nbm, thanks for sharing your garden pictures.

You have some impressive varieties, nice and productive tomatoes plants.

And what is more, you are there by having almost ripe fruits.

On the Indigo variety : Last year I had one Indigo Rose. The taste was on the tangy side. This year I have added Indigo Apple, which is more productive but have not yet tasted anything.

Okay. Who is next to show her/his August garden ?

Sey

Beautiful tomatoes.

NBM:. Your leaves look so dark. Are you growing in pots? What kind of fertilizer.

One more question:. Do yo have stink bugs to contend with?

I think it might just be lighting, Janice. I have shade cloth covering my garden because of our nasty severe weather here (some areas around me get 6-8 hailstorms per year - we're often lucky and only get one or two). The first photos of the Stump of the World do have very dark foliage - I've often found the potato leaf varieties, which SOTW is, have darker foliage than regular leaf varieties. I grow in containers almost exclusively - Earthboxes (which the tomatoes in the photos are growing in) and whiskey barrels and 5-gallon buckets. I deal with very few bug issues, probably because of our very arid climate, though there is evidence of tobacco worm damage on two of my plants. It's not overly serious yet, but if I find more damage tomorrow morning, I will be spraying both plants with BT.

Eggplants are what's up in my garden at the moment! Lots and lots of eggplants.

And now that the temps have been down to average ranges after weeks of excessive heat, tomatoes are finally ripening.

NBM - Those tomatos look awesome and your plants look really healthy and happy. What potting mix do you use in your cointainers? What kind of nutrients do you use?

Thanks folks for writing about your August garden and other comments.

My garden is about the same except the maters are getting bigger an more are being set. Yesterday I was trying to do some pruning to keep things down to size. Where I see a new growth just under a truss I nip it so the energy goes to the truss.. Also just cut excessive branches that are growing like weed with no fruits on them.

I also did some lightening up on the shaded and lower leaves for better air flow.

Sey

WOW Sey. We planted our plants out on almost the same day. My plants probably have another month or so before I pull them and start my fall greens. I got my first tomato May 29. You are still all green, even with the same varieties as me. Amazing. My son and I harvested 80 pounds yesterday from 45 plants. My Fall palnting is now even producing.

Hang in the Sey. Your patience is soon to be rewarded.

To this point, I'm having an excellent season! All of my peppers have been early and very productive this year.... same with just about everything. My tomatoes are ripening just a bit later than normal for me, but I'm finally picking the early varieties faster than I can eat them. :) Mostly Sun Gold, Taxi, and Stupice --- it's always a race on which will ripen first, but they're always within a couple days of each other. Taxi is especially tasty this year!

ncrealestateguy WOW Sey. We planted our plants out on almost the same day

-----------------------------

Yeah. For some reason the plants did not grow their early flowers. The nubs stay there and still they are there. Even the tooth brush did not help.

Then the second wave started growing. I can only attribute this to cool weather. Listen to this : Our high today will be 69F. This ain't no Carolina. hehe

sey

Nice tomato pictures!

I am starting a new season in my garden....

Silvia

Garden becoming difficult to tame, as is usual by this time each season.

As of August 06, 2016.

Hall of Tomatoes:

Bucket forest:

Red Pear Piriform:

Brandywine Cowlick's:

Stump of the World (x2):

1884:

Dr. Wyche's Yellow:

Micro Gold (x3 + 10 volunteers):

And then the harvests from 08/07/16 and 08/08/16:

nbm, you have some of the healthiest and productive plants that I see up there. That tells me you know how to do it. And your harvest is equally impressive and colorful.

I am going to hold on taking pictures until there is some color break. Today I was doing some tying, pruning. I noticed a lot more tomatoes hidden in the foliage and they are growing. I saw some tomatoes turning very light green. That is an indication that some color should appear soon.

Okay, everybody, show off your garden !

Sey

Nice varieties and haul, Mat.

What are the name of the varieties in the picture ?

Sey

nbm1981 - Great looking garden! Could you please tell me where you got the netting that you have over the top of your plants?

Cindy

Beautiful tomatoes Matthew. Well done.

I don't have much ripening yet, only matina and sungold. They are all getting big. I used string reels to grow the plants on, but without any of the lower tomatoes being ripe yet I cant really drop the plants. The plants I grew in cages are an overgrown mess. Everything else I planted around the yard was deer food

overgrown caged tomatoes

You guys make me sick! Your pics really belong in a gardening magazine or something. hahaha. Just when I think I am doing OK...I see your gardens. The bottom 2 feet of most of my plants are brown and withered. I think early blight was the culprit...but I am still learning. I trimmed up my plants...but maybe not high enough. Not sure. Congrats on great looking gardens. I know they were a lot of work.

In the above picture, Sey, are Pink Girl, Early Girl, Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Green, Mortgage Lifter, Pineapple, Mr Stripey, Black Prince and Black Brandywine, which I must say has been my favorite this year, very productive and incredible flavor balance of sweetness and acidity.

Thanks, Mat.

I have grown most of them. I would like to try Black Brandywine. Sounds very good to me.

Sey

Hey ya'll...........your tomato plants have green leaves on them! Is that normal?? haha I got a terrible mid-summer leaf spot on all mine and all their leaves are dried and brown, except for a little tuft of green ones on top.. But I'm still getting the best harvest ever from them! In fact, I can't keep up. I'm lucky their fruit was growing before the leaf spot hit and doesn't seem to have affected the tomatoes.

Maybe next year I'll grow varieties that have green leaves. ;)

nbm1981 - Great looking garden! Could you please tell me where you got the netting that you have over the top of your plants?

Cindy

Hey Cindy:

I am pretty sure I ordered it from CATALOG CLEARANCE. It's either the 10'x100' unfinished or 12'x100' unfinished 30% shade (70% sun). Either way, they're easily the best prices I could find anywhere online. I must've purchased the 10'x100' because I remember paying right around $130 with shipping and applicable taxes, if there were any, but it covers my long and narrow garden PERFECTLY.

I purchased it for hail protection more than anything and it has worked great for that purpose.

8-10-2016

I was doing some pruning and took few picture.

There were a lot more tomatoes that camera could not see clearly. Nothing beats human eyes.

Sakharnyi Z ( Golden yellow)

Black Frm Tula

Some determinant mixed

My first harvest. Yeah , it is mini. hehe

front, cherries: Indigo Apple, Tidy Treats (red), Hahms Glebe (yellow)

The rest : Silvery Fir Tree (4 )

Only the beginning. I see some faint color breaks here and there

Sey

That is a nice collection Sey.

My Fall plants just started to take off the past couple days even with all the rain we have been having.

Black Krim

Pruden's Purple

Mortgage Lifter

RIP I forgot what variety you were

Same here Pcola. Here are some photos of our 2nd crop started from cuttings the end of June. We staggered them and are experimenting this year to see how late in the year we can get ripe tomatoes at an affordable cost - we'll see. These are Brandy Boy.

The last Brandy Boys planted this fall started from cuttings the first of August

and Big Beef started from cuttings the last week of June

Since the heatwave has broken, I will be planting some fall tomatoes. They are always the biggest gamble of the year.

Good luck, Nate !

Are you buying plants or starting your own ?

Sey

First Ripe Brandy Boy on our 2nd crop - Awesome Taste!!

Well, it's August 27, 2016, and many of us are quickly approaching the end of the summer garden season. Our local long range forecast is calling for a very warm and dry fall, but that doesn't mean we can't still get a sneaky frost. The earliest frost in my area is September 3. It's shocking to think that's only one week from today, especially considering the beautifully warm/hot season we were fortunate enough to have. The next week promises high temperatures between 85 and 90 with lows in the mid-upper 50s. Perfect for continued garden production heading into September.

With that said, below are photos from my garden as of today's date. I've had only very minor issues with tobacco hornworms (found some defoliation and a few tomatoes with damage, but never located the culprits) and some plants are only now showing signs of fatigue. My plants really start going downhill once we begin having low temperatures regularly below 50 - normally around mid-September.

Many of the large heirlooms that have already produced fruit well in excess of one pound continue to produce huge tomatoes. I normally get my largest fruit from the first half-dozen or so that set, with increased production but smaller fruit following for the rest of the season. Unusual for me, this season the tomatoes have consistently gotten larger and larger. I expect one or two will reach close to two pounds, particularly fruit on the 1884.

Hall of Tomatoes:

Bucket Forest:

Stump of the World (x2):

Brandywine Cowlick's:

1884:

Dr. Wyche's Yellow:

Red Pear Piriform:

Uncle Mark Bagby:

Yaqui:

Thanks for sharing all the photos NBM1981, you have an amazing looking garden. I hope to someday be able to grow tomatoe plants that look that good. This was my first year trying to grow a garden. Overall, I was successful, my second planting of tomatoes are almost ready to plant. I'm hoping to get some fruit before winter comes along. I also grow in containers, you mind telling me what kind of potting mix and fertilizing schedule you use?

Kevin

My seedlings (20days old) and transplants (planted out 1 month ago)

This is what happening in my garden this late August. Lots of tomatoes.

Big CP protected from possible squirrel attack.

Unknown dark... similar to CP

Black from Tula

A mix >> willamette and Oregon Spring

And indigos

Sey

More beautiful tomatoes. Thanks for sharing all of those pics. I am at the same stage as Pcola, trying to grow my first fall planting.

Sey, your tomatoes look awesome! Lots of very nice looking and sizable fruit about to be harvested!

Pcola, I have 12 Earthboxes (which are FANTASTIC) and 12 self-watering 5-gallon buckets (4th season almost over and they're still holding up beautifully) that are assembled with fertilizer for the entire season in a strip at the top of the growing medium and beneath the mulch covers. I've used both regular 10-10-10 and organic fertilizers over the past couple of years and find the 10-10-10 works the best for these applications. I really like gardening with self-watering containers because, other than keeping an eye on the watering system (making sure nothing is leaking or drip lines haven't come out) and tying up the plants as they grow, there are no weeds and hardly any other maintenance the entire season. It's a lot of work in the spring, but probably not any more than someone else with comparable in-ground space. Other people's experiences will vary, but it's what works for me.

I also have melons, cucumbers, squash/zucchini, strawberries and fruit trees growing in 14 whiskey barrels, as well as some other fruiting plants in the ground, and I use organic potting mix/nutrients for those since they're easier to apply and don't have a mulch cover on them.

Another vote for self-watering containers!

These are the tips of "dwarf" tomatoes growing in earthboxes, through the top of the awning over my deck.

Some peppers in various containers, some diy self-watering , some Gardener's Supply.

And some figs...

Finally I am harvesting some.

sey

Worth the wait! When do you consider your season done?

I will be away for two weeks, and don't know how to prioritize. A co-worker shares my concern, but about elderly family in nursing homes, so......

Nanelle, It depends on how the weather will be. Last couple of years my season lasted well into mid October.

Sey

I think that second example is called "concentric cracking". I've read longitudinal cracking is related to watering, leading to stretching, leading to cracking, then healing, but I think some tomatoes are just prone to the concentric type.

How to Reduce Cracking

I put a small Big Beef, and a Cherokee Purple in the ground last week. Now it is a gamble on when the first frost will happen.