Re: So Texans, Where do you Stand on Tomatoes?
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2024 6:11 am
@FatBeeFarm I have another series of sheets with each tomato variety I grew this season and the two seasons before, each season has its own sheet, but each season the sheets record the total number and weight of the tomatoes from each plant along with the average weight of the fruit per variety. This season, I added the date I harvested the first fruit for each variety and then a date of last harvest.
I think the sheets with the harvest data help me stay more objective about a particular variety instead of relying solely on memory.
I might should add some tasting notes, good idea.
I really don’t aspire to be any kind of scientist or market grower regarding tomatoes. I just want to get an idea with the use of the spreadsheets on how productive a particular tomato variety might be year after year. I feel like I will, if I keep the sheets going year after year, get some better overall feel or understanding for my tomato growing efforts.
The future potential grow out spreadsheet helps me not lose track of the tomato cultivars that are attractive in some way. Otherwise, I might completely forget about them.
For about a decade, I kept a spreadsheet going logging fishing trips with a lot more columns of data, wind, water temperature, water levels, tides, etc. than I have done with my tomatoes. The fishing log spreadsheet helped me tease out some seasonal trends and other important factors, such as water levels, regarding where the fish might be when and which areas produced and why. With the fishing logs, I got much more intentional and informed about where the fish were likely to be on any given day based on what the past data suggested.
With the tomato spreadsheets, I’m already seeing trends that suggest that the heirlooms I have been growing are roughly equivalent with hybrid tomatoes on potential production and that finding surprised me. In other words, there’s no benefit, at least in my own garden, to growing a hybrid tomato over an open pollinated variety as far as production goes. Head to head, same season, no glaring difference between hybrid and open-pollinated tomatoes on production.
Armed with that data and knowledge, I felt liberated to grow for flavor and other desirable qualities and felt no longer chained to the idea that I should grow at least some hybrids for “safety” or to ensure production.
I think the sheets with the harvest data help me stay more objective about a particular variety instead of relying solely on memory.
I might should add some tasting notes, good idea.
I really don’t aspire to be any kind of scientist or market grower regarding tomatoes. I just want to get an idea with the use of the spreadsheets on how productive a particular tomato variety might be year after year. I feel like I will, if I keep the sheets going year after year, get some better overall feel or understanding for my tomato growing efforts.
The future potential grow out spreadsheet helps me not lose track of the tomato cultivars that are attractive in some way. Otherwise, I might completely forget about them.
For about a decade, I kept a spreadsheet going logging fishing trips with a lot more columns of data, wind, water temperature, water levels, tides, etc. than I have done with my tomatoes. The fishing log spreadsheet helped me tease out some seasonal trends and other important factors, such as water levels, regarding where the fish might be when and which areas produced and why. With the fishing logs, I got much more intentional and informed about where the fish were likely to be on any given day based on what the past data suggested.
With the tomato spreadsheets, I’m already seeing trends that suggest that the heirlooms I have been growing are roughly equivalent with hybrid tomatoes on potential production and that finding surprised me. In other words, there’s no benefit, at least in my own garden, to growing a hybrid tomato over an open pollinated variety as far as production goes. Head to head, same season, no glaring difference between hybrid and open-pollinated tomatoes on production.
Armed with that data and knowledge, I felt liberated to grow for flavor and other desirable qualities and felt no longer chained to the idea that I should grow at least some hybrids for “safety” or to ensure production.