Hi
As a newbee, I would like to hear where you GET your seeds and which seed varieties you like for producing good tomatoes for salsa, sauces, and juices.
Also this is the last week in March, am I already to late to grow my own tomatoes from seed, am I better off getting seedling from some place? Where?

Thanks

If you decide to use rubber snakes to scare off birds and chipmunks, make sure when you reach down to pick up one of the snakes that has fallen off the cage that it was one of YOUR RUBBER snakes and not one of mother natures. It dont take long to realize the mistake.

I say this in all seriousness ... if the question is "which one single piece of advice," then the answer would be "take a Master Gardeners course provided by the Extension Service associated with your state's land grant university.

Oh, my. So now I have to learn to make Squirrel and Snake Chili with my lovely 'maters.

Who knew? :)

It's been mentioned already, but I don't think it's been mentioned enough. Mulch. Plenty of suggestions about too much or too little watering, but the key is to make sure you have a nice layer of mulch around your plants. It helps maintain consistant moisture levels in the soil.

For a new grower?

Rule #1: Grow from healthy commercial seedlings, NOT seed!

This will eliminate most new-grower failures. Growing viable early-season seedlings can be much harder than actually growing the tomatoes once they're in the ground.

Many people here have the right conditions in their homes for starting great plants from seeds -- I simply don't, and nor do many others. It took me a long time to realize this.

Squirrels: I have tried giving the squirrels water, feeding the squirrels, blood meal, but the only real way is covering your tomatoes with chicken wire.

See my photoÂs on Flicker. LinkÂ

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9235655@N02/847287015/in/set-72157601866282873/

Karyl

Here is a link that might be useful: My Flicker Photo's

The thing that makes me absolutely stark-raving-mad is that the squirrels take one little nibble out of each tomato - and destroys the whole lot! Just take ONE and eat the whole dang thing!

Hi Tom and list.

Squirrels They will come back and eat the tomatoes that they leave half eaten on the fence. Last year I didnÂt have any trouble with squirrels for a while. It took them a while to eat my nectarines, and pears before they started on my tomatoes.

They eat the tomatoes, nectarines, and pears when they are grass green only as big as a quarter. You donÂt stand a chance.

You must be near a woods with a lots of oak trees. That is where the grey squirrels live. After the acorns get big enough for them to eat they will not eat as many tomatoes.

I learned a lot last year. With chicken wire over my tomatoes they donÂt eat my tomatoes.

That is when the tobacco horn worm started to eat the top out of my tomatoes with the tomatoes. I will spray my tomatoes with soap spray this year.

Check out the link to my Flicker photoÂs.

Karyl
====

Here is a link that might be useful: Flicker Photo, of chicken wire

bump

I'm glad this thread got revived. I think the two biggest mistakes I've made were:

1. Not amending the soil enough. I have clay soil that needs the addition of compost or potting soil. A good homemade compost works wonders. (Although the volunteers don't seem to mind the clay :)

2. Overwatering. I used to think that if some water was good, more water was better. Since I've learned to only water when the tomatoes need it, I've gotten a lot better tasting tomatoes.

soil(or mix)

I would say condition of the soil was my biggest problem and most people I knew , you can fix alot of problems along the way but if the soil is not right to begin with theres not much to be done after the plant is half grown.

a good loose and deep compost rich soil will make a world of difference.

Time for a bump.

Okay, it's been almost a year to the day and I diligently looked for something I thought everyone would jump on, but didn't, so . . . .

Hop on down to the Home Depot and take about $6 with you. Use it to buy some "BT". This is a "bacillus" (wee beastie) in a bottle. All you do is mix it up according to the directions on the little, plastic bottle and then load it into a hand-held sprayer.

Spray your tomato plants every couple of weeks and those little bitty green worms that go from about 1/4 inch to 5 inches OVERNIGHT (because they have consumed your entire tomato patch!) will not live even a day.

Something in "BT" causes the caterpillars to lose their appetite and when they do, they also lose their life. It works like magic. You'll be glad you took the time to do this OR you'll be another victim of garden rage; your choice!

Every single morning. go out to your garden, stand in the middle of it, raise your hands and arms up and "Pledge un-dieing fealty to Mother Nature, and ask her to please give the damaging wind & hail, torrential rains and severe drought to someone else who is a less worthy gardener than you are." If she fails to respond in kind, call her every filthy name you can think of...won't help but you will feel better! :smiles:

Only three things:
1 location, location, location (sun, heat, water)
2 soil preparation, preparation, preparation (dig deep, compost, fertilize, mulch)
3 cage in
I put two plants in an 2 foot by 4 foot piece of ground between a south-facing brick wall and an asphalt driveway, next to an air conditioner - morning and afternoon sun, very hot in the summer in Indianapolis, no late afternoon sun (eaves and garage block it). I prepare the soil well, plant deep, put up cages, water deeply and drive away. Apparently the plants get a good deal of runoff rain from the driveway.
They become 8 ft plants and produce extremely well. My 100 year old aunt has to give most of them away.
These were always local nursery plants, mostly Early Girl. They're like iron.
The brick wall and the asphalt are heat sinks and keep the plants nice and warm during the nights. This also extends the season by just a little.
They had a couple of huge horn worms on them in September that got a few leaves but the worms had dozens of parasites sticking out of their backs and they dried up in no time.
Squirrels and chipmunks are all over but don't bother the tomatoes. The huge burr oak trees must keep them satisfied.
Since I live far away and can't tend the plants I have to have a fool-proof system and this works extremely well.

Okay, people keeping saying that tomatoes need a lot of sun but--don't get me wrong, that's absolutely true-- it also depends what zone your in. Here in Texas the sun is killer in the summer.
Too much sun (That's how the Beefsteaks I planted broke my heart!! It was so hot they suffered from blossom drop and wouldn't set fruit and I got no tomatoes from them!) is not good for the plants.
But if you live up north, try to get as much sun as possible. But if you live down here, too much sun--BAD!!
Sorry, I just wanted to add that. I hope I didn't make the northerners jealous with my "too much sun" ranting. Sorry.

As a nursery manager in central Texas one of the most common mistakes I see folks make every year is either planting too early or too late for their particular growing area. If from seed start 4 to 8 weeks before last average frost. Also here there are two growing seasons for tomatoes fall often being better than spring. Get local info for your area for best chances of a good production cycle and know that you can't learn it all in a season. There is always another chance to do better and always be willing to learn from others about ways to improve your cultural and variety selections.

Happy Growing David

don't order to many catalogs. It will only feed what will become an obsession.

Sumilea2008,
I'm also in Massachusetts. Here's my secret to success. I put a shovel-full of Vermont Compost Co. "Compost Plus" in the holes when planting the seedlings and they grow like crazy.
Lou

a shot of sumilea2008 balcony garden

In addition to all of the other good advice....

1) compost
2) learn a good staking/support technique; after 10 years I'm still trying to figure out how to stake 6 foot tall plants (those come from figuring out the compost thing)

"don't order to many catalogs. It will only feed what will become an obsession."
jwr6404,
You want obsession? Check out the "You Know You've Got TMD (Toato Madness Diease) When..." thread. It will make you laugh.
Big time.
For the tip:
Make a compost bin. Homemade compost can be one of the best things you can give to a tomato plant. It's very satisfying to make, too.

Plant in full sun.

I haven't grown tomatoes for very long, but I can attest to the importance of drainage, particularly in clay soils. Michigan has lots of clay, and growing tomatoes in it is like trying to grow them in a bathtub. They seem to do great until the fruit is about 5 days short of perfectly ripening, when they split and then rot on the vine before ripening. About the only solution I've found is to dig deep, mix in a tremendous amount of compost and organic matter like leaves and grass, and add enough extra soil to raise up the bed 8-12 inches. Even with these measures, I don't plant my tomatoes very deep, instead I run a shallow trench for the root ball and some of the stem.

Note that this is only for hard clay soil, to facilitate restricting water in the last few weeks before ripening. I've got a somewhat special case since I can dig down 12-18 inches and hit a solid layer of clay that ranges from 6-36+ inches thick. Even some of my neighbors have better soil, so I guess the lesson is, if you know you're going to be gardening, check the soil on any lot you plan to buy.

bump for good info

Don't plant tomatoes anywhere near black walnut trees.

To eliminate cut worms from destroying your tomato plants, we take a regular can (string beans, corn, etc), cut out both ends and place the can around the plant and the cut worm is not able to climb over the can and get the tomato plant.

I would be the first to agree that tomatoes love sun but that is relative.

There is a BIG difference between six hours of direct sun in Texas versus the upper peninsula of Michigan or Seattle (that is IF you can get six hours of sun a day in Seattle );o) ).

Here in Texas it does not bother me a bit to have my containers sitting in a portion of the yard that gives a little shade in either the morning or afternoon.

Yet another reason I like containers, they are mobile. If your plants are not doing well in one spot, move them.

This has been very informative. I am only a little discouraged by the recommendation of only buying nursery plants instead of starting from seed.
There are varieties I want ti try that the nurseries don't have. I have never found a heirloon tomato plant. I really want to start my own from seed this year. What is your best advice for starting from seed ?

Check the FAQ section on Seed starting and also the Winter Sow forum too! I would go for sowing some seeds and use the nursery, HD, Lowes, Wal-Mart plants as a back up.

George

Handy Link
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/cornucop/2000074322015400.html

Winter Sowing
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/wtrsow/

Here is a link that might be useful: Starting Tomatoes from Seed

Hi Chickenseed-
I am a complete newbie as well, and perhaps not in the place to give advice, BUT...perhaps my own blunders as a newbie will be helpful for you to know what not to do, and the experienced folks here can give you advice on what to do. :) (Hey, this is a good idea for a thread, but I bet if you search it, it has already been done, but I digress..)

First, I bought some seedlings from a local nursery (not Armstrong) in Jan. What on earth was I thinking? I'm in Southern California, but still...way too early. I'm growing out the plants as an experiment, but they suffered some pretty cold weather, so we'll see how much they produce. Moral of the story, whether from seed or nursery plant- don't start too soon!

Second- growing from seed: I have seedlings...YAY! BUT- they are leggy. I had my first batch too far from the lights. I just checked the second batch, and I have one with a little head poking out. : ) I didn't bottom heat, as I didn't have a pad, but I still managed to get them to sprout. I did the first batch in Jiffy Pots using Jiffy seed starter mix. I put them in a tray and covered with plastic wrap, venting for a short period every day to try and avoid mold. Almost every pot sprouted. (I had squash and zucchini seedlings as well.) My second batch I did in the Jiffy peat pellets with the greenhouse, still no bottom heat. (It's been really warm here, so your results may differ) I'm only on day 3, and as I said, I saw one little head popping up. :o)

As a newbie, all I can say is- don't get discouraged. There is so much information out there, and many people are successful using different methods. I went through a period for a day or two where I thought I should just give up, because there was just too many ways to fertilize, water, transplant, pot up/not pot up...it can make your head spin! I am just going to go with what I think will work for my area, and then learn from my mistakes for next year.

Lastly- I did find some heirloom plants at Armstrong, a local nursery. You may be able to find heirloom plants if you visit your local nurseries as well...I actually called them and they said they didn't carry any, but I went there anyway, and they had a great selection, go figure! You can find them as plants online as well, but I have to say, growing them from seed is very gratifying, and if I can get a plant started from seed to produce just a few tomatoes this year, I will be so excited! I'll expect more out of next season, but I am trying to be realistic and don't want to expect my plants to produce like those of an experienced gardener's.

There are many threads on starting from seed and great info in the FAQ's about it. Read as much as you can, and then you can start to ask specific questions on the forum, which will help guide you as you get started.

Good Luck!!!

;o)
~Angela

DON'T SMOKE around your maters! Tobacco, that is. Weed might be okay, but tobacco is a real NO-NO!

Store bought cages no bueno for me. CRW is my personal preference.

Not telling anyone else what to do but 5 gal. buckets work great for me.

Two most important things for me are:

MULCH MULCH MULCH MULCH

COMPOST COMPOST COMPOST

Everything & more has already been said, but i'll say a few items again. Don't over-water...in fact, i'd highly recommend moisture control soil (for containers) for a newbie & give them a good bit of sun. A lot of tomatoes also like warm nights, if you're not able to give them as much sun as you'd like. Hope this helps. =) Some basic things from an intermediate to a newb....lol

Won't aluminum foil around the base of the plant do the same as a can for deterring cut worms?

Why can't someone smoke around the 'maters? Will it produce tomacco?

"Won't aluminum foil around the base of the plant do the same as a can for deterring cut worms?"

Sure it should.

"Why can't someone smoke around the 'maters? Will it produce tomacco?"

Don't know about tomacco but I do know that smoking around tomatoe plants does not cause TMV, better known as Tobacco Mosaic Virus, or much of any other problems. NO..I'm not promoting smoking..but the truth is, tobacco can be used as a pest control and I've seen it effectively used as such. I've seen people use cigarette butts soaked in water, strained, and sprayed directly on tomatoes and many other vegetables, with great results.

Again, I'm not promoting smoking or this practice.

tomacco....lol...that's a good one

I would definitely recommend destroying any plant that appears seriously diseased. They say that of all farming, greenhouse tomatoes can be the most risky with disease easily spreading like wildfire from plant to plant.

Even outdoors there are some diseases that spread easily. Many viruses spread from a single aphid bite or similar.
Once the plant is infected the virus is brought into the aphid through feeding and then injected into the next plant, destroying the whole crop.

Many diseases do not spread this easily, but some definitely do like the tobacco mosaic virus that can be spread by a single smoker's touch.

I don't mean to be an alarmist, a large number of tomato plants catch some disease or another through the season, most still deliver a suitable crop. But virus diseases seem to spread easily, better to be safe than sorry. Perhaps it makes sense to plant a few backup plants in 1 gal containers, use them to replace the plants that you pull up.

Glad to find this blog. I'm a real newbie, should I plant marigolds with my tomatoes? Can I plant a couple of bell pepper plants, as well? I am planting in a half wine barrel on a sunny deck.

Nice to see this thread revived.

Yes to marigolds, I believe. They're a good natural pesticide.

You can probably get away with a bell pepper or two, but you might be crowding the tomato, which as you can see from earlier comments in this thread, requires a very large container. I would imagine you wouldn't want more than one or two indeterminate tomatoes in a half barrel.

General Tips, both of them relating to the notion over-loving is often worse than under-loving:

Don't over-fertilize. I'm of the belief that people often do more harm than good when it comes to chemical fertilizers. Too much can really burn the plant. Too high a nitrogen percentage, and you'll grow some wonderfully lush green, leafy plants with no fruit on them. Amend the soil with lot's of organic matter before planting, and then overdress with more compost or whatever from time to time.

Avoiding over-watering: Grab a spade or use your hand to dig a small hole 6 or so inches deep. Is the soil still moist? Don't water. Tomatoes like to be watered deeply and then left until just before the earth starts to dry out. They don't like to be constantly wet.

I'm the original poster of this thread from last year. I'm surprised to see that its still here WoW! I forgot my p/w so re-registered a new user name. The Good news is, me and my wife were offered a Community Garden plot so we have more room to grow stuff than our little balcony garden from last year. I'm sure I'll have new newbee questions to add to the thread. Glad to see all the Pro's are still here!

Good Gardening Everyone!

Sumi & Lea

Newbie Tip, one unfortunately learned the hard way by me...lol: Don't frickin grow Indeterminate varieties in hanging baskets. They will break, bend & you'll have them tied up with 17 different pieces of string & staked with 9 pieces of bamboo by the end of the year! =)

Never can figure out why folks keep trying to plant tomato plants in pots made for snapdragons or petunias

Well, because you have extremely limited surface area, the desire for a billion varieties of tomatoes but only one mouth to feed, and a dad who gives you large quantities of free spackle buckets :-P

I stumbled on to this thread and am so grateful.
I am growing 8 plants in 4 whiskey barrels ( I realize I should have just got 4 plants for four barrels)
In barrel 1: Sungold Cherry which is now 3ft tall with fruit. I have a Big Beef that isn't quite as tall but does have fruit.
Barrel 2: 'Patio' hybrid has fruit but is only 12" tall :(, a Big Beef that has fruit.
Barrel 3: Brandywine that is 4ft tall with tons of foliage but no fruit, 'cherokee purple' 18" with fruit.
barrel 4: Roma 10" with fruit and goldenrave (yellow roma) 2ft tall but really sagging down, has small fruit.
Any advice would be helpful, Should I prune back that brandywine?
I was worried about over watering but now that we have some warmer weather I think I might need to water more. I think I planted at the end of April, so I am about 60 days in.
Thanks for any help,
April

Make sure your plants have stakes or cages that will handle the vines when they are 2 or 3 times the current height.

I'll let someone else address the Brandywine issue.

The link at the end of this post gives url's of several good tomato databases, as well as two books about tomato varieties which you might want to look for at your local public library or bookstore.

Re. Patio Hybrid, some quotations from various databases and vendors:

=====
Patio F1 Hybrid
Determinate

The very compact plants, about two feet tall, are a very reliable producer of lots of tomatoes the size of tennis-balls (or larger), and have attractive dark green foliage. Although the plants are determinate, they produce so many tomatoes that the sheer weight of the fruit may pull the plants over, so it's best to give them some support - a stake or two will suffice. Tomatoes are ripe in about 70 days after transplanting out.

=====
Hybrid. Early small salad tomato with red, 4-ounce, tennis-ball-sized (or larger) fruit. Dwarf, 2-foot plants developed for bedding and containers with dark green, bushy, potato-leaf foliage.

Days To Maturity: 50-70

=====
Photos of Patio Hybrid, and more comments:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/30768/

Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0622294625839.html?3

pick the right buckets and container if you decide to have hanging tomatoes or plant them in container.

learn how to make your own tomatoes fertilizers

Here is a link that might be useful: Homemade-tomato-fertilizer

howdy guys!
ive just joined. alot of info here. thx. some were talking about growing in containers. the size does really matter. containers is all ive used the last 8 or 10 yrs until this yr. ive put 6 in the ground out of some 40 plants and i still have the best plants in my containers. ive use storage containers that you buy at any wal mart or lowes. mine are, i think, 18 or 20 gallon ones.
i use bought topsoil and potting soil mixed. and something else i found that my plants really love. if youve got any pecan trees growing around. especially the older ones. take a shovel and add this rich topsoil to your plants. it works wonders! as for support, i use 6 to 8 ft. fencing for cages. i also cut square holes in the cages for access to the maters.
for fertilizing, i used to use the old standbys, such as miracle grow and peters. they are good but im finding that algoflash is tops. yellow leaves turn back to their lush green and i had one plant really laid down, days later it was back up and growing big time. i think ill stick with algo flash for the seeable future.
again , glad to meet you all and GOD bless!

bump - too good to lose

Hi Digdirt! Glad to see you bumped my original thread. I forgot the password to my original account. Boy did i learn a lot from this thread.

I uploaded a few of my Garden updates to youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxG3-QfzVWA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IThWbnj4sRg