe I got them from Artisan seed. I've posted either here or another forum about SRBB and know someone else who tried to grow it this year with a similar experience so the disappointment does exist. I've grown tomatoes for years and have never had a plant just sit there with nothing happening. It didn't die, but it failed to grow as well, until the temps dropped. If it was one or more of my plants that did the same, but it was the only one out of 15. Other user had same experience so maybe all the seeds are not true.

tlmcca · October 17, 2022

I guess I'll give it one more try next year but I'm not holding hope that the climate issues will get better. Maybe plant earlier?

Terry

KarenO · October 17, 2022

Earlier or later or try different ( earlier) varieties. Or all three
KarenO

habitat_gardener · October 17, 2022

Earlier varieties as well as smaller varieties (slicers instead of beefsteaks) should give a better yield in hotter summers, or more extreme summers.

I'm helping choose varieties for the spring master gardener tomato sale. About half the current list is large, late beefsteaks, so I'm suggesting major revisions. It's worth trying one or two, if you have space for a dozen plants, because you might get lucky. But for a steady crop, it's better to rely on other varieties.

eyolf · October 17, 2022

Amish Yellow from 20-year-old seeds finally germinated, then had meristem issues, but eventually sprouted about 20 suckers. Late in the season it delivered heavily...which was appreciated. The other orange-ish meaty variety I tried was apparently crossed/mislabelled.

A trade netted an Indian variety called Parika. So-so flavor, but solid, meaty small hearts great for canning. No cores, no cracks or blemishes and amazing production

Another trade got seeds for "Koroleva Rynka": avg Semi-determinate, 3-8 oz oblate red with an interesting columnar growth habit. I never once tucked a branch back in the cage. Flavor average but a great choice for growers with limited space. Ripens with Bonny Best, slightly more productive.

Another surprise: "Efimir": a space saving determinate that delivers about 6-9 8-oz globes per plant. Mine got only about 16" tall and plant spacing could be 12". It embarassed several other similar varieties.

There were losers, too. I won't list them here, because a gardener with a different set of conditions might have great luck with them and be offended.

Sent from my motorola edge using Tapatalk

Volvo · October 17, 2022

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenO

If it’s red, it’s not Polaris to be clear. Polaris is purple and potato leaf.
It’s Good if you enjoyed it anyway but please don’t circulate incorrect seed labelled Polaris.curious , What specific seed seller in Ukraine did you get it from?
I hope you will be able to try the correct Polaris one day. It’s very good.
KarenO

Thank you kindly for that Karen and will chase up the correct Polaris if that may be the case??..
You know one google search i did , did have a Red Polaris ey??..
Will be interesting see how the purple potato leaf variety tastes ey

..

KarenO · October 18, 2022

Well if there is another Polaris aside from the purple potato leaf one I bred I’m not familiar with it.
Perhaps it’s correct if a different variety.
Guarantee mine is better

Volvo · October 19, 2022

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenO

Well if there is another Polaris aside from the purple potato leaf one I bred I’m not familiar with it.
Perhaps it’s correct if a different variety.
Guarantee mine is better

Uploaded pics of my MT Athos as well as Polaris.
Front three Tomatos are Polaris and all the rest are MT Athos , a very heavy bearer of fruit.
Plants absolutely choccas ey

..

Volvo · October 19, 2022

Amazing isnt it how the fruit of one plant can taste so much different to the fruit of the same variety but from another plant??.
Sliced one of the forefront fruit in the abovementiond Pic and the taste was to die for!!..
How does this come about ??..

KarenO · October 19, 2022

Those don’t look Red to me? Polaris is a clear epidermis purple. It has Few seeds what gel there is is green. Meaty burgundy interior often with a swirl of darker red in the Center. Seeds tend to be in smallish Locules dispersed around the perimeter. Excellent rich flavour. Robust potato leaf plants

Volvo · October 19, 2022

Looks like Polaris they arent then ??..
Seed mix up maybe in sorting , prior to posting ??.

Fred Hempel · October 21, 2022

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyAboutOrchids

I believe I got them from Artisan seed. I've posted either here or another forum about SRBB and know someone else who tried to grow it this year with a similar experience so the disappointment does exist. I've grown tomatoes for years and have never had a plant just sit there with nothing happening. It didn't die, but it failed to grow as well, until the temps dropped. If it was one or more of my plants that did the same, but it was the only one out of 15. Other user had same experience so maybe all the seeds are not true.

We have not seen any variants in our Sunrise Bumblebee seed stock. If you got it from us.

Poor results are probably due to other reasons.

And no tomato grows great (or tastes great) for everyone. Even Sunrise Bumblebee, which is our highest rated tomato at Baker Creek gets occasional mediocre reviews.

Salaam · October 21, 2022

I don't keep good enough records, so I'll just note my major takeaways from this season:

1. Here in Ottawa Canada zone 5a, try more to extend the season in spring to take advantage of the daylight. May and Spetember can have equally rainy and cold weather, but much more daylight hours in May. In my home garden, I'll try to plant some plants by May 1 (last frost date is ~May 23) with forst protection and clear plastic to warm up soil.

2. Pay more attention to spreading the harvest by planting at different times and varieties with different days to harvest.

3. Prune. By now know that we always get Septoria and other diseases I don't know. I've figured out that heavy folirage and espacially dwarfs are much worse. I tried pruning to a few stems two years ago and it was good. So I have to prune and maybe learn to spray copper properly.

4. Pleant a few extra early varieties - they may not taste like Brandywine but they're still good.

Balr14 · October 28, 2022

I had a great year with several very unexpected things occurring. I grow everything in Earth boxes.

First, I thought I lost a number of plants due to high wind and disease. So, I removed the diseased plants to an EarthBox far away from my other plants. I kept trimming and feeding the two tomato plants in that container and after about a month, they got better. They got a late start, so they were still producing tomatoes several weeks after most of the others had quit.

Second, The plants that were damaged by wind I pruned away about 1/2 of the plants. They got better and produced a decent amount of tomatoes.

Third, because I thought I would lose so many of my plants, I found some leftover plants that were in terrible shape at the local big box store. I got 6 of them, figuring most would not survive. But, they all did. They were really crowded in my Earthboxes, so they didn't yield as much as good plants with lots of room. But, they did pretty well, considering.

Next, I had 3 plants that refused to stop producing. Two were a Lemon Boy and a White Cherry. They were still flowering and setting fruit in mid September.

The last was a gold cherry determinate called a Tomato Chela. I thought it was done around the end of August, so I cut it down. There just a couple inches of the base of the plant sticking out. It grow again and started flowering and setting fruit. It was the end of September and the weather was getting crappy, so I cut it down again.

I dumped my containers in my dirt pile out back. I looked at the dirt pile about a week ago. That Chela plant had grown again. It was about 8" tall, had flowers and 3 tomatoes! We have had 3 or 4 nights below freezing! Is this a zombie tomato plant?

In all, I had about 2 gallons more tomatoes than I usually freeze. Plus, I got about 40 tomatoes that weren't getting ripe that I put in a brown paper bag. They are still getting ripe and I have garden tomatoes for at least another 2 - 3 weeks.

Canehdian · October 31, 2022

Everything was late this year garden-wise, with a too-wet June, although trees and berry bushes loved it. The year was salvaged by a warm and late fall. Standouts were Krasnyi Krupnyi (again) and Severnye for reds. Discovery tomato was Angora, a nice solid orange with huge production. Probably throwing in the towel on the Dwarf Project. They don't set fruit for me here worth a dang. This time, 3 plants and one measly fruit.

October 17, 2022	#17
tlmcca Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Glen Carbon, IL Near St. Louis, Zone 6a Posts: 8	Thanks to everyone for sharing I guess I'll give it one more try next year but I'm not holding hope that the climate issues will get better. Maybe plant earlier? Terry

October 17, 2022	#20
eyolf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central MN, USDA Zone 3 Posts: 294	Amish Yellow from 20-year-old seeds finally germinated, then had meristem issues, but eventually sprouted about 20 suckers. Late in the season it delivered heavily...which was appreciated. The other orange-ish meaty variety I tried was apparently crossed/mislabelled. A trade netted an Indian variety called Parika. So-so flavor, but solid, meaty small hearts great for canning. No cores, no cracks or blemishes and amazing production Another trade got seeds for "Koroleva Rynka": avg Semi-determinate, 3-8 oz oblate red with an interesting columnar growth habit. I never once tucked a branch back in the cage. Flavor average but a great choice for growers with limited space. Ripens with Bonny Best, slightly more productive. Another surprise: "Efimir": a space saving determinate that delivers about 6-9 8-oz globes per plant. Mine got only about 16" tall and plant spacing could be 12". It embarassed several other similar varieties. There were losers, too. I won't list them here, because a gardener with a different set of conditions might have great luck with them and be offended. Sent from my motorola edge using Tapatalk __________________ a day without fresh homegrown tomatoes is like... ...sigh

October 19, 2022	#24
Volvo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 289	Amazing isnt it how the fruit of one plant can taste so much different to the fruit of the same variety but from another plant??. Sliced one of the forefront fruit in the abovementiond Pic and the taste was to die for!!.. How does this come about ??.. __________________ Good Better Best Never let It rest Until Your Good Is Better And Your Better Best

October 19, 2022	#26
Volvo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 289	Looks like Polaris they arent then ??.. Seed mix up maybe in sorting , prior to posting ??. __________________ Good Better Best Never let It rest Until Your Good Is Better And Your Better Best

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

October 17, 2022	#18
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,922	Earlier or later or try different ( earlier) varieties. Or all three KarenO

October 17, 2022	#19
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,540	Earlier varieties as well as smaller varieties (slicers instead of beefsteaks) should give a better yield in hotter summers, or more extreme summers. I'm helping choose varieties for the spring master gardener tomato sale. About half the current list is large, late beefsteaks, so I'm suggesting major revisions. It's worth trying one or two, if you have space for a dozen plants, because you might get lucky. But for a steady crop, it's better to rely on other varieties.

October 18, 2022	#22
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,922	Well if there is another Polaris aside from the purple potato leaf one I bred I’m not familiar with it. Perhaps it’s correct if a different variety. Guarantee mine is better

October 21, 2022	#28
Salaam Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Ottawa, ON Posts: 128	I don't keep good enough records, so I'll just note my major takeaways from this season: 1. Here in Ottawa Canada zone 5a, try more to extend the season in spring to take advantage of the daylight. May and Spetember can have equally rainy and cold weather, but much more daylight hours in May. In my home garden, I'll try to plant some plants by May 1 (last frost date is ~May 23) with forst protection and clear plastic to warm up soil. 2. Pay more attention to spreading the harvest by planting at different times and varieties with different days to harvest. 3. Prune. By now know that we always get Septoria and other diseases I don't know. I've figured out that heavy folirage and espacially dwarfs are much worse. I tried pruning to a few stems two years ago and it was good. So I have to prune and maybe learn to spray copper properly. 4. Pleant a few extra early varieties - they may not taste like Brandywine but they're still good.

October 28, 2022	#29
Balr14 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: wisconsin Posts: 126	I had a great year with several very unexpected things occurring. I grow everything in Earth boxes. First, I thought I lost a number of plants due to high wind and disease. So, I removed the diseased plants to an EarthBox far away from my other plants. I kept trimming and feeding the two tomato plants in that container and after about a month, they got better. They got a late start, so they were still producing tomatoes several weeks after most of the others had quit. Second, The plants that were damaged by wind I pruned away about 1/2 of the plants. They got better and produced a decent amount of tomatoes. Third, because I thought I would lose so many of my plants, I found some leftover plants that were in terrible shape at the local big box store. I got 6 of them, figuring most would not survive. But, they all did. They were really crowded in my Earthboxes, so they didn't yield as much as good plants with lots of room. But, they did pretty well, considering. Next, I had 3 plants that refused to stop producing. Two were a Lemon Boy and a White Cherry. They were still flowering and setting fruit in mid September. The last was a gold cherry determinate called a Tomato Chela. I thought it was done around the end of August, so I cut it down. There just a couple inches of the base of the plant sticking out. It grow again and started flowering and setting fruit. It was the end of September and the weather was getting crappy, so I cut it down again. I dumped my containers in my dirt pile out back. I looked at the dirt pile about a week ago. That Chela plant had grown again. It was about 8" tall, had flowers and 3 tomatoes! We have had 3 or 4 nights below freezing! Is this a zombie tomato plant? In all, I had about 2 gallons more tomatoes than I usually freeze. Plus, I got about 40 tomatoes that weren't getting ripe that I put in a brown paper bag. They are still getting ripe and I have garden tomatoes for at least another 2 - 3 weeks.

October 31, 2022	#30
Canehdian Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada Posts: 94	Everything was late this year garden-wise, with a too-wet June, although trees and berry bushes loved it. The year was salvaged by a warm and late fall. Standouts were Krasnyi Krupnyi (again) and Severnye for reds. Discovery tomato was Angora, a nice solid orange with huge production. Probably throwing in the towel on the Dwarf Project. They don't set fruit for me here worth a dang. This time, 3 plants and one measly fruit.