What tomatoes will you grow this year (2017)?

General Gardening
#121

Thanks. Yep, I came up with about 225# of lime for that plot 6. As I mentioned earlier, think I’m going to need abt 800# of the stuff for all my plots and trees. Also need abt 250# of 10-10-10. We’re in town today, so we’ll be picking up some of this stuff today.

I have seen the article you linked, it’s very useful. I also use this article, which shows the nutrient reqs of certain crops. This is prob what the agent uses for his reqs.

http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/id/id36/id36.htm

I found a neat resource that maps out the state’s various soil types. Ours is called Shelocta, a gravelly loam. Anyway, the resource mentioned typical pH of our soil at about 5.0, so they nailed that. It also shows other important info about one’s soil type.

http://kygeonet.ky.gov/kysoils/

You said Iowa soils dont require a lot of liming? Is that because your soils are more alkaline? I had read that in some areas around the Great Lakes, the ground’s more calcerous, so you don’t need to lime?

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#122

Well, I would say that in general, if you plant a garden you generally don’t need to lime in Iowa. This is because most of our soils are relatively young and many have developed since the last glacial period, which ended about 12.5k-10k years ago. There was also calcium carbonate in the glacial tills and loess (wind-blown silt) that covered the state during the last glacial period.

That said, agricultural liming is a common practice on corn/soy acres because of the acid produced during ammonium transformation to nitrate in the soil, and because Ca & Mg are removed with the crop.

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#123

Well, we just got home from town after picking up our amendments. I got another 160# of dolomitic lime, and another 100# of triple 10 fert. I’d rather have the calcitic lime, but I got what was available. I can get more calcitic stuff tomorrow. I’m going to take advantage of the good weather over the next three days and get the lime down. I still need to get another couple hundred pounds of lime, but this is a good start.

A corn related question, does the more sweeter corn varieties use more Ca or Mg than less sweet versions?

#124

First year growing here in hot humid Zone 9. Have 3 in containers. Stupice, Indian Stripe PL, Big Beef F1, and stuck a Creole in the ground with some garden soil mixed with natural soil.

#125

Hello, we tried Stupice last year for the last time. It was a big plant with potato leaves, it was pretty productive, but the fruit didn’t taste that good. But, I will say a lot of our tomatoes didn’t taste good, prob because of the soil being poor. So, take my opinion with a grain of salt. Have you (or anyone else on here) grown this variety before? The fruit does have an interesting shape to it, I must say.

We’re amending our garden plots with fertilizer and lime so hopefully we’ll get much better results this year.

We are trying Indian Stripe this year for the first time, so I’d be interested in how yours does.

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#126

I’ve grown Stupice every year except one, since we began growing heirlooms. It’s the earliest best tasting heirloom tomato imo. Maybe I’m a bit emotionally attached to it because it’s the first heirloom I ever tasted, but it still tastes good to me. Will be interesting to see how it does here in Georgia. Right now the plant is over 2’ tall with lots of tomatoes. Hoping to get one ripe in April.

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#127

My big plunge this year: ‘Bobcat’ - a beefsteak. New to me. My parents an I like the beefsteaks. Thought I’d give ‘Bobcat’ a try.

Along with Cape Gooseberry seedlings. Bought Cape Gooseberries at the grocery store last summer. Liked em - so I saved seeds.

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Time to shift several to a larger cell size. I use rootmaker cell-flats.

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Dax

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#128

Looking good! I just planted my seeds today, looks like a cool spring here, so in no hurry.
My peppers are going but no true leaves yet. They will be forming soon.

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#129

OK, just finished up my tomato plantings, and some peppers, tho not finished with those. Here is what I did today so far (number of pods per variety):

Tomatoes: Chocolate Cherry (2), Orange KY Beefsteak (3), Abe Lincoln (3), Indian Stripe (2), Girl Girl’s Weird Thing (2), Paul Robeson (2), Jaunne Flamme (2), Striped Roman (2), Pink Honey (3), Gordost Sibiri (3), Red Calabash (3), Watermelon Beefsteak (3), De Barao (2), Pineapple (2), Russian Queen (2)

Peppers: Jalapeno (6), Pepperoncini (3), Serrano (2), Golden Calwonder (2), Calwonder (2), Anaheim (3), Yellow Banana (4), Quadrato d’Asti Rosso (2), Red Marconi (2),

Peppers from @thepodpiper, thanks! : Purple Beauty (2), Bulgarian Carrot (2), Choc Habanero (2), Padron (2), Szentesi (2)

That’s 36 tomaters, and 36 peppers, so far. Hope to finish up with a few more peppers, and some other veggies either tonight or tomorrow.

Just put them on a heat mat, placed the clear cover on it and hopefully we’ll have some sprouts soon.

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#130

Alright, just finished my indoor seed starts. Added a few more peppers, thanks again to @thepodpiper, here they are:

Aconcagua (2), Ancient Sweet (2), Tobago Sweet Scotch Bonnet (2), Beaver Dam (2), Ancho Mulato (2), Conquistador (2).

And a few more tomatoes:

Cream Sausage (2), Beefsteak (2), Verde Tomatillo (2).

Also planted some herbs, lots of lettuce and cabbage. Put them in the same hex 72 pod planter. Here is a pic of one of them:

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#131

I had a couple tomatoes not come up, rather disappointing, it’s the seeds as the others came up in record time. So I lost a few varieties. No big deal, Podpiper gave me twice as many as I lost anyway.

#132

I looked up some of that Black Magic soil online, looks like good stuff, but it isn’t cheap. This bag of MG potting mix I used was about $6 or so, but it’s only 8qt. I used about 2/3 of it for these two planters. We’ll see how it does, I got both planters on a heat source, so, hope to see some sprouts in a few days.

#133

It is expensive, but if used as seed starter, it is more inline. Yeah too expensive to use as a potting soil, I make my own anyway. In my home made mix I use 51/3 parts 1 part is a peat based potting soil, with blueberries it’s straight peat. I use Pro-mix, but may start using Black Magic for that one part.
Oh of the two tomatoes that didn’t come up, one weak looking plant sprouted. The seed was probably low in food, so I fertilized it earlier than normal. So only one I planted didn’t come up. I replanted seed, I had one left it was the Love Apple. So out of seeds for that one, hope it still sprouts. All other seeds sprouted every one of them. First time that has ever happened. I planted one dwarf from the dwarf tomato project and it is the shortest and stockiest seedling. Funny! Looks like a dwarf!
This year is turning out excellent all around. My fruit trees look fantastic, the berry plants are all doing well. More flowers than ever too. I planted some Moon flower seeds and it’s the biggest seedlings I ever saw! Huge beasts! My wife bought them and handed them to me to grow. I have fig, and mulberry cuttings that took.
I still have cucumbers and corn to plant once it becomes warmer around here.
I plan to direct sow these.
So far a great season I’m very excited.
I bred a raspberry plant and it’s way ahead of the others, it looks to be a real winner. a cross of Polka and Anne, very curious as to what color the fruit is going to be? I will find out in June.

#134

Good to hear about your tom seedlings doing so well. Hey, whatever works for you or anyone else, it doesn’t matter. We’re all trying to reach the same goal. I won’t use this mix when I transfer to cups, I use some Organic Mix potting soil for that purpose.

Sounds you’ve got a lot going as well, hope things turn out well for you. Where in the world are going to grow corn? Did you buy the next door neighbor’s lot? I thought you were running out of room. Will be interested in seeing how your rasp cross works out, so you think you’ll get berries from it this year?

It’s finally stopped raining here, the sun’s out but chilly. I still haven’t put my new pear and peach tree in the ground, it’s still too wet. Got a note from Honeyberryusa saying my tart cherries are on the way, hope they get here today or tomorrow.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I sowed 42 planter pods of tomatoes, and 48 pods of peppers. In addition, I sowed a lot of leafy veggies (cabbage, lettuce, chard, broccoli) and herbs for a total of 144 pods, in two separate planters. They’re both on heat mats, with the clear greenhouse lid on them, very warm and steamy in there.

The first batch of mater’s and peppers were sown on Mon and the rest of them and others were sown Tue. As of today, I have 13 tom pods sprouting after 4 days and 10 of the lettuce seeds are already up, after only 3 days! But, the soil mix is moist and warm, so I’m sure that’s helped them get going. I’ve propped open the greenhouse lid, now that I have sprouts, don’t want it to get too humid in there at this point.

Doesn’t look like any of the peppers have broke thru, but I know they can take longer. In retrospect, I prob should have put all the peppers in one planter and the tom’s and other seeds in another. But, peppers usually take at least 7 days for me to get going. I have 11 varieties that @thepodpiper gave me, and the others are the usual jalapeño, Anaheim, bell, and banana peppers.

When I get more sprouts up, it’ll be time to get the light bank out. Do you remove the heat pads after putting the lights on your seedlings, so as to not dry out the soil?

#135

Yes, I’m thinking of using my DIY potting mix at first up pot. They need to get used to it anyway. I did use BM for the peppers, now I’m out, so that was a waste really. I’m only going to use it for seed starter and air layers. Now I have to buy a 2nd bag argh, I still need to do some air layers.[quote=“subdood_ky_z6b, post:134, topic:9320”]
Where in the world are going to grow corn?
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I redid my raised beds. I had a 8x12 and I grew corn there the first yar. I got about 65 ears. Strawberries have been in there since, but I had to walk on it, which is not good. So I split it into two 4x12 beds. One bed is going to be for corn this year. It’s small and less than the suggested size for corn. But I should be able to get about 30 ears out of a 4x12 bed. See how it goes. If it doesn’t work well, i will not grow it anymore. Next year I’m put something else in it. I’ll probably grow corn every third year. I have a 4x12 bed for pole beans, and rotate between vining cucumbers and pole beans. No beans this year. The corn bed will be a rotation of corn, peppers/tomatoes, and melons.A 3 year rotation. [quote=“subdood_ky_z6b, post:134, topic:9320”]
Do you remove the heat pads after putting the lights on your seedlings,
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Not at first as I put them under as soon as the first seed sprouts. I only use heat for peppers. Tomatoes come up either way. This year I did put heat under the tomatoes too as I got the soil too wet! Tomorrow I’m acclimating the peppers and up-potting the tomatoes. I don’t have enough lights for both once in bigger pots. I have flowers going too, so need the lights. peppers are being kicked out! I’ll bring them in at night and not put under the lights. If it’s above 50, i leave them out. I have a cold frame too, but not using it this year. I started later, usually by now my tomatoes are over a foot tall. i started later and like it better. less in and out of the house for little gain.

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#136

Impatiently waiting for my first ripe tomato.

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#137

That is terrible bill, my seedlings are 8 inches tall!

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#138

Ha! Mine are less than 2".

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#139

It won’t be long now.

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#140

Yum Bill, it looks like this is in a pot. Is this in a heated green house?

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