I know this goes against what you are suppose to do, but I've been putting them in my greenhouse. They are in direct sunlight and it gets around 90 degrees in there. There's a roof vent that kicks on when the temp gets up there and it seems to keep it from getting real hot. Usually takes 2 -3 days and they are ripe enough to process. I always pick mine when they start turning orange or else the bugs get most of them. The paste type I just put in boxes - this is what they look like when I pick them And this is 2 -3 days later. Paste type are quite firm so they don't get squished like the bigger ones would. In each batch, I usually end up with a handful of really green ones (picking mistakes) but they all ripen up nicely. I'm hoping the weather holds a few more weeks - while the paste type are about done, the big eating ones are just getting started. I'm in south central SD. Cathy

Hello, I'm new to the forum, and a relatively inexperienced gardener but eager to learn :-) Just need a little help --- Just moved here to South Florida from San Francisco Bay Area. Big difference in climate! Very hot and humid at this time of year. Trying to adjust to learning about the new zone, plant varieties which work, and pests/diseases, treatments. Got a Big Beef Hybrid Tomato in a pot on my patio (which I was planning on transplanting in August after we move nearby to a home with a big yard :-) First few weeks, noticed hornworms and treated with seven dust (anyone know of an organic alternative to that in this area?). The seven worked and it perked right up for a few weeks with lots of growth. Even started getting a few blossoms. This week, it took a bad turn and started having brown wilty leaves, bottom foot of the plant. I figured out online that it's probably fusarium wilt? At the bottom of this post is a link to a site which has photos of fusarium wilt. I think it looks pretty close to what my plant is looking like right now. Everything I've read seems to recommend discarding the plant, and not replanting in the same soil. Is there any way to save the plant that anyone knows of? I was thinking of seeing if gently rinsing the root system of all soil and then replanting in new soil would heal it. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance to the forum members --- Here is a link that might be useful: Fusarium and Verticillium Wilts of Tomato, Potato, Pepper, and Eggplant

Are you watering enough? As the plants grow bigger, sets fruit, and the days get hotter you might have to give them more water - when you water. Don't water more often just give them more water when you water. Also, do you do a deep watering once a week? Let the water come out slow so that it really soaks down deep. I heard it said once, "You cannot water too much when you water, but you can water too often". This has worked out very well for me. Since I started doing this about six ago BER has been a thing of the past. I know that BER has to do with calcium not getting to the fruit. Personally, I believe watering too often interferes with this process in some way. But I am no expert in that, perhaps someone who has a better understanding of the physiological processes could better explain it if I am off base here. It does help that I live in SoCal where we get so little rain. This helps me control when to water and how much water the plants get. When I deep water my plants I turn the water on just enough to keep a little pool of water in my water well. Just to the point that the soaking in does not cause the pool to get any larger or to disappear. I do this for about 20 min for each plant. Since it has gotten to be in the mid 90's and the plants are a lot bigger and putting on lots of fuit I am going to kick it up to 25min to 30 min one day a week. I water one other day during week, just not as deep. If you start this at the beginnig of the season you will help the plant develop deep roots, which is important for a couple of reasons. First deep water does not evaporate like it does in the top 4"-5" of the soil. Also, if the roots are shallow then they are subject to getting overheated by being too close to the surface. Tomatoes like their roots to be cool and moist. Both of these conditions are met if you can get the roots to go deep. Tomato plants can have roots as deep as 5' if there is enough moisture down deep. Roots go where the food and water is, so deep water often so the roots can go as deep as they want. Another thing, the roots of the tomato plant will extend nearly 18"-24" out from the stem. YOu have to provide enough volume for the water to be able to go both out and down. Finally, do you mulch? Mulch helps to keep the soil temp down. If your mulch is thick enough the top of the soil will be nice and cool. Mulch also helps the soil retain moisture. I have a 2" to 3" layer of grass clippings for my mulch. The layer is not so thick that it causes heat from composting and as the clippings decay they add nitrogen to the soil in the process. I learned that if I make the water well for each tomato plant about 30" in diameter this works very well. I put set the cages on bricks evenly spaced (about four) around the base so they are not sitting in the water. Each well is about 2" deep and I have the mulch inside the well. The mulch goes to about 3" from the stem. You want to try and keep the stem as dry as possible so don't pile up the mulch around the base. The mulch will retain moisture and if it is piled up around the stem it can cause fungal problems. But mulch does help keep rain and watering splash from hitting the bottom leaves, which is also helpfrull in preventing fungal problems. Try and water the plants at the base, not using an overhead sprinkler. This helps keep the leaves dry which helps control fungal problems. Water in the morning when the soil temp is at is lowest. Just some thoughts. Happy Gardening, Tom P.S. Yellowing leaves is normal to some extent. When plants begin to set fruit some bottom leaves will yellow. The yellowing (of a few leaves) is an indication that the plant is now setting fruit. Also, some leaves just yellow as the season progresses. You have to watch and make sure the yellowing does not seem to be greater that what you think should be happening. Don't ask me what "should" means, that is something you will learn as get more experience growing tomtoes. But, even though some leaves yellow the overall look of the plant should look healthy and new foliage is continuing to be added each day. As long as when you look at the plant it still looks green and not yellow. I would suggest you not pick all the suckers. The extra foliage will shade the tomatoes and help prevent sun scald. You will get a greater yield which will give you a reason to meet some of the neighbors that you might not have met yet, or you can become very popular at work or church. If the plant begins to get too tall for you, you can pick the suckers off the top leaders which will prevent it from growing any taller. Suckers will continue to grow at the lower parts which will continue to add shade for the Toms as they grow. There is a misconception that letting the suckers stay on the plant will somehow take energy away from the main stem. This is false. Each stem (this includes the suckers too) produces enough foliage to take care of all it's own needs for all the fruit it produces. None of the suckers steal anything from the original stem and fruit.

Thanks, Annie. I might try some determinate tomatoes next spring and see what happens, but I have very little experience with canning - basically only with fig preserves. Here is the rye bread recipe I made that I think is very good with tomatoes: Rye Bread with Caraway and Fennel 1-1/2 pound loaf (approx.): 2 tbsp caraway seeds 1 tbsp fennel seeds 1-1/2 cups water 2 tbsp onion powder (can substitute 1/4 cup pureed onion) 1-1/8 cups dark rye flour 1-7/8 cups bread flour 2 tbsp semolina flour 2 tbsp VWG 2 tbsp brown sugar 1-1/2 tsp salt 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp IDY Grind caraway seeds and fennel seeds in a coffee grinder that is used only for spices. Add the seeds to the water (I use a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup) and microwave for one minute. Stir and microwave 20 more seconds, and then add the onion powder (or pureed onion if you are using that). If using pureed onion instead of onion powder, you can reduce the water by 2 tablespoons. Allow the ground seeds to sit in the warm water until the water has cooled to about 100 degrees. Meanwhile, add the flours, wheat gluten, sugar, and salt to the bread machine pan and stir gently with a plastic spatula. Add the oil to this mixture and stir slightly. Insert pan into the machine and lock in place. When the seeds have soaked for at least 15 minutes, add the seed/water mixture to the bread machine pan. Close the lid and add the yeast to the yeast dispenser. Set the machine for small loaf (1-1/2 pounds), medium crust, and regular loaf, or you can use the pizza setting if you want to shape the loaf yourself. Start the machine. When the bread is done, remove from pan and rub all sides with butter, and then allow the loaf to cool on a wire rack before storing it in a bag. Wait at least one hour before slicing. These directions are for the Panasonic bread machine that I have, and so you may have to adjust them if you have a different machine. The bread has a very intense flavor, and so you can cut back on the seeds/onion, but I like with a strong flavor. It is not as versatile as plain bread, but it makes great sandwiches. Grainlady gave me the suggestion to soak the seeds first, so that they will not cut the gluten strands, I think. Anyway, the loaf came out nice and light - not dense at all. Lars