So Texans, Where do you Stand on Tomatoes?

[Harry Cabluck]

karstop, Your soil and photos look mightyfine.

[karstopography]

IMG_5612.jpeg

IMG_5614.jpeg

IMG_5613.jpeg

I added a layer of cotton burr compost as a mulch today. I don’t want the soil to bounce up on the leaves. Live oak leaves are in short supply. That’s my usual mulch. Not sure what’s up with the oaks.

[SpookyShoe]

My five tomato plants are going into the ground tomorrow. Today I pulled out all the weeds from the tomato bed. Hundreds of tiny little weeds that always appear in early spring. After planting, I'll put down mulch.

[TX-TomatoBug]

My seedlings are transitioning to the outdoors in this stretch of perfect weather here in central Texas. They didn't like the cheap shop light I bought. Had yellowing leaves and I suspect some edema. But they have responded quickly to potting-up and real sunlight. Delivery of a SF600 light for next year is expected any day.

This is my first time to grow from seed applying all that I've learned over the last year from this forum and Craig LeHoullier's material. What fun I'm having!

Feb 28.jpeg

[MissS]

I'm impressed. They look great! You have studied well and even know what edema is in your first year of seed starting.

[SpookyShoe]

And so it begins...

My five tomato plants went into the ground this morning.

IMG_20250301_104849895_HDR.jpg

[karstopography]

My February 12th transplants dug up on the 19th and replanted on the 26th look surprisingly healthy and no worse for all the disruptions. I was certain to lose them to the freeze on the 20th and had prematurely given away some of my reserves so I thought what is to lose, anything is better than a certain and immediate death due to a freeze.

IMG_5651.jpeg

IMG_5652.jpeg

IMG_5660.jpeg

IMG_5661.jpeg

[karstopography]

IMG_5692.jpeg

IMG_5688.jpeg

IMG_5689.jpeg

Finally got my leaf mulch in place for the tomatoes. This year, there’s about a 3” layer of cotton burr debris and then a similar layer of the oak leaves, pine needles and cypress over the cotton burr.

The tomatoes are I think something like 7-10 days behind last season in spite of starting the seeds two weeks ahead of last season. I know I kept the tomatoes in much colder conditions this year. I also transplanted, dug them up and then transplanted them again.

They are growing and about to bloom in some cases.

[SpookyShoe]

The first baby tomato of the 2025 season goes to "Sugary" grape tomato. All the rest of the plants have flowers.

IMG_20250314_175315125.jpg

[karstopography]

IMG_5815.jpeg

IMG_5814.jpeg

IMG_5816.jpeg

Looks like Ashleigh is going to be the first tomato of 2025. Victory seeds list it at 89 DTM. Go figure.

Pruden’s Purple, both plants, are right on Ashleigh’s heels along with Vorlon, Cleota Pink, and Red Barn.

[Harry Cabluck]

Twelve plants in the ground in Austin, Texas. Almost 90-degrees in the shade on Sunday, March 23, 2025.

Wide tomatoes.jpg

Tomato vertical.jpg

Garden wide.jpg

[karstopography]

Yea, nothing like that here close to the gulf. 77°

Perfect tomato weather for the foreseeable future.

[karstopography]

IMG_5848.jpeg

IMG_5849.jpeg

IMG_5850.jpeg

IMG_5851.jpeg

IMG_5852.jpeg

Looked back at 2024 and in spite of starting my tomatoes 10 days earlier this year than in 2024, my tomato plants are something like one to two feet shorter this year. Sart Roloise was over 4’ on March 24, 2024. My tallest today is Pruden’s Purple at just over 2’. Most are right at 2’. I kept the tomato seedlings cooler this year and it has been cooler overall since I transplanted them this year as compared to 2024. Really just an observation, the tomatoes this season look great and are growing normally. I don’t expect any ripe fruit until mid May this season, April is a challenge to get any ripe fruit with the mid or late season tomatoes I tend to prefer.

Ashleigh has something heart shaped tomato going on. The leaves are more serrated and thinner than Red Barn or Dester. The new fruit on Ashleigh don’t look all that flattened beefsteak like at this early stage.

[SpookyShoe]

At this point, they all kind of look the same, lol.

Carmello

IMG_20250328_124418260.jpg

Sugary grape

IMG_20250328_124331962.jpg

Cherokee Purple

IMG_20250328_124128655.jpg

Cherokee Carbon

IMG_20250328_124103895.jpg

Champion

IMG_20250328_124303231.jpg