Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Thursday, May 18. 2023

Home-grown tomatoes


Like most of the things we grow in our summer gardens, the tomato needs tropical weather. 


That means, mostly, night temperatures above 55-65 F and daytime temps 75-85. They do not thrive without that. On the other hand, there is this:  Growing Tomatoes Successfully Despite Cold Temperatures and Rain


I've seen 20-30' tomato vines sprawling across fields in Bermuda. They just keep going. If I had a greenhouse, I'd try that.


Tips that tomato-growers know is that it helps to snip off most side shoots ("suckers"), and, at some point, to snip off some leaves too. 


This sounds right:



Posted by Bird Dog in Gardens, Plants, etc. at 13:58 | Comments (7) | Trackbacks (0)

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Good one. Thanks for providing.
#1 Aggie on 2023-05-18 14:37 (Reply)
I cannot think of homegrown tomatoes without thinking of this song.
Guy Clark - "Homegrown Tomatoes"
#2 Gringo on 2023-05-18 14:53 (Reply)
I live in central Texas and have a very different tomato-growing problem: deer. It is plenty hot enough here and if you water tomatoes well they produce well. But out here in the country where I live you either have to have a 6-foot deer fence or some other barrier to keep your plants alive long enough to produce. (Then you have to deal with birds, but I've never gotten that far.)

This year I am trying super-dwarf tomato plants which are small enough to enclose in protective mesh domes. Fingers crossed that this will work.

And I love that Guy Clark song. Makes me salivate every time I hear it.
#3 T Migratorious on 2023-05-18 16:19 (Reply)
Our problem up here in Alberta is that - while it's sunny and dry - we're at a high altitude (about 3200 feet if I remember correctly) and the weather can get interesting. It has snowed here every month of the year (fortunately, not all months in every year), and we are used to the late May wet snowfalls which "prune" the trees as well as the early September frosts which prune the garden.
Home-grown tomatoes are great, but fresh peas off the vine are the best!!
#4 Frances on 2023-05-18 23:14 (Reply)
Our tomatoes are just starting to ripen. I have about half a dozen on the table now. Soon it will be too hot for new ones to set.
#5 Texan99 on 2023-05-19 09:00 (Reply)
My father and my sister was/is known for growing tons of tomatoes. Me, not so much. I always have to grow in large pot like half barrel. My sister has always been telling me how to get rid of the suckers and then before I know it the plant has gone wild. Lots of blooms this year but not starting to put out any little fruit. I only like heirloom so don't know if there is any difference but the guy in video mentioned heirloom plants.
#6 JC on 2023-05-19 09:07 (Reply)
I saw a video a few years back which stated that exposing young plants to overnight temps of 45-50 degrees F will cause your plants to freakout and start producing fruit. Happened naturally to my 18" "sweet 100's" and they are covered in blossoms. Already see 2 small tomatoes which I've never seen in May.
#7 Tennessee on 2023-05-19 12:06 (Reply)

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