Tomatoes!

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Re: Bloom 2015

Postby surfsteve » Fri May 01, 2015 2:46 pm

Just found the first red tomato of the season! Started spraying a bacterial based insecticide for tomato worms called Thuracide last week when I noticed some bite marks. Planted in 15 gallon pots this year. At first I thought it was a mistake but as you can see they are already taking them over this early in the season.
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Re: Bloom 2015

Postby wildrose » Mon May 04, 2015 7:28 am

surfsteve: I like your tomato plants, but I can't figure out why you posted them to Bloom 2015 in the Native Plants Information forum. Wouldn't your post fit better under Desert Gardening Tips? Maybe even a new topic about growing tomatoes in the desert would be good.
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Re: Bloom 2015

Postby surfsteve » Mon May 04, 2015 9:04 am

I guess I failed to read the fine print. I just saw the words bloom 2015 and I went for it; lost track of the native plants part in all the excitement! Sometimes that's just the kinda guy I am.
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Tomatoes!

Postby blackturtle.us » Mon May 04, 2015 4:10 pm

Here's the topic that wildrose felt that surfsteve should have created. It should be interesting to hear more about growing tomatoes in the desert!
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Re: Cherry Tomatoes!

Postby twister » Tue May 05, 2015 6:11 am

Like I said in the alkaline soil thread, cherry tomatoes do well in Trona. Larger tomatoes not so much. They tend to crack. The other huge advantage of cherry tomatoes is that they keep on producing over a period of several months.
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Re: Tomatoes!

Postby wildrose » Tue May 05, 2015 7:18 am

Love this thread! Here's a question for experienced tomato growers. How much sun should the plants get? I doubt they can handle the summer sun for more than a few hours a day. I'd imagine that early morning sun would be best since the temperature is cooler that time of day. What advice do y'all have?
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Re: Tomatoes!

Postby surfsteve » Wed May 06, 2015 7:17 am

Tomatoes are a full sun plant. They do fine out in open fields in Florida and I imagine just as well near Bakersfield. It's not the light from the sun; it's the heat and drying effect from it that kills plants. I'm having to water mine twice a day sometimes already, to keep them from drying out. Last year I lost 4 of my 6 plants one day just because I was a few hours late for watering them. I thought that switching from 5 to 15 gallon pots would help get them through the day but instead the plants grew faster and bigger and need to be watered just as often. I suppose I shouldn't be complaining about it though. I'm planning on moving them into the shade just in the nick of time before they burn up.
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Re: Tomatoes!

Postby tronagirl » Wed May 06, 2015 7:38 am

wildrose: I think you're right about the morning sun. I have a friend who grows cherry tomatoes and she has had a lot of success in a spot where the plants get morning sun, but no sun after about ten in the morning during the summer. Also I've heard that the heat is too much for full size tomatoes around here. They crack like twister said.
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Re: Tomatoes!

Postby surfsteve » Wed May 06, 2015 10:27 am

You are right about the cracking too. I got small cracks on both of the full size tomatoes that are starting to turn red and one other one. My 60% shade cloth came and it looks awfully dark. I should probably just cut a piece off of it and cover them now. By the time I get around to gathering up materials and building anything fancy it's going to be way to late and cracks will be the least of my worries. I wished I'd planted more cherry tomatoes. They are my favorite anyway! I think next year I'm going to try starting them from seed. I could start planting in December and replant every week or so till they survive the cold and I bet the ones that do would be way ahead of anything I could buy from Home Depot.
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Re: Tomatoes!

Postby James Sel » Wed May 06, 2015 6:37 pm

I heard the cracks are from too much water so i looked this up.
Basically the inside of a tomato grows faster than the outside. This can be brought on by the skin drying out from fluctuation in watering. Or something like that.

http://www.veggiegardener.com/what-causes-a-tomato-to-crack-or-split/
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