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Growing Tomatoes

July - too late to start another?

12 years ago

I'm a first year novice tomato gardener growing a few plants in pots on the patio - enthusiastically I might say but with mixed results. I cut down a Big Boy which got a bad case of blight; and have had better luck with a Better Bush which is producing nicely. I also have a pink Brandywine which is growing great leaves and blossoms but with no tomatoes! Oh well... I'm having fun.

My question: Is it too late to start another tomato plant in mid-July - if not, what variety? I know this sounds snarky...

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Comments (8)

mojavebob
12 years ago
I think it's worth a shot if you're enthusiastic. I just put a Sungold cutting in the ground. A cutting is better than a seedling is better than germinating seed for this purpose. I'd probably avoid starting seed in late July. A lot of people growing a fall crop plant right at the first of August. I assume that's a well developed young plant. If you can find an early determinate you'll increase your chances of a decent yield from such a late start. Good luck.
socks
12 years ago
I really don't know, but I just ripped out a Roma bush with lots of tomatoes because they were awful tomatoes. Put in a Razzleberry. I don't know anything about your zone but you may have a long growing season like we do (me and Mojavebob). Hey, nothing ventured nothing gained is what I say. It's the way we learn too. Go for it! Like you say, we're having fun.
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Ditto on the comments by Chris, regarding bush snaps. There is still plenty of time left to plant. Last year, I put in bush beans over the July 4th weekend, and froze enough beans to last through the winter. That took a lot of beans... winters are long here. ;-) With your more favorable climate, Daisyjoy, nothing is out of reach at this point. You should be able to plant any beans you wish until somewhere around the end of June, and bush beans for at least most of July. To put things in perspective, I am just now planting my beans in Wisconsin, and I expect to get dry seed for most of them before frost. You may find that you get better germination in the later plantings, since the soil is warmer than it was when you first planted.
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Sorry Josh. I didn't phrase my question correctly in the first post which is why I added this. "Will they grow upwards after being put in new pots at this late stage or will they just remain at the same height?" oregonwoodsmoke - I have been checking the soil to make sure they need the water. We were experiencing a period of extremely hot and sunny days that were drying them out very quickly so they were getting two small portions of water a day. The weather has been more dreary the last couple of days so they're currently getting a break. I thought I had read that a 7 inch pot would be okay for the jalapeno and cayenne peppers. They seem to be doing quite well so far anyway. I have one of the bell peppers in a 5 liter pot now so I'm waiting to see if this makes a difference before I move the others.
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platys
12 years ago
I'm planting a stupice and a tigerella tonight in five gallon buckets. I found a person giving them away, and figured that it wouldn't hurt to try. I figure stupice will have time, but I doubt tigerella will. It's more of an experiment with the 5 gallon buckets for next year.
tn_veggie_gardner
12 years ago
I don't think it's too late for a Cherry variety. =) I started some of my "Monster Cherry Tomato" seeds as a test (didn't ferment for this test, but will with the rest of the seeds I save). I started them about a week & 1/2 ago and the plants are already 3 or so inches tall! Anyways, I guess i'll find out if it was too late to start them.
opal52
12 years ago
I'm in metro Atlanta. I think it may be a little late to start new tomato plants. We can see frost in mid to late October and overnight temps can turn cold. We were seeing morning temps in the 30's by the end of Oct. last year.

That said, seems to me we most often don't see heavy frost before mid November. And with the crazy weather we have been having over the past few years, if may turn out this year that November acts more like May. We had cherry tomatoes bearing nicely into December a couple years ago. No harm in trying especially if it's just for fun. You may get lucky.
azruss
12 years ago
If you can find a seedling, preferably a reasonably early one (70 DTM or fewer)that is reasonably cold tolerant why not give it a shot? Stupice, Cold Set, Matina, Bloody Butcher are a few examples.
tn_veggie_gardner
12 years ago
Yea...true...I wouldn't (and am not for my test) start mater plants right now for your main ones, but if it's just for fun or for a test of sorts, go for it. =)
star_stuff
12 years ago
Also zone 7 here~ if I had more containers and more room, I would definitely take a nice cutting and see what happens. I would choose a relatively compact, cold tolerant variety, in a container, and would haul it inside in the event of an early freeze in October. Our average overnight low temperatures don't get into the 30s until mid November (but that's just averages). :-)

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