Tomatoes June 2017
Tomatoes June 2017
So....this is my very first post of this blog and where better to start than Tomatoes !
Here in the low Desert, it may be 108 degrees outside, but the tomatoes are still ripening like crazy.
Nothing beats the taste of a freshly picked warm tomato, straight from the garden. It is incredible satisfying to grow the plants from seed, carefully nurture them throughout the spring and then reap the delicious rewards of all that hard work ! Local, organic and delicious, plus the added attraction and fun of growing many varieties that you cannot buy in the supermarket.
What more could a gardener ask for ?
Tomatoes picked June 6th 2017
Tomato - Black Krim
Tomato Tip:
What do you do if your tomato fruit develop a hard, brown base ? (the opposite end of the stalk).
This is called Blossom End Rot and is caused by lack of calcium. This sounds a bit strange you might think, as normally we have plenty of calcium in our soils here. However, it is not that the plant does not have enough calcium, it is that it does not have enough water to take up the calcium. In other words, it is actually a symptom of uneven or not enough water. Thus - calcium deficiency.
Solution - increase the water to your plant(s). Remove damaged fruit, if the end rot is not too bad, you can always cut off the brown bits and eat the rest of the fruit !
Blossom End Rot
What type of tomatoes grow best in the Phoenix area?
ReplyDeleteGood question Nicola. When I teach my gardening class on tomatoes, this is what I tell everyone:-
DeleteThere are thousands of varieties of tomatoes to choose from, ranging in size, shape, color, plant type, disease resistance and season of maturity and choosing the best ones can be extremely difficult. First - will it grow well here, i.e. is it suitable to grow in our climate? Most will grow here, but many will not grow well here, choosing varieties that grow successfully here is half the battle.
It is best to grow early ripening varieties, the seed packet front will say 70 days or less, this refers to 70 days from transplant to harvest. It is approx. 6-8 weeks from seed sowing to transplant. Thus, to harvest tomatoes, say the beginning of June, go back 70 days - roughly early March for planting transplants and go back again, roughly 8 weeks for seed sowing, which would be late December /early January.
Thus, you can see that anything on the packet that says 90 days or more, will have a hard time getting to maturity before the wicked summer heat arrives.
Usually - the bigger the tomato fruit, the longer to maturity. Knowing this, generally, the easiest varities to grow here are the smaller tomatoes. here are some examples below.
Cherry and Roma do well. Varieties that take a long time to mature do not do as well. Italian Gold, Viva Italia, Roma, Red Cherry, Cherry Girl, Sweet 100, Small Fry, Tiny Tip, Yellow Pear, Early Girl, Early Cascade, Columbia, Salad Master, Pearson’s Improved, Champion, Patio, Celebrity, Early Cascade, Red Express, Royal Flush, Spring Giant, Jackpot, Ace, Principle Borghese,Cherokee Purple.
Hope this helps !
I am growing a number of Tigerella tomatoes, but notice that a large portion of them get a brown "seam line" on them that often splits. What causes this and how do I fix it? Thanks for the help!
ReplyDeleteTigerella are a nice tomato and so pretty.
DeleteThe reason for the brown "seam" or line is usually due to uneven watering.
What happens, is if the tomato is not getting sufficient water, the flesh shrinks a little, then when it gets more water it swells up and this can cause the skin to split. The insides of the tomatoes grow faster than the outer skin is able to, and the tomatoes crack. This is not usually a problem when the tomatoes are green, but it does happens more frequently to ripening tomatoes, because the outer skin becomes more fragile as the tomato gets fully ripe.
what can you do about this ?
1. Water deeply and regularly
2. Mulch, mulch, mulch ! a good two to three inch layer of organic mulch. This should help to maintain more regular soil moisture levels, and hopefully less splitting.
3. Some varieties seem more susceptible to splitting than others. Generally, the thicker the tomato skin, the less prone to splitting.
If it does split, pick it straight away, even if it is not ripe, because often the split will get worse, then it start to ooze and even rot. You can salvage the fruit then for cooking and so on.
Hope this helps !
Happy Gardening
Hi Carol, on the recent Arcadia Edible Yard tour one of the homeowners said she does 2 crops of tomatoes successfully in her yard. One as you mention above and another that she starts in August. Have you had any luck with a Fall crop of tomatoes?
ReplyDeletethanks
se
Hi Shelly,
DeleteYou can grow a Fall crop of tomatoes, but you may run into a few problems:
1. The plant may not reach full maturity and set fruit before the cold kills it off. It depends on the microclimate of where your plants are growing. If it is not a frost pocket and never freezes, then the plants should be fine. Otherwise you will have to cover them with frost cloth.
2. The days are shorter in the Fall and Winter, less sunshine and cooler. This also affects tomato fruit production.
3. Because of the 2 above issues, the tomatoes may not be as sweet as those grown in the warmer months and the skins may be a little tougher too, as they take a bit longer to mature and ripen.
Other than that - give it a try !
Hi Carol:
DeleteThe tomatoes that I purchased during your sale are going crazy!! Great tasting, especially the unique Amana Orange. Such a "sweet" tomato, seems less acidic than other varieties.
Rob Mariani
So glad you are enjoying them. I grew them last year for the first time and they were so successful that they are now a firm favorite to plant every year !
Delete