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[–]GWBusch[S]0 points
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I learned this year I need a bigger garden bed, my two tomatoes were way too close together. I also learned that indeterminate tomatoes can get huge, like really huge. Currently the two in the bed if you stood the vines straight up would be over 10 feet tall and they are still growing every day, its a constant battle to prune them. Next year I either need to get really tall cages or set up some lines and stakes. The sauce tasted amazing, it was my first time attempting to can anything I have grown so even with all the work involved and very little to show for it I think it was worth it for the experience.
[–]Le_Squish0 points
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Tomatoes tolerate being trimmed very well. If you are just looking to have a few tomatoes for salad, trim them. If you want to make sauce, let them get super big. I find making a tall bamboo tripod to be better than a cage. Happy growing, though.
[–]GWBusch[S]0 points
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I didn't consider using bamboo, my neighbor has a forests worth of the stuff in their backyard, I might have to ask them for some when the time comes, thanks!
[–]GWBusch[S]0 points
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I just prune any leaves that do not get sunlight, everything grows so dense that a lot of the leaves are just taking up resources and not helping the fruit, and I also sometimes prune the suckers depending on what vine they're growing from so it doesn't keep getting taller.
i had no idea you can freeze whole tomatoes. do you need to do anything special to them?
i chop them into roughly 1/2" pieces, and freeze them that way. goes great into spaghetti sauces, etc. I have contemplated slicing them for ratatouille and freezing them like that too. Will prob do that this year. How is the texture after you freeze and thaw them whole?
I think its best to freeze them whole. This way the skin protects from freezer burn and helps keep the flavor. When you are ready to use them simply soak them in some warm water or just put them right into your soup and the skin will fall off. You can leave the skin in and eat it or compost it :)
Thanks for the idea, I will probably freeze the next batch I harvest, it was a long process and running the stove for 5-6 hours when its 115* outside really warms it up in there.
[–]GWBusch[S]0 points
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That was the first batch, there is still a lot of green fruit on the vines, hopefully they will ripen up even with the current heat wave. We hit 90* F here in Arizona midway through February, but it was 119* last weekend so there is a trade-off, I already lost a few tomatoes before I could get shade up to protect them from literally cooking on the stem.
Yea, tomatoes need ALOT of space. The plants looks nice too, also how many tomatoes did it take to make that jar of sauce? I started growing tomatoes for sauces, and salsa and I have Roma's, Black krims, mountain valley and cherry.
That bowl of tomatoes I harvested weighed about 10 lbs. and the tomatoes were about 2.5-3 inches in diameter, I don't know an exact count, maybe two to three dozen of them.I wanted to grow Roma's but I couldn't find any starters and there wasn't enough time to start from seeds by the time I got everything in the ground this year. I have a few cherry tomato plants that started growing from seeds in the compost but they are small still, only about a dozen little tomatoes on them so far, I don't know if they will survive the summer but we will see. Good luck with yours!
[+]GWBusch0 points2 points2 points
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(edited ago)
[–]GWBusch[S]0 points
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(edited ago)
I couldn't agree with you more, my roommate and I go through a lot of fresh salsa, can't eat breakfast without it. I just use tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, jalapenos, garlic and a little garlic salt. I make about 6 quarts at a time and we will use it up in about two weeks. Depending on how good the tomatoes in the grocery store look/price I will sometimes use a #10 can of crushed tomatoes.
The jar in the picture is just plain tomato sauce I plan on saving for the next time I make homemade pasta, it tasted great, I was just a little disappointed with how much sauce I ended up with from all those tomatoes and hard work!
edit: u/Voopin__Voopin pointed out I forgot to list onions in my salsa recipe!
That is unfortunate about the water saturation, I had the opposite problem, the ground dries out too quick here, any rain is a godsend and the plants will grow 6+ inches literally overnight when it rains. Hopefully you have better luck soon!
I don't think it's all of the south east, though. My dad is growing some indeterminate types in Florida and sent me a picture of his patch. They're about +7' tall! New Orleans is extra humid though.
Supposedly once they have blight you can treat them with an antifungal spray, but they'll never really thrive after that. Preventative measures are best.
As for blossom end rot, is that lack of calcium in the soil? I can't remember. I think crushed eggshells buried on the surrounding soil is supposed to help with that.
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[–] GWBusch [S] 0 points 8 points 8 points (+8|-0) ago
I learned this year I need a bigger garden bed, my two tomatoes were way too close together. I also learned that indeterminate tomatoes can get huge, like really huge. Currently the two in the bed if you stood the vines straight up would be over 10 feet tall and they are still growing every day, its a constant battle to prune them. Next year I either need to get really tall cages or set up some lines and stakes. The sauce tasted amazing, it was my first time attempting to can anything I have grown so even with all the work involved and very little to show for it I think it was worth it for the experience.
[–] Le_Squish 0 points 5 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago
Tomatoes tolerate being trimmed very well. If you are just looking to have a few tomatoes for salad, trim them. If you want to make sauce, let them get super big. I find making a tall bamboo tripod to be better than a cage. Happy growing, though.
[–] GWBusch [S] 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
I didn't consider using bamboo, my neighbor has a forests worth of the stuff in their backyard, I might have to ask them for some when the time comes, thanks!
[–] Voopin__Voopin ago
if you do the tripod, do you wrap twine around it or something for the plants to rest on, or support them as they grow outward?
easier question, do you have a pic of what you are talking about? :)
[–] Amadameus ago
You prune your tomatoes? I've never heard of this...
[–] GWBusch [S] ago
I just prune any leaves that do not get sunlight, everything grows so dense that a lot of the leaves are just taking up resources and not helping the fruit, and I also sometimes prune the suckers depending on what vine they're growing from so it doesn't keep getting taller.
[–] EarthGleaner 0 points 6 points 6 points (+6|-0) ago
Canning tomatoes can be time consuming. Last year I just froze all my tomatoes whole and used them for soup. food for thought ;0
[–] Voopin__Voopin 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
i had no idea you can freeze whole tomatoes. do you need to do anything special to them?
i chop them into roughly 1/2" pieces, and freeze them that way. goes great into spaghetti sauces, etc. I have contemplated slicing them for ratatouille and freezing them like that too. Will prob do that this year. How is the texture after you freeze and thaw them whole?
[–] EarthGleaner 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I think its best to freeze them whole. This way the skin protects from freezer burn and helps keep the flavor. When you are ready to use them simply soak them in some warm water or just put them right into your soup and the skin will fall off. You can leave the skin in and eat it or compost it :)
[–] GWBusch [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Thanks for the idea, I will probably freeze the next batch I harvest, it was a long process and running the stove for 5-6 hours when its 115* outside really warms it up in there.
[–] [deleted] 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
[–] GWBusch [S] 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
That was the first batch, there is still a lot of green fruit on the vines, hopefully they will ripen up even with the current heat wave. We hit 90* F here in Arizona midway through February, but it was 119* last weekend so there is a trade-off, I already lost a few tomatoes before I could get shade up to protect them from literally cooking on the stem.
[–] [deleted] 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
[–] Amadameus ago
How did they handle the heat? We hit 90 degrees the last few days and I sprayed the garden down in midday to help keep them cool.
[–] Amadameus 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I know, right? I'm still looking at flowers and little green tomato buds here.
[–] Monsantos_Schlong 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
Yea, tomatoes need ALOT of space. The plants looks nice too, also how many tomatoes did it take to make that jar of sauce? I started growing tomatoes for sauces, and salsa and I have Roma's, Black krims, mountain valley and cherry.
[–] GWBusch [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
That bowl of tomatoes I harvested weighed about 10 lbs. and the tomatoes were about 2.5-3 inches in diameter, I don't know an exact count, maybe two to three dozen of them.I wanted to grow Roma's but I couldn't find any starters and there wasn't enough time to start from seeds by the time I got everything in the ground this year. I have a few cherry tomato plants that started growing from seeds in the compost but they are small still, only about a dozen little tomatoes on them so far, I don't know if they will survive the summer but we will see. Good luck with yours!
[–] Womb_Raider 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
Protip: If you're making salsa, try adding cilantro and jalepeno. I found that they add a lot of flavor. Oh and garlic.
[–] GWBusch [S] 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
I couldn't agree with you more, my roommate and I go through a lot of fresh salsa, can't eat breakfast without it. I just use tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, jalapenos, garlic and a little garlic salt. I make about 6 quarts at a time and we will use it up in about two weeks. Depending on how good the tomatoes in the grocery store look/price I will sometimes use a #10 can of crushed tomatoes.
The jar in the picture is just plain tomato sauce I plan on saving for the next time I make homemade pasta, it tasted great, I was just a little disappointed with how much sauce I ended up with from all those tomatoes and hard work!
edit: u/Voopin__Voopin pointed out I forgot to list onions in my salsa recipe!
[–] Womb_Raider 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
OH, hah. Okay. I thought that tomato sauce was your salsa and thought it looked a touch bland.
For what it's worth, I never get a tomato harvest like that and I'm in FL.
[–] Voopin__Voopin 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
do you like onions? my salsa recipe is almost like that, but has onion. Is gud.
[–] [deleted] 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
[–] GWBusch [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
That is unfortunate about the water saturation, I had the opposite problem, the ground dries out too quick here, any rain is a godsend and the plants will grow 6+ inches literally overnight when it rains. Hopefully you have better luck soon!
[–] [deleted] 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
[–] 5456913? ago
Two days ago I pulled up or cut at the stem all of my tomatoes. They all had blight. I haven't successfully grown tomatoes since I moved to Louisiana.
On the bright side, my pumpkins and beans are doing awesome.
[–] Voopin__Voopin ago
buddy of mine has blight on his. I dont know of a remedy.
mine showed its first signs of blossom-end-rot and i had to toss a 2" tomato yesterday. Dammit.
[–] 5463213? 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I don't think it's all of the south east, though. My dad is growing some indeterminate types in Florida and sent me a picture of his patch. They're about +7' tall! New Orleans is extra humid though.
Supposedly once they have blight you can treat them with an antifungal spray, but they'll never really thrive after that. Preventative measures are best.
As for blossom end rot, is that lack of calcium in the soil? I can't remember. I think crushed eggshells buried on the surrounding soil is supposed to help with that.