Need to replace some plants...

gryffin · June 9, 2011

I lost 5 of my 24 plants to wind during their first few days in the garden. The ones I lost are:

Gogosha
Spudatula
Green Doctors
Pineapple
Danko

The other day I visited a local stand to pick up some homegrown heirlooms/OP varieties to replace these 5 plants. Of course I took home 10 plants instead of 5. Here's a list of the new plants:

Ukrainian Pear
Jaune Flamme
Marianna's Peace
Missouri Pink Love Apple
Vintage Wine
Chocolate Stripes
Tsar's Royal Gift
Heart of Compassion
Nyagous
Pixie Striped

I'm thinking of putting four in containers, 5 in the garden plot and giving one away to a friend (who likes basically "normal" tomatoes) for her raised bed.

Should I give away Marianna's Peace or Missouri Pink Love Apple? Or should I just find a 5th container and keep all 10 of these?

For reference, here are the 19 surviving tomatoes currently planted in my garden:

1. Casino Chips
2. Cherry Roma
3. Morosky Div
4. Neves Azorean Red
5. Brandywine Cowlicks
6. Granny's Heart
7. Pervaya Lyubov
8. Pruden's Purple
9. Rose di Berne
10. Sandul Moldovan
11. Brad's Black Heart
12. Dana's Dusky Rose
13. Indian Stripe
14. JD's Special C-Tex
15. Kazachka
16. Spudakee
17. KBX
18. Medovaya Kaplya
19. Sungold

Red Dirt Farmer · June 9, 2011

The wind can be fierce here in central Oklahoma as well. I finally hit upon a good solution.
I cut a piece of cheap fencing, can’t remember the name of it but it’s available at HD or Lowes.
I cut it 12 squares long and 2 feet high with the bottom row cut out so I have little spikes to hold it in the ground.

I connect the ends with ty-wraps and wrap the whole thing in 2 foot shrink film. The type on a roll that sticks to its self. This stuff is UV resistant and will hold up 3 or 4 years. And btw, I leave mine exposed to the elements over the winter.

When the maters are good and strong, I remove the small cages and place concrete mesh cages in their place; presto, no wind damage or cut-worm problem.

Ken

Red Dirt Farmer · June 9, 2011

The proper name is stretch wrap, not shrink film, sorry.
Ken

kath · June 9, 2011

I'd try to find a fifth container, especially if your friend doesn't really know how to grow tomatoes; but if I were to part with one of the two you mentioned, it'd be Missouri Pink Love Apple. If I had the real deal last year, it was blah and didn't produce much for me.

piegirl · June 9, 2011

I'd give away Ukranian pear - we had at one of first tomatofests and it was total spitter - at least in our climate. I believe it is a hollow or stuffer tomato. piegirl

gryffin · June 13, 2011

After a lot of thought- I decided to give my friend the Vintage Wine. It was a freebie because it was tiny- possibly stunted and the grower wasn't sure how it would turn out.

She's going to put it in her raised bed, keep me posted on its growth and then give me samples of the fruit to try.

I put the Marianna's Peace, Heart of Compassion, Missouri Pink Love Apple, Chocolate Stripes and Jaune Flamme out in the garden this weekend.

The Pixie Striped, Ukrainian Pear, Nyagous, and Tsar's Royal Gift will go in containers as soon as I get an hour or so of weather without steady rain!!!

I kept the Ukrainian Pear as it was supposed to be a sauce variety and I know my friend doesn't want a sauce type. Even if it isn't a good fresh eating one, I can toss it in the sauce!

gryffin · June 13, 2011

Red Dirt Farmer-

I'm having difficulty picturing what you have done- do you have any pics- sounds like a good idea....

Red Dirt Farmer · June 14, 2011

I took some pictures this morning but I am at work so I may not be able to upload them.
The fencing I used is the cheap welded type with 2-in by 4-in openings and is 4-ft high. I bought mine at HD but the other box store has it as well.

I cut the fence into 2-ft sections and about 26-inches wide, cutting the cross wires at the bottom to form spikes. I roll the ends together and either connect them with plastic Ty-wraps or use the wire ends to connect.

Then I roll stretch-wrap around the cage about four times to form a little green-house that goes over each plant. The stretch-wrap can be purchased at Wally-Mart in a 7-in roll or you can get it at the box stores in a 24-in roll. I use these cages on tomatoes and peppers from planting until about 2-3 weeks depending on how fast they grow. Once the plants out-grow the cages, I remove them and place 5-foot concrete mesh cages over the plant. I also stake the large cages to prevent blow-over as the wind in OK seems never to stop.

I hope that is a little clearer.

Ken

b54red · June 14, 2011

It was a good choice to put your Marianna's Peace in the Garden because it can get quite large and seems to do very good in the fall.

June 9, 2011	#1
gryffin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 229	Need to replace some plants... I lost 5 of my 24 plants to wind during their first few days in the garden. The ones I lost are: Gogosha Spudatula Green Doctors Pineapple Danko The other day I visited a local stand to pick up some homegrown heirlooms/OP varieties to replace these 5 plants. Of course I took home 10 plants instead of 5. Here's a list of the new plants: Ukrainian Pear Jaune Flamme Marianna's Peace Missouri Pink Love Apple Vintage Wine Chocolate Stripes Tsar's Royal Gift Heart of Compassion Nyagous Pixie Striped I'm thinking of putting four in containers, 5 in the garden plot and giving one away to a friend (who likes basically "normal" tomatoes) for her raised bed. Should I give away Marianna's Peace or Missouri Pink Love Apple? Or should I just find a 5th container and keep all 10 of these? For reference, here are the 19 surviving tomatoes currently planted in my garden: 1. Casino Chips 2. Cherry Roma 3. Morosky Div 4. Neves Azorean Red 5. Brandywine Cowlicks 6. Granny's Heart 7. Pervaya Lyubov 8. Pruden's Purple 9. Rose di Berne 10. Sandul Moldovan 11. Brad's Black Heart 12. Dana's Dusky Rose 13. Indian Stripe 14. JD's Special C-Tex 15. Kazachka 16. Spudakee 17. KBX 18. Medovaya Kaplya 19. Sungold

June 9, 2011	#2
Red Dirt Farmer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 42	The wind can be fierce here in central Oklahoma as well. I finally hit upon a good solution. I cut a piece of cheap fencing, can’t remember the name of it but it’s available at HD or Lowes. I cut it 12 squares long and 2 feet high with the bottom row cut out so I have little spikes to hold it in the ground. I connect the ends with ty-wraps and wrap the whole thing in 2 foot shrink film. The type on a roll that sticks to its self. This stuff is UV resistant and will hold up 3 or 4 years. And btw, I leave mine exposed to the elements over the winter. When the maters are good and strong, I remove the small cages and place concrete mesh cages in their place; presto, no wind damage or cut-worm problem. Ken

June 9, 2011	#4
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	I'd try to find a fifth container, especially if your friend doesn't really know how to grow tomatoes; but if I were to part with one of the two you mentioned, it'd be Missouri Pink Love Apple. If I had the real deal last year, it was blah and didn't produce much for me.

June 9, 2011	#5
piegirl Tomatovillian™ Honoree Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 791	I'd give away Ukranian pear - we had at one of first tomatofests and it was total spitter - at least in our climate. I believe it is a hollow or stuffer tomato. piegirl

June 13, 2011	#6
gryffin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 229	After a lot of thought- I decided to give my friend the Vintage Wine. It was a freebie because it was tiny- possibly stunted and the grower wasn't sure how it would turn out. She's going to put it in her raised bed, keep me posted on its growth and then give me samples of the fruit to try. I put the Marianna's Peace, Heart of Compassion, Missouri Pink Love Apple, Chocolate Stripes and Jaune Flamme out in the garden this weekend. The Pixie Striped, Ukrainian Pear, Nyagous, and Tsar's Royal Gift will go in containers as soon as I get an hour or so of weather without steady rain!!! I kept the Ukrainian Pear as it was supposed to be a sauce variety and I know my friend doesn't want a sauce type. Even if it isn't a good fresh eating one, I can toss it in the sauce!

June 14, 2011	#8
Red Dirt Farmer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 42	I took some pictures this morning but I am at work so I may not be able to upload them. The fencing I used is the cheap welded type with 2-in by 4-in openings and is 4-ft high. I bought mine at HD but the other box store has it as well. I cut the fence into 2-ft sections and about 26-inches wide, cutting the cross wires at the bottom to form spikes. I roll the ends together and either connect them with plastic Ty-wraps or use the wire ends to connect. Then I roll stretch-wrap around the cage about four times to form a little green-house that goes over each plant. The stretch-wrap can be purchased at Wally-Mart in a 7-in roll or you can get it at the box stores in a 24-in roll. I use these cages on tomatoes and peppers from planting until about 2-3 weeks depending on how fast they grow. Once the plants out-grow the cages, I remove them and place 5-foot concrete mesh cages over the plant. I also stake the large cages to prevent blow-over as the wind in OK seems never to stop. I hope that is a little clearer. Ken

June 14, 2011	#9
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	It was a good choice to put your Marianna's Peace in the Garden because it can get quite large and seems to do very good in the fall.