A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 TOMATO

Hello Everyone,

Last year was my first year growing anything, so I picked, tomato's. Well regardless of how easy they usually are to grow, I did a lousy job!!! I dont know if it was the type of tomato seed I bought, or my lousy taking care of! but I need to know, what kind of seed will give me a Huge, Nice, Don't care if its ugly, Tomato????? I thought thats what I bought last year, but it wasn't. There were really Little!!! Remember, I don't really know what I am doing, so please keep that in mind....


ninni

Hi Ninni!!!

Huge Tomatoes that I grow are Beefsteak and
Beefmasters..but the plants can be 6ft or more...

I love Celebraties for taste and they are a
nice sandwich sized, like a tennis ball sort of..

But there's a ton of Tomatoe growers here,
I know you'll get more response's on other varieties..

I know Bigboy and Julianna/Tomatofreak are really in to tomatoes..
Julianna does alot of heirloom one's too....

I always grow Brandywine Tomatoes and they are a large tomato and very good. They are are a non hybrid, so you can save seed from year to year. And some are ugly looking, but doesn't change the taste LOL. They get very tall and bushy, the leaves look like potato leaves. They produce well even if negelected, I had aphids take over them one year and still had a good harvest in spite of it, but the only thing that is the real pain is picking those green horn worms off at a certain time of year, picking them off is not the problem its finding them that is the pain. If you want to try some of these I have ALOT of extra seeds, just PM me with your address and I'll send you some.

Sounds like you should stick with hybrids for their improved yields and disease resistance. Try varieties like Big Beef, Beefmaster or Burpee's Supersteak for instance.

Thanks for everyones Input, it is definitely Needed! LOL!! About the Worms, Last year, I didnt have ANY worms, I'm not even sure what those green worms are that you guys are talking about. Do they hideout or something? Are the Big Enought to see or pick off??


ninni

Ciao Nini,

Contrary to what Comfrey has stated, the Brandywine tomato variety can be finicky and I wouldn't recommend it for a newbie. A really large heirloom variety that's relatively trouble-free originates from France and is called Cuostralee. This plant will grow very large, however, so you'll need to stake it with 8' wooden or rebar stakes driven 1' into the ground, so the plant won't topple over in a big wind or thunderstorm. The fruits can weigh up to 2 lbs each. Have a look at www.tomatogrowers.com for seeds. If you're hesitant about growing from seed, visit several reputable nurseries and talk to their staff about relatively trouble-free plants. Most of the plants found at nurseries are hybrids, but that's ok if you're not interested in saving the seeds for the following year.

As for the hornworms..there are typically 2 critters, the tobacco hornworm and the tomato hornworm and unless you're a budding entemologist, they look very similar and do similar damage to your plants. They grow quite large, 4" long and 1/2" across, before they get to the point of wanting to pupate. They have the same colouration as your plants, so that can make it hard to find them, but they're a BIG critter and you'll want to pick them off when you do see them. If you're squeamish, just cut the leaf that they're in the process of eating off and either kill them (which I don't advocate) or donate them to a local grade school so the kids can learn about nature.

Good luck and I hope some of this info helps you,
Julianna

I've never had a problem with Brandywine tomatoes. And like Comfrey said...the taste is amazing!!

You should also remember how "big" you want your tomatoes. A 2lb tomato is huge..definitely more than a meal tomato and unless you are feeding a family and I don't know about you or others but when I cut open a tomato, I like to use the entire thing. I don't like wrapping it up 'til the next day, and then rewrapping it, etc...the tomato gets mushy and I always have to cut off a slice for garbage. I suppose you could can them but most like to use a paste tomato for that purpose. Remember, it's what you prefer.

BTW, you should take a look at Comfrey's webshots. Her vegetable garden is amazing! So strong and healthy looking.

Comfrey...I PM'd you quite awhile ago to warn you that I'll be full of questions come spring time...be aware. You've been warned.

Brandywine's taste alone makes it well worth growing. Even if you only get one fruit off the plant, but it's yield is normally not very good as Sorellina points out.

The best yeilding variety of Brandywine is Red Brandywine. The "TRUE" red brandywine. Look for the Landis Valley Strain at Tomato Grower's Supply HERE . It should be a regular leaf plant with med sized delicious red fruit.

One thing I found out last year is that if I through half decomposed compost on my tomato plants about halfway through the season it helps them produce bigger and more tomatoes. I plant to amend the soil big time with 50% compost where I'm planting the tomatoes this year. I have roma, tiny tim and grape in the ground as of today. I don't care for the extra large tomato because they are usually very juicy and I like the meatier kind. But I wish you the best of luck with whatever you grow.

I have growing Brandywine's for years they were the first tomato I ever started from seed, And I have never had any problem getting seed to germinate or having healthy plants, The yield in my opinion is excellent, I also can them and they make wonderful tomato juice. It is just a matter of opinion here about tomatoes and I am sure everyone has their own favorite variety and reasons for growing it. That is why Ninni posted this question to begin with to get input from different opinion's so she could form her own opinion. So Ninni, hope you take every ones thought into consideration and experiment..grow more then one variety and see which kind you prefer.

Thank You everyone!! I think the problem I had last year, had more to do with the soil I bought. My Mom said it looked Too Woody!??? I'm not sure if that meant the soil stayed wet and moldy or the wood soaked up the water and Made the soil too dry!!??
Different Varieties is an EXCELLENT idea!! I think I will try a Few Types this year!! Looking forward to getting the seeds from Comfrey!!!!

When should I start them?? Now, or wait a few weeks?

Thanks!!
Ninni

PS.... We are getting HAMMERED here with snow!(Southern NY)

ninni

You need to start your seeds 6-8 weeks before your last frost date, proable sometime around the middle of March for your zone????

Ninni, I'm in zone 6 and will be starting mine the first week in April for transplanting out on Memorial Day weekend. But who know's....We got 25 inches of snow yesterday. I probably won't melt til May.

Ciao Nini-

I'm between zone 5 & 6 and I usually start my seeds around the last week in March. If you don't use any artificial lighting source, you may want to wait a week and start them when John starts them so they won't get tall and leggy from stretching towards whatever light they can find.

Just my 2c cdn. Good luck with your tomatoes and keep us posted with your results ;o)

Julianna

I've also had great luck with Brandywines. They're often rated as the best tasting of all tomatoes, and I think that's true.
Weezie mentioned the Celebrity...I've had great luck with those, and they taste great, too. And they're a perfect size.
Ninni, I've bought soil like that before, and it had no nutrional quality. If you're growing in containers, you'll need excellent soil.

The celebrity is a good tomato and has a good taste also, but is a little smaller, We like mator sandwiches here, so the Brandywine fills up the bread better. There are so many good tomato varieties out there, it is sometimes hard to chose.

Did I mention that my grape tomatoes have sprouted. They are the first of the three varieties I planted. I am soooooo looking forward to having them this year. And the peppers and the flowers and everything. Woohoo I just love gardening.

I love the taste of those grape tomatoes..
I think they have a good flavor...

yeah, if I had to pick one, Celeb's would be it,
nice size, good taste, easy to grow...
*I like the beefsteak/master, etc types, but they are big plants, and BIG TOMATOES.. *

Someday, Julianna's gonna talk me into growing the others...when I move outta town and I have more room....

Yep Celibirty is good to grow....till about June here....then if it DOES survive the heat of summer.it WILL go back to produceing about october.Maybe if I made a climate controlled box with AC..... But is easier for me to just grow early girl.It will produce in the heat of summer.I also got some seeds of some from germany called Red giant tomato. Brandywine is a good beefstake type,but not easily found in my area(& done lost them seeds)

I think Julianna had some of those kinds...
not sure if she still does..
but she does those heirloom varieties...

If you guys like Celebrity as a hybrid, you should really try Big Beef. As hybrids go, it is one of the best next to Brandy Boy.


I have seeds to most brandywine varieties if you like a few. Then you could save some for yourself in the fall. Or you could purchase them at the many good seed websites like TGS or Sandhill.

Well, thank you Comfrey. We like Comfreys also. {grin}

John,
I googled BIG BEEF TOMATO...
got one that said "Big Beef VFFNTAST"
(would it also be Beefsteak VFN???)
Very, very curious..if you know...????

I usually always bought pre~started tomatoes,
most of the years, and what ever was available.
but the tomato disease's were/are bad in my dirt..

Since finding my greenhouse, I have been doing seed, and mostly find the Rutger kind here, but last year I did find a package that said Beefsteak VFN, and they did a wonderful job with the disease resistance... thumbsup, but were very tough to get off the vine...

Do you know is the same true for that variety you mentioned..
I'd do those again, but was curious as to the variety you posted about..

More info ????

Yes it is Weezie. Big Beef was an All America Selection winner back in '93 I think. Tastes as close to heirloom as you can get in a hybrid. It's a different tomato than Beefsteak, but it is usually regularly availible at Walmart or Lowes as transplants. They sell seed for it everywhere too.

http://www.tomatogrowers.com/midseason.htm

Regarding the diseases in the soil, mulch the plants heavily with straw or something to keep the rain and water from splashing soil onto the plant's foliage.