Tomatoes Not Growing

[2LaneCruzer]

I have found in this area, the variety that you plant makes a difference. In a good year, most common varieties will do well, but I have found that the variety "Super Fantastic" will consistently give good yields. It is a very resistant variety, and will produce when others won't. I have not had very good luck with the heritage varieties; seems that blight affects them and they are sensitive to other things I haven't figured out yet.

 

[oosik]

It will be a couple weeks before I start my squash. Nights are still too cold here. My son - in Spokane - set his tomato plants outside this week. He puts "frost cages" over them at night until mid-June.

His tomatoes do fantastic every year. He generates his own mulch. His entire little garden grows in this mulch.

To the OP - give your plants a shot of Miracle Grow.

 

[cqaigy2]

I gave up on growing tomatoes out doors here in western Washington, too many years of marginal crops and early blight showing up just as the tomatoes started ripening in late August. For the past 4 years I have grown them in a 10X20 greenhouse I built. I grow peppers, that I never had any success with, tomatoes and English cucumbers. My tomatoes are currently 2 to 3 feet high and setting well. I use a disposable electric toothbrush to pollinate them as on cool days the bees don't have very good access.
In the past I have used potting mix from a local supply yard but this year they closed to the public due to the pandemic, so I used some compost I had made for the outside garden. Its working well but there are a lot more weeds in the pots to deal with.

I've heard you need to rotate tomato, they don't do well i the same soil every year. Do you swap out your soil, rotate or have found that not to be the problem. I'm thinking of building one so am very interested in the tomatoes, peppers.

 

[Industrial Toys]

One thing is for darrn sure. You can't just dabble in gardening.. For every rule, there are a hundred more. For the price in-season for vegies, how can it possibly be worth the trouble? Return on investment must be about similar to firewood. lol

 

[Oaktree]

I'll preface this by saying that here in northern New England, Memorial day is about when we begin to put in our gardens (other than the cool weather stuff like peas, lettuce, etc which get planted in mid-ish May), so it's just getting started...no idea how it's gonna do this year. As far as tomatoes, I'm not a big fan of them. I'll plant a 2 or 3 plum tomato plants (for canning) and usually one for eating tomatoes for my wife. No idea what variety it is...a few years ago my BIL gave us a couple plants, the wife liked them so I saved some seeds and start them in March. Never heard of the trick to strip lower leaves and plant deeply...have to try it next year, though after a slow start mine usually are trees by August.
Same thing with squash...they seem to take forever to do anything after I transplant the starts, but once they get going they just take over!!

Experiences differ. 10 years ago I took the trees off an old field and started planting. Of course I lost my best topsoil with the roots.
For the first time since I planted my first garden here in 2002 I have earthworms, that's how long it's taken me to get the soil built back up.
I put compost down, but if not for the 10-10-10 and Miracle Gro I wouldn't have picked a thing.

Got pretty good soil (for New England) here...a load of manure every couple years keeps it producing quite well. When we moved here it was a semi-overgrown field, full of milkweed. Took a few years to get rid of those roots! Now I just have to deal with some weird weed that was a "bonus" in some manure I got from a neighbor.

For the price in-season for vegies, how can it possibly be worth the trouble? Return on investment must be about similar to firewood. lol

Depends on how you define ROI...sure is nice to have fresh picked vegetables, they sure taste a lot better than the week old stuff from the supermarket.
I don't see any real seasonal bargains even at the farmstands...they seem to check out what the supermarkets are getting and charge accordingly.

My garden is well established enough that the only real tedious chore is weeding.

 

[dragoneggs]

I have found in this area, the variety that you plant makes a difference. In a good year, most common varieties will do well, but I have found that the variety "Super Fantastic" will consistently give good yields. It is a very resistant variety, and will produce when others won't. I have not had very good luck with the heritage varieties; seems that blight affects them and they are sensitive to other things I haven't figured out yet.

My father had the best luck with Gardener's Delight here in the Seattle area.

Gardener's Delight Tomato Seeds and Plants, Vegetable Gardening at Burpee.com

 

[cqaigy2]

My father had the best luck with Gardener's Delight here in the Seattle area.

Gardener's Delight Tomato Seeds and Plants, Vegetable Gardening at Burpee.com

Making notes for next year's garden. :thumbsup:

 

[2LaneCruzer]

One thing is for darrn sure. You can't just dabble in gardening.. For every rule, there are a hundred more. For the price in-season for vegies, how can it possibly be worth the trouble? Return on investment must be about similar to firewood. lol

There is nothing like home grown tomatoes fresh from the vine. I'll take the trouble and expense to raise enough for us even though I can buy them for half the price elsewhere. Another veggie like that is onions. Now you can find some great veggies at the local farmer's markets, but you pay your money and take your chances, especially with tomatoes. Potatoes, cucumbers, and other veggies are pretty good from the farmer's market, as are most of the peaches, apples, etc. I just think I can raise better tomatoes than I can buy.

 

[dragoneggs]

There is nothing like home grown tomatoes fresh from the vine. I'll take the trouble and expense to raise enough for us even though I can buy them for half the price elsewhere. Another veggie like that is onions. Now you can find some great veggies at the local farmer's markets, but you pay your money and take your chances, especially with tomatoes. Potatoes, cucumbers, and other veggies are pretty good from the farmer's market, as are most of the peaches, apples, etc. I just think I can raise better tomatoes than I can buy.

Yep fresh tomatoes and onions from the garden and corn cooked while still screaming are hard to beat for taste.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Yep fresh tomatoes and onions from the garden and corn cooked while still screaming are hard to beat for taste.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head for corn. We used to wait in line at the cornfield for half a day to get a couple bushels of fresh corn right out of the field; take it home, clean and blanch it and freeze it all in the same day. Wonderful...but too difficult these days, so we settle for frozen Green Giant. We used to raise it when we have huge garden, but old age has had its way there too.