Tomatoes-early late

[Broke Down Ranch]

I don't know if true or not but my own were nice eating. They are a really nice canning tomato....not overly juicy or seedy. The ones I hate canning are the Brandywines. Man, you go to blanch them to peel and they go from yummy to mushy in seconds flat. What part of them DOES make it to the canner tho surely tastes fine. This year will be my first try with paste tomatoes - I have San Marzano and Amish Paste.

I guess I have never realized how fortunate I am to not have to consider how long it takes for production. I always just planted the Early Girls so I could have fresh tomatoes sooner tho this year my Brandywines gave me the first tomato....nice, fat, juicy 1 1/2 pounder that I got exactly 1 bite from before my 9 yr old stole it and ate the rest. Rotten kid....lol

 

[desertgirl]

LOL! No kids to steal at my house, but I do have some fiendishly clever chickens....have to always be on guard, or they will clean me out!

So maybe I could use the Rutgers and the Hungarian Italian for sauces and canning (the Brandywines sound like way too much work!).:tools

 

[digitS']

I always have "thoughts" about tomatoes. Maybe they could be called "fantasies" !

Do you really have 198 days between frosts, DG? Spring/Fall Minimum Temperature Thresholds I'm sure elevation there in New Mexico really plays into growing season plans. But, that's just short of 2 months longer than I've got to play with.

Keep in mind that wide temperature swings adds days onto expected maturity. It's one thing to say that the average 24 hour temperature is 65F when it varies from 60 to 70. It's quite another to say that it is 65F and varies from 45 to 85. Days-to-maturity ideas are loosely based on this average temperature thing.

I guess the researchers are using Prairie Fire as THE standard for an early, early tomato. If it replaces Sub-arctic, that's fine by me. Sub-arctic used to be the only tomato that would ripen in my garden when I was at a higher elevation. Maturing at break-neck speed means flavor is sometimes left behind .

I always have a few Early Girls.

You've got some real nice choices from what I understand with Box Car Willy, Kellogg Breakfast, Brandywine, and Cherokee Purple. They sure do get good press! I'm terribly jealous of those who can grow them to "sun-ripened" !

I don't know anything about most of the others. (Which means I don't know anything despite my fervent willingness to "talk tomatoes.")

One note of caution there in your arid climate: because DW likes them so well, I tried to grow Yellow Pear -- 4 years in a row!! The last season, the ones that didn't split probably could have been counted on one hand.

If you want to hedge your bets on the Yellow Pear: Ildi almost never splits and produces abundantly . Be advised that YP-lover DW doesn't seem to care much for Ildi . . . She really likes Sungold and SunSugar, however !

Steve

 

[desertgirl]

Wow! That is a heck of a lot of information!
So it would seem that I do have that long to play with, as I read the table. Does this sound feasable to you (having 2 months longer than your season)? That seems very long when you see it on paper, but it is true that our "frosty season" is pretty short.:/

I am a little scared of starting too early, and then having a library full of plants. I am thinking that if if get my seeds set up/planted by early Feb, I could have them in the ground by around mid March/early April (?!!!). I do my gardening in a raised bed square foot garden, so the little plants would have some protection from wind and temperatures (always a consideration-the wind is relatively brutal here in the spring).

This is one of my raised square footers in the background; we had such great luck with them we are planning to construct 4 more this year.:tools

I was actually leaning away fro the yellow pears. I had great luck with them last year (growing in containers from seedlings but the taste did not blow me away. I was thinking of maybe going with SunSugar...

 

[digitS']

Well, DesertGirl, you don't have a 2 month "jump" on me . . . more of a 1 month jump, at both ends of the season .

I don't start any tomatoes until about the 1st of March and then plant more seed of each variety about 14 days later. That "hedges the bets" if'n spring weather doesn't cooperate. Even at that, I need to 1st move them out of my cookie boxes into 4-packs and then be willing to pot-up in 4" pots. Hopefully, I won't have to have them all go to pots.

Really, it might be best to just plan on that, even go to 8" pots -- get a really good early start for my short growing-season. But, I do NOT have enuf light or room. It would require that I "fire up" the greenhouse a several weeks early (more $$), then provide lots of supplemental lighting out there (for the dark and dreary weeks ).

You have lots more light in your corner of the world and a "Conestoga wagon" !! That dandy cover should deal with the cool nights in Albuquerque! I think you should just stay on a 7 or 8 week prior to last frost sowing schedule, at least with most things .

Steve

 

[desertgirl]

Ok, dumming it down...

That would mean that I start them indoors 7 or 8 weeks before projected last frost, then move them out into the wagons...is that what you mean? :/

 

[digitS']

Yep . . .

 

[desertgirl]

Got it.Thanks!

 

[insiderart]

What are your summer temperatures and humidities. Remember though your growing season is long, many tomatoes will stop producing fruit usually around 85-90 degrees, especially if the humidity is low. For this reason you want to be looking specifically for heat set tomatoes if you are wanting fruit to last into the late season.

Early, mid, late are simply length of seed to ripe fruit. And in general it works ok for most growers. However, if you live in an area that gets very hot, or is very dry you need to look for tomatoes that will set fruit in the heat in order to extend your fruiting season.

Just because a cultivar is classified as a "late" variety. Doesn't mean it can tolerate set fruit in July for Aug/Sept ripeness if the temperature is high and humidity is low.

 

[desertgirl]

Ah-good point. I am choosing tomatoes advertised as heat tolerant-this means they not only won't die but will set fruit in the heat (and low humidity), right?