So Texans, Where do you Stand on Tomatoes?

[TomatoNut95]

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I wish I could cancel my crummy birthday tomorrow.

This morning I found my Nicky Crain had produced a monster fruit so heavy that the limb fell and the truss broke. I had to prop the cluster up via cinder block.

[PlainJane]

@TomatoNut95 where were your Nicky Crane seeds from?
I’m very frustrated by heart tomatoes. I’ve tried them a bunch of times with only horrid results. If you can grow them in Texas I should be able to here in N. Florida.

[TomatoNut95]

@TomatoNut95 where were your Nicky Crane seeds from?
I’m very frustrated by heart tomatoes. I’ve tried them a bunch of times with only horrid results. If you can grow them in Texas I should be able to here in N. Florida.

A friend in Illinois sent them to me. They can be bought at Delectation of Tomatoes, though.

https://www.delectationoftomatoes.com/s ... Crain.html

Why the description says small harvest, idk. My plant is so generous with a large harvest. It has given despite the excess rain I've had. Sunscald has been an issue I admit. But the plant isn't near being through. Or wasn't, anyway. I had to do a ton of pruning on it.

[TomatoNut95]

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Look everyone!! Color break on my Westerlund! It's finally happening!!

[PlainJane]

I went ahead and ordered Nicky Crane and Missouri Pink Love Apple plus a few other things for next year.

[karstopography]

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Still getting a good supply of tomatoes. Most aren’t quite as pretty or big as they were a month ago, but there is still a lot of quality tomatoes. None of the plants are done yet, some like Red Barn are near the end. Red Barn and MPLA both got blown over in a violent storm about a month ago and that was hard on each plant with main stems getting shattered, but Red Barn will be my most productive plant and MPLA is in a tight race with Pruden’s Purple for the second position. What might have been had these not been trounced by the storm, but since tomatoes aren’t self-supporting the blame rests on me for not providing adequate support.

Brandywine Cowlick’s has the most fruit on the vine of the remaining tomatoes. Brandywine Cowlick’s seems to have licked the bad case of BER as have the other tomatoes that were plagued with BER.

Brandywine Cowlick’s is an almost certain lock on making the 2025 grow out list. Red Barn is too. I see great potential with Brandywine Cowlick’s being sort of the pink star of all the tomatoes I’ve tried. Red Barn can be the red star.

Dr.Wyche’s Yellow won’t be back in 2025 or maybe ever. Aker’s West Virginia wasn’t anything true to form and the imposter wasn’t good. I don’t think Black from Tula was the real thing either even though that seed came from a big name vendor. MPLA will likely be back. I might take a year off with Pruden’s Purple, but I still love that tomato. Cuostralee will likely return, if not in 2025, then soon after. I will give Black Krim the year off. Sart Roloise wasn’t bad, but I want a blue tomato with more zing. Dester will get the year off or three, same for Hoy. I’m sort of over trying for giant tomatoes and now moving ever more into growing for flavor.

Anyway, very good season here in spite of the BER. I have some ideas about getting a better handle on that in 2025. I will provide better physical supports in 2025. The squirrels, miracle of miracles, completely ignored the tomatoes this season and I had no barriers in place. Got to be about the available food which nature supplied in abundance this year. It’s been pretty dry overall so it wasn’t about water.

[bower]

Both MPLA and Prudens Purple are on a short list of tomatoes that failed to give me one single fruit here... I'm thinking I might just avoid all the tomatoes that do well for you, @karstopography

[TomatoNut95]

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Tah-dah!!! @Tormato @MissS , everyone looky!! 2lbs 2.3 oz Westerlund!

[karstopography]

Both MPLA and Prudens Purple are on a short list of tomatoes that failed to give me one single fruit here... I'm thinking I might just avoid all the tomatoes that do well for you, @karstopography

Pruden’s purple is pretty early for me and grows well when things are still fairly cool here. Surprised it didn’t give you any fruit.

MPLA didn’t get going until it got a little warmer.

[karstopography]

@TomatoNut95 nice! Westerlund has the big tomato genes. Who knew tomatoes could get so big? I don’t think I did until I found out about this tomato forum here.

[TomatoNut95]

@TomatoNut95 nice! Westerlund has the big tomato genes. Who knew tomatoes could get so big? I don’t think I did until I found out about this tomato forum here.

I never in my existence dreamed there was such thing as a 17 lb tomato either.

[TomatoNut95]

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It was sad, but it was time to open my tomato. It took a long time to pick out everything good including all the pockets of seed.
Taste rate, I give a 3 or 3 1/2 stars. It was sweet and mild, not to my personal suiting.

[karstopography]

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Going to be freezing some more tomatoes soon. I back away from doing too many of the gift tomatoes, except for the immediate family, this late in the season as the tomatoes start to get more dings and other blemishes. I still think they are great, but hate gifting less than beautiful tomatoes. All and all, the tomatoes are in better shape than can be hoped for at this late stage. Very little cracking has occurred this season, radial or concentric. Also, not much sun scald or bug damage. Only splitting has been with Creamsicle Grape and only after the one or two decent rains we got. The main blemish I’m seeing are mechanical scars from being tossed about in the winds a few weeks ago.

Best of the remaining tomatoes out on the vine are the brandywine Cowlick’s. Red barn is the first one out of the game. I think the broken stem, blow down a month ago ensured it would make an early exit.

Wonder what the situation will be in a month? No telling, but there’s a reasonable chance of having tomatoes go into August.

[PlainJane]

Same here; more misfits on the counter than fruit nice enough to go to the restaurant or neighbors.

[GoDawgs]

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The squirrels, miracle of miracles, completely ignored the tomatoes this season and I had no barriers in place. Got to be about the available food which nature supplied in abundance this year. It’s been pretty dry overall so it wasn’t about water.

Your tomatoes are winding down and mine are still in the green stage with only two or three tomatoes starting to get a little blush. But what you've said about the squirrels is happening here. Last year there were hordes out in the yard and they would have already been into any tomato that even thought about blushing now. But there are few squirrels out there. And no, I didn't do a depop. There's also been only one half-hearted munch on one ear of almost ready corn. Dry here too so it's not a water issue.

Both MPLA and Prudens Purple are on a short list of tomatoes that failed to give me one single fruit here... I'm thinking I might just avoid all the tomatoes that do well for you, @karstopography

Well, Canada and Texas are so different weather and environment-wise that it wouldn't surprise me at all that what grows well for one doesn't do well for the other. There might be something to what you say, @bower !

[TomatoNut95]

Yesterday I picked a 12.7 Nicky Crain and the whopper at 14.3 oz.

Folks I may start being less active here because of local network problems, for the past two evenings my connection just dies completely and this morning, when it's usually fair, it's bad and keeps cutting out. Idk if it's just the local tower got messed up from the storm or its my 3 yr old phone telling me it's too old to pick up a fair signal anymore. Just to let you know.

[Whwoz]

Understand what you mean by tower problems @TomatoNut95 , hopefully they will sort themselves (or get sorted) for you. I face the same and no hope of short term fix here .

I need to start a wish list and Nicky Crain will be on it.

[TomatoNut95]

Understand what you mean by tower problems @TomatoNut95 , hopefully they will sort themselves (or get sorted) for you. I face the same and no hope of short term fix here .

I need to start a wish list and Nicky Crain will be on it.

With the exception of this morning my signals been behaving itself.

@Whwoz I have plenty of fresh 2024 (including some out fermenting) seed to Nicky if you want any.

[TomatoNut95]

Question: If you're growing a variety that can get 1-2lbs (Omar's Lebanese) but the only fruits you get are a couple that might be around 10oz, is it not a good idea to save seed from them if they could be classified as variety 'runts'?

[MissS]

Question: If you're growing a variety that can get 1-2lbs (Omar's Lebanese) but the only fruits you get are a couple that might be around 10oz, is it not a good idea to save seed from them if they could be classified as variety 'runts'?

For me, it depends on if the plant is truly a runt or believed to be an off-type or if the plant is stressed and not performing well due to the stress. Ideally, I would only harvest seeds from a plant that was performing as described, was healthy, and then I would choose seeds from the best fruits. If it is a runt or an off-type then I would pass it by. You want seeds of the best to pass it's genetics on. If all of your plants are performing poorly due to environmental issues, then I would save seed for myself and grow it out to see if it grows as described. Only then would I be passing seeds on to others.