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RE: Now Growing: The Dutchman • An Heirloom Tomato with a Good Story
Thanks for sharing! I have never tried growing Dutchman (never even heard of it). Will definitely try this next year. I also love Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Most of my seeds are purchased from them. A great company to support. Do you mind sharing your secrets to growing great, huge, flavorful tomatoes? What are some of your personal favorite varieties?
⚡️that is the spark that started the bonfire, @thelaundrylady! I'd be glad to share and I'm glad you asked! I love Baker Creek as well, I even buy their "big book" catalog because I'm a sucker for gorgeous design - their catalogs are award winners! I come from a background in media creation and design, so I really love to see that bar held high.
Last year we grew about 21 varieties of tomato and was my first full season with some of the strains. That list included: Abe Lincoln, Atkinson, Black Krim, Box Car Willie, Brandywine (pink), Calypso, Caribe, Cherokee Purple, Creole, Delicious, Floradade, Homestead, Marion, Money Maker, Mortgage Lifter, Pineapple, Purple tomatillo, and a few others by request. The only hybrid I keep around in the garden is the Super Sweet Cherry 100 variety, a prolific yielding cherry tomato plant.
My favorites to grow are also the crowd favorites (maybe because I spend more time with them..lol), but the Box Car Willie is one that I am going heavy on this year - we loved this variety last season! I am a fan of Brandywine as well - the Pink Brandywine is the original (if it does not say pink it is generally the original/pink).
The 'Delicious' variety was a World Record Setter at one time, producing a 7+ lb tomato! And yes, it is delicious! I try to grow some from all regions because our weather here in Maryland is unpredictable. Some of these strains that are tolerant of harsh Siberian climates last well into Fall here and do not stop flowering at first frost.
Secrets to growing BIG, delicious tomatoes:
• Beefsteak varieties are great for size - Mortgage Lifter, Delicious, Brandywine, Pineapple are my favorites and not only grow large fruits but are top-notch flavor as well.
• Soil is key! Tomatoes are heavy feeders - I experiment with organic supplements and nutrients like kelp and micronutrients. Lots of Phosphorous and Potash!
• Bigger Roots = Bigger Fruits - tomatoes like to search deep into the soil for nutrients and they like to spread out their roots. I try to plant my plants when they are nearly 3 ft tall - planting about 24"-30" below the soil line. Burying the stem below soil will encourage root growth / more roots = more fruits.
• Support! Indeterminate varieties need something to lean or climb on. I use several techniques, but any kind of support is better than none. You will need to have something that can hold the weight of massive fruits. Most garden tomato cages can't hold 50 lb of tomatoes ;)
• Keep main stems/leader branches to a maximum of 3 or 4. Prune off sucker growth below the first set of flowers, being sure not to cut the branch below the new growth (it alters the hormones and can stunt growth cycle). I pluck off these growths to allow nutrients to flow to the fruits. If you want larger fruits, simply prune and leave the larger, fast growing ones. Too many flowers will make the plant struggle to uptake the nutrients provided.
• Stress training! Tapping and bending the seedlings, blowing a fan on them helps to strengthen the herd. I also use techniques where I bend or crush the inner herd and it essentially multiplies the channels for nutrient uptake. Think of it like expanding the lanes of a highway = wider road can have more lanes of cars. Same idea. This can take some experimenting and mistakes, so proceed with caution.
• Watering is key - later in the season I tend to water much less and I allow the plants to dry out a bit. I think the tomatoes have much more flavor during that time they are seeking water (instead of being fed it). Many growers also attest that this technique produces more flavor, but it depends on the variety.
I am always happy to chat about gardening, so do hesitate to ask! Sorry for the wall of text. I hope some of it is helpful. I will have to make a post about some other techniques that I need to use photos to illustrate. Thanks for dropping by and I wish us both a healthy, happy season ahead!!
I just want to make sure you know I truly appreciate your patience and willingness to share your experience with great details! So many of the tomato varieties you mentioned I have not tried. I read your reply over and over just to make sure I am getting everything you wrote. It would really be great if you make a post someday with photos showing the knowledge you have gained. I am always eager to learn. You mentioned in your reply "prune off sucker growth below the first set of flowers, being sure not to cut the branch below the new growth (it alters the hormones and can stunt growth cycle)." This is the part I can't seem to understand. I prune off suckers , but not sure what "being sure not to cut the branch below the new growth" means. Have I been doing it wrong the last 6 years? Tomato is the thing I may or may not get from my garden every year. I only plant about 20 tomato plants every season. Two out of 6 seasons, I had something that killed all my tomato plants one by one before the first crop even matures. I know I still have a lot of learning to do especially when it comes to tomato. Thank you for being so very kind and offer to help if I have questions! Hope you have a record breaking harvest this season.
My pleasure, @thelaundrylady! I love what I do and love to share it - it is how I learned just about everything! I was fortunate to have people in my life that embedded the love of gardening in my life and without passionate people sharing what they know, I would be lost.
I will put together some helpful resources I have collected over the years and share. I have material that is not often shared with home gardeners - I have a plethora of ebooks and PDFs that are published for commercial growing. I've got my son's soccer game in just a few, but I'll be back on this afternoon and I'd be glad to further elaborate on the pruning technique. I'll be back in a bit 😉
Can't wait!
Sorry for the delay, life happened 😋 but I have been really thinking about our discussion and made some media:
I went digging through my garden photos from last year and I realized I made so much stuff that I could write a dozen posts..haha
I decided to make a few posts (working on them now!) and I will certainly attribute you as the motivator for doing so. I have a ton of resources that can help the average gardener and even commercial growers, so I figure I might as well put that into a few posts.
You get the sneak preview of some quick visual references that I made for the posts.
When planting tomato plants: if the plants are showing blooms/flowers before you plant - you can trim all the foliage and branches off up to the first set of flowers (the node or "Y" where the flowers begin). You can actually bury the plant much deeper if you do that and allow for a strong root system to develop.
I'll drop the links and some other resources in here as I compile and organize them so you can find them for future reference (until the hivemind update comes out / notifications feature coming soon 😉)
Hey never apologize to me. I have taken up more of your time than I should. I think I finally understand what you were referring to on your previous comment with your picture here. I am very excited to read your future post! I need all the help I can get with growing tomatoes. Thanks again!
I enjoy it and I thank you for your time. I made a post and it ended up about 5k words, so it is two long posts now..lol
Part 1:
https://steemit.com/gardening/@grow-pro/grow-and-tell-w-grow-pro-how-to-increase-your-tomato-yield-using-steemit-part-2-growandtell
and look for Part 2 tomorrow morning if your eyes aren't burning 😆
I really appreciate the support and hopefully, many of our fellow Steemit gardeners find you. It's a pleasure to have you here on Steemit, so if there is anything you need help with or have questions about - launch 'em over the fence at me anytime!
Keep Steemin'N'dreamin'
You will need to write way more for my eyes to burn, lol. I read your garden posts over and over (minimum of 5 times) to make sure I don't miss anything.
Thanks for tagging me on your post. First time anyone tags me on here. I feel special :)