I obsess about my tomatoes too. I have a small square foot garden, nothing like most of the people here. I am growing 18 tomatoes, and for me, that's a TON. Last year I grew 8.

I inspect my tomatoes twice daily, at least. I obsess about the size, the fruit (or lack of), the color of the leaves. I look for hornworms, which eat my tomatoes every year.

I too am growing organically. In the past I just crossed my fingers and prayed; this year I am working a lot on educating myself. I stalk the organic and Oklahoma forums.

I spray BT (organic bacteria that kills leaf eating caterpillars) as a preventative measure about once per week. So far no hornworms. I have ordered Neem oil, which I keep reading is a great organic solution to many pests AND diseases/fungi. I will probably start adding a dilute spray into some kind of preventative schedule as well. I obsess about soil health...are my tomatoes getting enough? Too much?

It's unhealthy, really. I feel your pain!

Susan, I'm not well versed on chemicals, organic or otherwise. One option that comes to mind is Xanax, LOL.

I gotta agree with Seedmama.

Relax, get over it, ignore your plants other than making sure their soil stays evenly moist.

The notion that tomatoes cannot be grown organically is a crock of.....cow manure. It is bull. It is ridiculous.

Even before I became organic in all my gardening and landscaping, I grew tomatoes organically...back at least as far as 1986 or so, so if you 'cannot' grow tomatoes organically, I've been getting away with it for about 25 years. lol

My dad and other relatives gardened chemically, for the most part, in the 1960s and part of the 1970s, although they also composted and used the compost, fall leaves, and manure for soil improvement too. Gradually, their chemical use faded as they discovered, independently of one another and sometimes with a little nudge from me, that we didn't have to spray our environment with nerve poisons and heavy metals in order to have a vegetable garden in general and to grow tomatoes in particular. My dad, in particular, was stunned when he gave up the use of Sevin after many years of using it, and saw his pest problems almost completely go away. It truly changed his gardening life. I don't remember as much about the particulars of my grandfather's garden because he was diagnosed with leukemia in the early 1970s and much of our life with him focused on his treatments, etc., but I don't remember EVER seeing chemicals in his hands, in his garage, in his root cellar lean-to, or even on the farm when I was a little kid in the 1960s. I do remember him composting, and I remember him having a bountiful harvest in the 1960s and 1970s before his illness took his garden mostly out of his hands. (One of my uncles kept it going for him.)

So, for all those people who say you 'cannot' grow tomatoes organically, I have no real verbal response because the ridiculousness of what they said leaves me truly speechless...I'd just stand and give them "that look" the my Uncle Leroy used to give one of us kids when we crossed a certain line.....and anyone on the receiving end of that look, whether one of his own children or one of his nieces or nephews, shut their mouth and stopped misbehaving....

It is NOT easier to grow tomatoes on a large scale...it is exponentially harder the more plants you grow. No one can grow 100 or 200 or 400 tomato plants successfully until they have learned how to successfully grow 6 or 10 or 15 or 20 plants.

If I have six plants, I have endless amounts of time and attention to give them. If I have 50 plants and the same amount of time and attention to give, each plant gets substantially less. If I have 100 plants, they're lucky if I walk by them and give them a 2-second glance once a day. With 120 plants in the garden currently, about the only attention the ones in the ground get is that I stop and pick a ripe tomato here and there. I water once a week, or maybe twice if we're in the upper 90s or higher. I don't feed, prune, spray, etc. I leave them alone and let them grow. The container plants, of course, need daily watering in this heat, or even twice a day watering, but I don't worry and fret over their growth, blooming, ripening, etc. If I leave them alone and don't screw it up by intervening when I should have left well enough alone, they'll do just fine. I NEED THE TOMATO PLANTS BUT FOR THE MOST PART THEY DO NOT NEED ME AT ALL.

I have 10 acres of heavily forested land that grows gazillions of plants of all kinds with absolutely zero help from me. I might venture into it carefully (because of the heavy population of venomous snakes) to pick wild grapes, Mexican plums, American persimmons, blackberries or dewberries, but otherwise I leave it completely and totally alone. Why in the world should I give the tomato plants substantially more time and attention than that?

In my opinion, most people obsess far too much over their tomato plants. Plant them in well-prepared soil, water them as needed (not too much, not too little), let the well-amended soil feed the plants, and let Mother Nature grow the plants. Leave the plants alone. I've said it over and over and I'll say it again, "a watched pot never boils". Once my plants are planted, I am a very hands-off gardener. With a heavily-producing garden, I do not have time to obsess over every green tomato and now long it takes it to turn red. I don't have time to worry about a little wilt or every spot on the foliage. If there are bugs on my plants, I don't know it because I'm not stopping and looking at them or for them. If I happen to see bugs, I ignore them and wait for the good bugs to take care of the bad ones. I'm happy if I have time to water, harvest, and put up the harvest (which takes most of my time in the summertime). If I haven't walked through the garden slowly and looked at the plants in the last 2 hours, I can't even tell you which variety has a heavy load of fruit, which has a modest load and which has none. IT DOES NOT MATTER. At some point, virtually every plant I have will produce a decent amount of fruit, as long as I don't plant Brandywine which is a diva who marches to the beat of her own drummer. When the tomatoes reach the right stage, I'll pick them. Other than that, the plants don't need me interfering in their business.

I raise enough tomatoes most years to supply us with canned, frozen and dried tomatoes for the rest of the year. I still have about 18 jars of tomato products in the root cellar from last year, several quarts of frozen stewed or pureed and cooked down tomatoes from last year in the freezer, and maybe 3/4s of a gallon of dehydrated ones. This year's crop is already coming in pretty heavily and I am dehydrating and soon will start canning, and I did it all organically, and I did it without undue attention paid to the plants. My basic attitude is to plant them and let them grow and to avoid interfering in what is, after all, a natural process.

Keep it simple and stop worrying about it.

I grow carefully selected varieties, Susan, that I know produce well in our heat because I want the maximum harvest from the space I give a plant. Every plant that I plant has a purpose....whether it is to produce tomatoes for cooking and canning, for salsa or catsup, for fresh eating or for dehydrating, etc. I choose the types that produce best in our heat because it is more fun to have a plant give me 20 or 40 or 60 tomatoes than to have one give me 3 or 6 or 12. I avoid heat-setting types because they have the taste and texture of grocery store tomatoes. For goodness sake, if I want a grocery store tomato, I'll go to the store and buy them for next to nothing in June through September. Why grow a grocery store tomato? The best-producing tomato plant I ever planted was called Super Boy. I planted six of them (horror of all horrors, because then I was stuck with them). Every plant must have produced at least 200 small tomatoes...with small being maybe 2 or 3 or 4 oz. I ate a couple and gave away bagfuls and bagfuls of them because they weren't any better than grocery store tomatoes. The folks I gave them to loved them, because even a 'bad' home-grown tomato is better than a real grocery store tomato, but I never planted them again because I didn't like them.

All the bite-sized ones I grow have a purpose...I eat handfuls in the garden while working every day. We eat oodles in salads. We dry tons of them in the summer and fall so we can eat them year-round. I'd never grow only the bite-sized ones, though, because I love the flavor of the big tomatoes too. I can't imagine trying to eat a BLT (we eat them almost daily in the summer, thanks to the advent of healthier turkey bacon) made of tons of bite-sized tomatoes. I want a big slab of a fresh tomato on a sandwich or burger.

My advice is to ignore anyone who encourages you to abandon growing organically. It is, of course, your choice, but I feel like there's enough toxins and poisons in the world and I am not going to go out into my garden or yard and spray nerve poisons or anything else around. Other people can poison their food and their environment, but I'll give up gardening before I do that.

Don't obsess about the tomatoes. As much as I love my tomatoes...and y'all know that I truly do.....I save my obsessing for the things that matter...like my precious granddaughter and grandnephew. Tomatoes are, after all, just a fruit.

Dawn

Susan, relax! Dr. Seedmama may have a point! LOL

I am not the best gardener, but this is how I grow tomatoes in my garden. I dig a deep hole, add a handful of epsom salts, a handful of bone meal, and fertilizer. I mix it all in good, throw in a little dirt. and put the plant in and cover the roots. I try to get some kind of mulch around it to keep the soil from splashing up around it, and add a cage or some kind of support. I usually walk around them each day to make sure I don't have a hornworm, and I tuck them into their cage or tie them up if they are getting unruly. Occasionally I may have to water. That's all.

BUT...In containers it takes a little more effort. I basicly plant them the same way, but I rarely mulch the containers because I have pine mulch in my growing medium and it will float to the top as I water and kind of form it's own mulch. It rains a lot at my house, but if it doesn't rain, I normally water everyday, into the pot, not the foliage.

I don't use any kind of pesticide as a rule. Last year I tried a fungicide and couldn't tell any difference. I have learned from experience that if I grow in pots, I have to feed the plants every couple of weeks. I have tried to grow them without it, and I can grow them and they produce some, but they are wimpy plants and never heavy producers if I don't fertilize.

While I would not want to use that much fertilizer in my garden soil, I don't worry too much about it in containers because everything washes out so rapidly. My containers are in the yard sitting on a piece of landscape fabric. What's it going to do, kill my bermuda grass? That would be a blessing.

For a number of years I did everything organic, but I cheat a little now. I sometimes use a time release fertilizer that isn't organic (and a lot of others do to if they buy their potting soil), and in the last two years I have seen the benefits of using a little weak spray solution of MG on seedlings that are struggling. It takes a little more effort to grow in containers because you don't have all of the action going on in the soil from earth worms and such. I am not spoiling their habitat by using fertilizer because they don't live in the container soil.

While organic matter is fantastic in the garden, I don't feel that strongly about it in containers. I am sure that some people grow successfully in containers without 'cheating' a little, but I have relaxed in my old age (without Xanax), and I just love to garden.

I'm not an organic grower by any means, but I am taking small steps towards it. In my case, I've always been unable to escape early blight. The intense heat eventually gets the weakened plants. I make the best of it. And since I enjoy new varieties, I put out a new fall crop. So, instead of fighting the diseases , I take measures to plant out earlier in the Spring and to fight the cold spells in the Fall to get every last fruit.

Let it be known -- I wasn't contradicting Dawn. She is the queen of tomatoes. We were typing at the same time and the point I wanted to make is that I have weakened and use a little chemical fertilizer in containers sometimes, but I just can't stand the thought of spray a pesticide on something that I am going to eat. Sometimes I will just let the bugs have it rather than spray, but mostly it just works out OK for me.

Okay, I'll relax and enjoy. May not be here for a bit cuz DD just called and WE'RE HAVING A BABY TODAY! Between 4 and 5 pm.

Went to the doc's office this morning for check (doc is out til Monday, of course - aren't they always when the event needs to happen?). Her BP was up, her protein levels were up, her swelling is up. So they sent us to the hospital. Her BP was down after laying on her left side, as was the protein levels. However, they wanted to check her laying on her back - BP shot back up immediately, so her doc's on-call doc, decided to do the C-Section. Other factors went into decision, such as with her Asthma and breathing problems, she didn't think a natural delivery would be successful, and Jess couldn't handle the pitocin, etc. since she is recovering from the virus she has.

So, anyway, will keep you posted as Charlotte makes her appearance today - JUNE 9, 2010! Yippee!

Well, this certainly takes my mind off of tomatoes!

Thanks, everybody. I promise not to worry again.

Susan

Yay for a sweet baby! May everything go as planned and a quick recovery for momma and baby...awesome news, Susan!

Sharon

The Tank,

Early Blight is found almost everywhere, although sometimes people won't have it in a new bed the first few years....it eventually finds them at some point. I think it probably is the major tomato plant problem nationwide.

I just don't worry about EB. Like you, by the time the spring tomatoes are tiring out, wearing out and getting hit by EB, I'm already focused on the replacement plants for fall. Every now and then I'll have a really dry year and EB isn't a problem then, but that's because no rain is falling and I'm using soaker hoses to water....and my biggest worry is how high the water bill might be and if I can keep watering enough to make the plants thrive. In severe drought, you cannot water enough so I just stop. Early Blight doesn't tend to hit plants that are getting no water, although they do tend to die without that water.

If I ever have a year in which there is absolutely, positively no early blight on a single plant, I'll probably die from the shock of it all.

Carol, Oh, go ahead and contradict me...and you aren't really contradicting me. I like Miracle Grow plant food and sometimes use it, but the problems develop when people overuse it. Actually, I have absolutely nothing against Miracle Grow plant food itself and agree with your occasional use of it for container plants and recommend it to people sometimes when their plant growth is lagging. If used properly, it is a great product. As synthetic fertilizers go, it is pretty 'clean' in its makeup compared to some other fertilizers that have a heavy metal content. I use Miracle Grow occasionally with container-grown plants, especially if I think the liquid seaweed, fish emulsion, compost tea or Garrett Juice aren't perking up hot, tired plants enough. It is very hard to raise tomato plants organically in containers because organic fertilizers are, by nature, slow release and often do not release nutrients fast enough to compensate for what constant watering leaches from the soil. So, put me in the Miracle Grow camp and lets hope the organic gardening gods don't strike me (or my plants) dead for saying that.

The cides that bother me are the pesticides especially because some of them are nerve gases (WWII ended and the manufacturers had to find a use for their products, so they turned them into pesticides....and isn't that scarey!) and some are endocrine disrupters.

Some herbicides bother me because they can survive going through the digestive system of an animal like a cow and they can survive the composting process. Some of those herbicide residues can survive for several years if they make it into your soil via contaminated compost or manure or mulch, so I try to avoid them rather than risk losing the use of my garden soil for several years.

Some herbicides, like the glyphosates, are hazardous to aquatic life, so if I do use them on a persistent weed, I don't use them in an area where they could run off into the water or wetland areas.

Most fungicides that are available to the home gardener don't bother me even if I try to avoid using them myself. Some of the ones used commercially are wickedly strong though and I don't care for that. So, if I am avoiding cides (and I am), I avoid them in this order: pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides.

It isn't like all synthetic stuff is bad and all organic stuff is good....in fact, as a percentage of what's available, there's relatively few organic pesticide products I'll use. To me, a pesticide is still a pesticide, even if organic in nature, and I try to use one targeted specifically to one pest, not a broad-spectrum one that targets everything that lives, flies, or crawls......

Susan, OK, now you can worry about Jess and the baby and the rest of the family instead of your tomato plants. I guess everyone's real excited, aren't they! I'm thrilled for Jess that this tortured pregnancy is about to end....you know, most women I know who have a difficult pregnancy end up with a really healthy baby, so that's something to think about anyway.

Congratulation to all of you and especially to new Big Sister, Kenna! I'm looking forward to seeing your next post with the news that all is well and everyone is trying to sleep while they can.

By the way, our son was born June 9th, but that was long, long ago.

Dawn

Welcome to the world......

Charlotte Lily Suffridge
Born: June 9, 2010
Weight: 7 lbs. 11 oz.
Length: 19 3/4"

So far, that is all I know. She looks like daddy, tho we haven't seen her yet, we saw photos on his phone. She was whisked away to the nursery, and we felt like Jess, her significant other, and Kenna needed some rest and time alone. I will see her tomorrow. Jess is doing fine and came thru the C-Section in great shape.

Thanks for all the good wishes, and maybe Charlotte will get lucky and have some Tomato Simulac soon, LOL!

Susan

Susan I pray that all went well and by now you have a new healthy grand daughter.

I agree pretty much with what the others have stated. I use mainly organic but mix in other means on a limited basis if I feel it is needed. I have used MG in the past and wouldn't hesitate to again. I presently use the Bonnie's liquid fertilizer. It is oilseed based. Don't think 100% organic but has a lot of organics in it. I've had good results with it. Used it the last few months last year on my container plants. Used it this year after my early fiasco on stunted plants and when I transplanted the first ones. I felt it really helped. I bought 4 bottles tonight as it is hard to find where I live.

I will say lots of crops were grown organically for years. and last year the only insecticide I used was Garlic Barrier and had better results than I ever have. It is all organic. In my opinion you can grow organically. I don't 100% but I probably do 90% or more. Jay

congrats on new baby girl Charlotte, thoughts and prayers with you.

Dale OKC

Welcome Charlotte!!! Congrats to the Grandmother.

Good Morning, Susan!

Congratulations to you all! I'm so excited and happy for the entire family, and...to baby Charlotte Lily....Welcome To The World, Sweet Baby Girl! Congratulations, Granny!

This is just such wonderful news.

I supppose you'll have Charlotte raising cats and releasing her first butterflies next spring. : )

Enjoy your new little bundle of joy, and Kenna too, of course! It seems like just yesterday that Kenna was the baby and now she is the big sister. Time flies by so quickly.

And, now, just to keep this tomato-related....

Jay, Watch your e-mail for a Harris update pushing fungicides. It says late blight has been found in three states, and I think it was Pennsylvania, Maryland...and someone else....in late May and early June. Uh oh. I guess we should be grateful for all the heat we're having here because that keeps the LB away from us.

Dawn

Hey Susan,
Congratulations on your new little granddaughter! And what a precious name, Charlotte Lily. Hope you are getting to enjoy her today. Hugs to you all. :)
Dawna

Congratulations Susan!! I love her name, it is so sweet.

Lisa

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers, they are much appreciated. I got to hold Charlotte this morning (only for 2 hours, for pete's sake). She is very comfortable with Nanny. Kenna has held her lots, too, and she is little mommy with her...her blanket has to be perfect, her little hat must sit just right on her head, and she gets lots of sweet kisses, too. Jess is recovering nicely and is so in love with her baby. It's touching to watch.

So far, I haven't had to water my Supersweet 100 except every 4 or 5 days. But it was just potted up into a 25 gal. container, and it has some root growin to do. Watering the Jet Star about every other day, but the Rutgers needs needs constant monitoring for once or twice daily waterings. I just go by feeling the soil. I probably should add some more Tomato Tone to the Rutgers soon. I also want to get some Kelp spray, but I think my errands will not include the garden centers for awhile, so it may have to wait a bit.

I think that a few tomatos will be showing some breaker color (?) soon, because they are turning a more golden color. Is this significant?

Can't wait to mix up a bottle of homemade tomato juice - for me, that is!

Question, Dawn, when you are talking about EB, is it as much a problem in container grown tomatos? I just wondered because everyone talks about it lingering in soil and soil issues with many of the diseases that tomatos are prone or bent to get. I can't tell anything from the photos or images online. I seem to just get more confused.

Also, you say you grow a lot of "carefully selected varieties" and I am wondering what those are. Chime in everyone, because I really am interested in those varieties. Some say they do well one year, not so good another, and terrible yet another. I am interested in those that do perform consistently well, and not at the expense of flavor, disease tolerant/resistant, and can make it thru whatever our summers throw at us. There must be some that fit this bill. Good for fresh consumption, slicing, salads, and maybe some saucin' up (which is why I grew Rutgers). No college investment funds for mine because I can't plan ahead for them beyond fairly immediate satisfaction. Then I can look at a couple that I just want to "fiddle with" because of simple curiosity.

I grew Jet Star because I had read a lot about it being a generally good, flavorful slicing, consistently producing tomato, for fresh use. Rutgers I grew for both eating fresh and saucin' up. Those 2 were my primary focus, adding the Supersweet 100 for "off the vine" treats, Victorian Dwarf for it's touted workhouse ethic, and Lime Green Salad cuz some nice lady gave me seed and I wanted to try it. I really did want the Black Cherry due to my inate curiousity in trying a black tomato, lots of comments about heavy production, and knock your socks off flavor. Didn't really plan ahead much for any of them, tho. Next year, I intend to do just that. A couple for good slicing, a Roma maybe, cherry/grape/currant or 2, and probably something exotic to play with.

Susan, who is getting very sleepy........zzzzzzzzz.

Nanny,

Only two hours? Gosh, they sure were mistreating you! Wasn't it just the most precious two hours of the day?

You'll see the tomatoes go from darker green to lighter green and then they'll get that slightly yellowish-white color and that does mean they're about to break color. Yippee! See, get busy with Jess and the family and the tomatoes start going nuts....a watched pot never boils. It happens every time! (Just try going away for a week's vacation and every single green tomato breaks color and ripens while you're gone.)

Early Blight can survive on plant debris for a year, which is why it is so persistent. It can be soilborne, so rain or irrigation can splash it up onto the plants. It can come into your garden via infected seeds or infected seedlings (even though they look fine when you buy them). I'm not sure if it is actually airborne like Late Blight (that's a whole different can of worms) but the way that it moves around, it wouldn't surprise me if it is airborne. Once you have it in your soil, it is hard to get rid of. Water on foliage, including dew, helps it grow and spread and it only takes 15 minutes of wet foliage for EB to develop. Humidity seems to encourage it. EB is the reason mulching and drip irrigation/soaker hoses are so important. You may or may not see it on container plants. I don't think I see any disease on container plants as much as on in-ground plants as long as I keep the water off the foliage while watering.

My 'carefully selected varieties' are chosen because they've performed well in the past and because we like their flavor. I'll try to find and link an old favorites list from last summer. I'm almost asleep as I type and don't want to try to list them from memory tonight or I'll leave some out.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Last Year's Tomato Gurus Thread

Dawn,
Was a good to read that thread again. It reminded me of what how my thoughts have changed in just a year. I think Bobbie maybe the only heart I'm growing this year. Not as wispy as most. I was told it would set well.Wish I had put it out earlier. It was in the tray that was a little later. But so far have hope for it.

Just an update. The Texas Star seed that I planted was bought and not seed I saved. I think I might have both. So not sure what I sent you. Will check to make sure if I have both. Again it could very well be a mix up on my part. And I've seen early fruit shape fool you. Jay

Jay,

It will be interesting to see what I get!

I agree that it is interesting to read an old thread a year or two later and see how much my mind has changed. My tomato opinions continue to evolve over time and tomatoes I considered essential three years ago might not even make the list today.

Dawn

At least we never lack for entertainment. We are entertained by reading our own old threads. Not only do we change our minds but some of us are getting old enough to forget what we wrote a year ago. I had to laugh because sometimes I am surfing on some topic that I have interest, and will read a post and think, "Well, I can agree with that." Then I look to see who agreed with me...and it is me.

Carol,

That's too funny. I've done the same thing.

Dawn

There is wealth of variety specific information on tomatoes (if anyone is interested); just search for the thread "2009 Tomato Review".

Congratulations on the grandbaby, Susan! And I agree with others above that whoever said you can't grow tomatoes organically is full of it. Makes me mad that someone would say that.

Hi Susan,
I'm just passing through checking out the Oklahoma forum(much better than the NY forum!) So I don't have time to read all the posts thoroughly, but I had to comment on the growing tomatoes organically. I've been growing them that way since I was a kid, and I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it by now, lol. So whatever you read over on the tomato forum is hogwash. : )
Remy

Susan,
Congrats on the new bundle of joy! Pray mom, dad and grandparents do as well as baby seems to be doing:)

All I can say about tomatoes is do by all means walk around and follow whatever Dawn and Jay are doing. Carol and some of the other tomatoe and garden pros as well.

And NONE of us will ever be caught dead out in the garden with a vibrating toothbrush vibrating each little blossom.

Not being a tomatoe garden guru, I have grown a few tomatoe plants over the years, before the word "organic" became popular. Folks were growing organic back then and didn't know it.

When I had good soil, I'd put the tomatoe plant in the ground and let it do it's thing, and it usually did just fine unless too much rain or bad weather got in the way. I didn't know any better. I thought things just "grew".

Oddly enough, the second worst year I ever had was last year when I started trying to do "everything just right". Somehow the blister beetles knew it and attacked.

I did learn to attack back with some Spinasad on the one or two plants affected, but thankfully my beneficials were spared. Another lesson learned on this forum....beneficials. May they be non poisoned and multiply and be fruitful. And they are.

Since coming to this forum, I've discovered a lot about varieties and tomatoe and veggie science. The fruition and benefits of Dawn, Jay and others who've labored long and hard to learn by doing and practicing, trial and error what works and what doesn't.

It's been more helpful and interesting than the Tomatoe forum by far, who for the most part seem to have more questions than answers,(like me), or else they live too far away for it to be relevant to Oklahoma conditions, (seems like).

Barbara

Wow, Remy, thanks for stopping by for a visit. This is a great forum, especially for tomato and veggie growers.

Was glad to hear your comments in particular, about growing tomatos organically. As you can tell, I am new at this. I say "new" because in the past I have grown tomatos but without any real knowledge or technique. I've already perused your site and forumulated a list of what I want to grow next year:

Azoychka
Carbon
Early Glee
Bradley
Costoluta Genevese
Golden Queen
Grapette
Little Lucky and/or Lucky Cross
Olive Hill
Polish Dwarf
Prudens Purple
Soldacki
Sophie's Choice
Sungold

Too bad I have to wait til next year. Sigh.....

Barbara, mom and dad are fine. Baby is having an issue. She has been tested and tentatively ID'd as having true lactose intolerance. She was born without the lactase enzyme that splits the lactase in the small intestine into two different enzymes that then are absorbed by the blood. In Charlotte's case, the lactase is passed to the large intestine and causes symptoms of bloating, gas, vomiting, diarrhea, a lot of problems for her. Currently, she is on soy milk, but is still exhibiting the symptoms. She goes to another pediatrician on Friday for more testing. I feel so bad for her; she is so much pain when she's awake. I am sure we will find some more answers and thus, more solutions once she completes her testing.

I try to read those threads only that might be applicable to growing in warmer zones on the Tomato Forum. But often I leave there with more questions than answers. Is that right?

Anyway, I have relaxed a bit about the frustrations I had, and am letting my plants basically do their own thing. I just check to see if they need water, fertilize occasionally, and check for pests and disease. My plants are thriving, flowering, and producing. I give the plants a few good shakes to help pollination, and that's all. I have butterflies to be concerned about too!

Susan

Remy,

I just wanted to say "Hi" and encourage you to visit us whenever you like and have the time to visit. We talk tomatoes (among many other things) endlessly here.

Barbara,

Your mention of Spinosad and blister beetles reminds me of how hard it can be to garden organically and it reminds me that sometimes we organic gardeners have to make very hard choices. In a 'perfect' organic world, we'd ignore blister beetles because they are beneficial and eat grasshopper eggs. In the real world, though, we can't let the darned blister beetles devour our tomato plants because they can damage a plant every bit as much as a tomato hornworm will. So, somehow we have to keep the blister beetles off the tomatoes and hope they'll eat all the grasshopper eggs they can find.

Susan,

During the summer, I always make a list in my head of what I want to grow 'next year'. That's one of the great things about gardening---there's always next year!

I am so sorry to hear that Charlotte Lily is having medical problems at such an early age and is in pain. I hope the doctors can find a good solution to her problems.

Now that the real heat has set in, it seems like we're all going to have a difficult year in terms of fruitset. I've never seen the temps get to the 'wrong range' for pollination/fertilization this early in the year. It certainly makes me grateful for the early fruitset I did have and also for the bite-sized tomatoes that just ignore the heat and keep producing any way.

I'm glad you're relaxing and not obsessing over the tomatoes. Gardening is more fun when you can relax and just 'let it be'.

Dawn

Susan, I bought some of Remy's seeds last week to start some fall tomatoes. I have never grown them, but as I understand it, it's not too late to start them here!

Jo

No, it's not. I unfortunately had some very late seedlings. Planted early, but they just didn't do much for the longest time, until I removed them from their seed containers and potted them up into some good soil. I will never use Walmart's Perfect Mix again for seeds. I've always wintersowed my tomatos in good potting soil, but had a hard time finding any this winter. (Note to self: buy potting soil early for wintersowing). Anyway, I saw on the Tomato Forum that if seedlings don't do well, or get beyond at least the first true leaves, there is something genetically wrong with them. Well, I set out to prove them wrong, and my seedlings began to grow in the new, better soil. They will be ready for bigger containers about the time it is right to plant fall tomatos. So, I'm learning to take some advice with a grain of salt.

Remy has some very nice heirloom varieties, and for the price, you can't beat them. Especially because I don't plant on a large scale like some of the folks here. So, a few seeds works out great for me. I'm not paying four or five dollars for a packet of 30 seeds, 25 of which I won't even use.

What varieties did you order, if you don't mind my asking? My biggest expenditures this year have been containers and potting soil. I wonder if Lowe's or HD will sell potting soil in small bulk packages??? Have to check into that. I would like to make my own, but I just don't have the space to store the ingredients to make it.

Several mentioned above are determinate, semi-determinate, or dwarf varieties that I can grow in my 5 gal. buckets, like Bradley, Early Glee, Grapette, Polish Dwarf, and Sophie's Choice. I am also growing the Victorian Dwarf, and if I like it, I'll order more. It was one of those that was held back due to the tacky potting soil.

Susan

I have not read the whole thread, so take this comment with that understanding, but I find the funniest thing about my garden is the more I leave it alone the better it grows. I water, weed, MG my herbs, but then leave it alone after that. :) it is doing fine.

So relax!!!

Susan,

I ordered

1 Heirloom Mix
1 Amish Paste
1 Amish Potato Leaf
1 Azoychka
1 Berkeley Tie Dye
1 Bradley
1 Currant
1 Golden Queen USDA
1 Green Zebra
1 Little Lucky
1 Roughwood Golden Tiger
1 Asclepias incarnata

I just read the descriptions and started throwing things in my cart with no rhyme or reason. Halfway down the list I had to cut myself off and check out...I wanted to try them ALL!!!

I am most excited to try the currant and the Green Zebra.

Jo

About potting or seed starting mixes, I've had the same prob. I think I need to do some investigative spying on what my local nursery uses, and use that.

It seems having "the" correct starting mixture is the secret to growing good seedlings. Otherwise they kind of drive you crazy looking at them and wondering if they're ever going to actually make a viable plant.

I got frustrated from some rather expensive organic seed starter mixture I'd bought from one of the BB stores and planted some seeds in plain ole dirt that worked just as well or better. Sigh.

Barbara

Are you trying to attract the Monarchs with the milkweed? I have not seen any at all this summer, but hope to see more around August. You may see them before I do, as the trek back south.

What a list, Barbara! I have the Victorian Dwarf from Remy that I'm trying this year. Due to its late start, it is just now about a foot tall, and beginning to flower. I've read mixed reviews about the flavor, but apparently it produces like crazy, so will keep you posted on it.

Jay, I agree with the theory of "benign neglect" in gardening. I totally ignore the backyard last year, and the plants grew with complete abandon. You're right, of course, but it does seem like tomatos in particular have greater needs when it comes to proper watering, fertilizing, insect and disease control, than most everything else I grow.

That little Pokemon squash/pumpkin that volunteered is one I have virtually neglected, and it is already producing blooms on it. It is growing at the edge of my pine tree where I have allowed the pine needles and leaves to collect. I planted something else near there the other day, and that soil is an absolute gardener's dream, very soft and friable. The needles and leaves have been allowed to collect there for about 8 years, so the soil has been fed for a long time by the added organic matter. Can't wait to plant some other things there as well.

Susan