newbie seeking italian heirloom tomato advice

18 years ago

Hello -

My wife and I are in love with the Franchi tomatoes and we'd like to grow our own next season, in particular the San Marzano 2 and one of their beefsteak varieties, and we are desperate for as much advice as we can get.

The corner of our lot would be perfect for a garden, as our yard is about 1/2 acre and contains approximately 5,000 pine trees, this corner receives about 4 hours of direct sunlight, and 3 hours of indirect, partly shady light. The ground does have a high acidic content (because of all the damn pine needles) that we've partially corrected with the addition of lime.

However, we were considering constructing bottomless containers to sit upon the tilled earth that are about 18 inches deep that will be filled with gardening soil. We would then grow the tomatoes in cages.

I've the following questions:

- will the soil beneath these containers have to have a perfect pH, or will the 1.5 feet of gardening soil compensate for this?

- we've the occasional deer in the backyard, will they eat our tomatoes?

- is there anything we should be doing in preperation for the growing season now?

Thanks in advance for any and all comments...

- Vaughn

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Comments (7)

Claire Pickett
18 years ago
I'm Italian, so more power to ya! Your spot, however, is ok, but not perfect for veggies. Full sun is best and makes a big difference.

Your 18" raised beds sound wonderful. I would break up the soil beneath a little and work some of the good stuff in to avoid a sharp contrast in materials, but you should be ok otherwise with pH and such. Tomato root systems would not be extensive much beyond your depth and would probably spread out horizontally.

Just toured a horticultural garden with a veggie garden...they had a deer fence around the whole thing. It was black netting..not particularly ugly.

I recommend the soil and vegetable garden forums for very specific information about this tomato.
Termater
18 years ago
Vaughn,

Thats a nice tomato variety and 6-7 hours of Carolina sunlight will be plenty.
The pine needles really wont be a problem AFTER you have amended the soil as they dont break down enough to be a factor on the PH. Most Carolina soil is naturally acidic so you will always be adding lime or alternatives to raise the PH.
I would take advantage of the free NC soil test to see what else you need to do to the soil to amend it.
Tomatoes love potassium which most soil is lacking also, the soil test will tell you what to add.
If you eat eggs keep the shells all through the winter and put eggshells in the the tomato hole when you go to plant.

Yes, the deer will eat the tomatoes so hang a bar of soap in the area to keep them away, yes it does work. Old sneakers work too but I am still wearing mine :)

If you are interested in another heirloom the Principe Borghese is an excellent paste tomato that grows well here in NC, produces loads of tomatoes throughout the summer.

Let us know how it goes,

Termater
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CritterCapers
18 years ago
I planted both San Marzano and Principe Borghese tomatoes in exactly the same conditions you mentionedÂwith awful results. My peppers, however, (Bacio di Satana and Corno di Toro) did wonderfully. Last year, I moved the garden to a much sunnier location on the other side of my property and was overrun with tomatoes. The peppers, that I thought did well the year before, produced insane amounts of fruit.
Claire Pickett
18 years ago
Do y'all grow these Italian tomatoes from seed? I never see varieties like that available locally.
trianglejohn
18 years ago
My crops only improved after I had a bunch of trees removed. Now they get 6 hours of sunlight at the peak of summer and I get a decent crop.

I will add that many heirlooms don't do all that great for me because they lack disease resistance and my garden is full of disease. I only have one corner that gets any sun so there is no way I can move it.
tamelask
18 years ago
nctomatoman will have bunches of heirlooms come spring if you don't want to start your own. principe is easy to start from seed. most maters are. peppers are a little trickier, but not bad.

i have a limited sun, too and can attest- even an hr's worth of sun makes a big difference. the area (small, only 2 plant's worth) that gets 6+ hrs of sun had many more maters than my typical areas that have 4-5 hrs. peppers seems to deal with less light better and since they stay smallish you can fit more into the same area, they are space efficient. cherry tomatoes can deal with less sun and set a respectable crop, too. principe is near that size and did well for me the yrs i grew it. i have the same issues as john w/disease, and principe is one of the few heirlooms that seems resistant. tammy
Claire Pickett
18 years ago
I'm plotting and scheming to get rid of some of these trees now that they are bare. Been testing the waters with my husband. When I took all my containers to the Lee County Fairgrounds in September, it was like magic...what FULL sun will do in a matter of days! I can imagine how it would affect maters. John's words about the difference thinning your trees will make, is always ringing in my ears.

newbie seeking italian heirloom tomato advice

Comments (7)

Claire Pickett

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