Discussion Board

Since I've planted my tomatoes it has not really been that warm although it is slowly warming up more and more.

But my tomatoes are not growing very fast. We've had a lot of rain and cooler weather. Now the wind has hit--really got windy last night and it is to go for another 24 hours. Up to 40 mph. My poor tomatoes are now being blown around. I hope they make it. They've been out for 3 weeks now but not doing well.

I think they really do enjoy the heat. My plants are growing so fast I can't keep up with them on supporting them. They are so green and lush, and have so many blooms and tomatoes. Most of it happened in the last couple weeks since we've been in a heat wave. When I put them out the plants looked small compared to what was being sold. I was worried.

Hopefully it'll warm up soon for you. The winds should be ok for them as long as the plants look healthy.

Did you start them yourself?

yes Faith, I started my tomatoes myself, most of them. I got a couple from a relative and I think I bought a couple too. I have about ten plants total. They seem to be growing but our weather has really been cool. We've probably had 3-4 warmer days since last winter.

I have a feeling it will suddenly get HOTTER than hades and we will really feel it...lol. Probably just around the corner...

I'm so glad your tomatoes are growing well. Your description reminds me of mine in past years. I hope they really do well this year for you.

But my potatoes/lettuce and peas and other things are all doing well in this cool weather. I've got to replant my green beans, only about 5 plants came up in the row. I'm afraid the seeds rotted because it got so cool and wet. So this week-end I plan to put in more.

Funny my green beans haven't been coming up like normal. I've stuck seeds in three times now. BUT the Limas are going nuts. I am wondering if my talk to them worked. I told them this was the last year, because I put them in and never seem to get much.

You gave me an idea. You know how folks do that cookie exchange or cookie party around Christmas? You know each person brings so many cookies and shares them with everyone else, so there is a nice assortment for each? Well, what if gardening friends got together and each grew a different tomato plant and they all shared with their friends. Then a person would only have to buy one pack of seeds, but you'd have this nice variety of plants.

I probably lost every one.

OH OH OH James!!! I'm the same way--I never miss planting a Sweet 100. Mine are really prolific and just keeping up with picking them isn't easy but yes, how wonderful they are to eat right in the garden!!!

A couple years ago I bought tomato seeds from a main catalog company and it said something like "Heirloom Sweet 100" or "Super Sweet 100's" or something close to that. I thought it was a regular Sweet 100---can you imagine my shock and dismay which quickly led to ANGER when I found out these little "things" were awful tasting? They obviously were not the Sweet 100's I was used to!! They were not sweet at all.

I was so upset I emailed the company and told them they were misleading the public by using the terms "Sweet 100" on the title of their seed pkts.

They were quite indifferent to how I felt. I will NEVER ever buy seed from them again.

thanks to Plumerias here on the list, I too am a sweet 100 fan. Boy do those plants produce. You know it's a bad year when you can't even get them to grow. I love to dehydrate them too for the winter.

I did try another brand this year, called tomatoberry. I didn't keep the darn thing marked so now I'm not sure which it is.

It's a little late for this season, so mentally file this one for next year......... As Faith can tell you, I like to "play with my food". I grew all my tomatoes from seed. Two of my very favorite cherry types are Sun Gold, which is a round, orange variety. LOL, that one often didn't make it into the house, I just ate them when I was hungry or thirsty while working outside. Another really fun one is Matt's Wild Cherry. It's very small and very delicate, so I can't imagine ever finding it at a farmers market even. I've seen plenty of Sun Gold at farmers markets and also got them with my CSA. Anyways, the Matt's Wild Cherry, I had to harvest them with my clippers, taking the whole stem, just like the way stem tomatoes are sold in the grocery store, because if I tried to pluck them single handed from the plant, they'd tear.

A few years ago I was going up to Michigan to visit my sister at the right time that I could take her a few plants. Her then two (?) year old grand daughter earned the name Tomato Monster that summer. Her grandma never got a single cherry tomato. That child ate every single Sun Gold and Matt's Wild Cherry that the plants produced! She'd arrive at Grandma's house, grab a bowl out of the kitchen, and head straight for the garden. No hello, just where are those tomatoes?! The following year the child tried to eat the plants when I brought them, as she wanted tomatoes NOW!!! She's very disappointed that her great aunt doesn't have a garden any more.

LOL, what Faith isn't saying is that when I cleaned out the house I sent her all my seeds, opened and unopened packages, so she got to have a grand time playing with her food too.

Oh boy Yes I am having a ball trying some unique and different things. I'd love to go to a seed swap which we do have around here. I have gotten some new additional favorites trying out her seeds. This year is my first year with carrots. I will try them again next year and a different spot, but so far the tops look ok.

I still haven't gotten the nerve up to try kohlabri, but next year I will.

It is nice to not have the same old basic things. What is funny is friends of my Mother who garden are the normal, basic garden types and they love coming over and asking what all I am growing.

Kohlrabi does better in cooler weather, so you might want to plan on planting some for a fall crop. Hot weather just seemed to make it, I don't know, kind of hard instead of juicy and crisp. Remember it's related to broccoli, and plan accordingly. I used to plant it the same time as I did the radishes. Looks similar when it comes up too.

yeah our quick summer really slowed down my broccoli and radishs. It's funny you said that about kohlrabi looking like radishes because I pulled my last two this Saturday and one of them had these nubs and roots all around instead of just the bottom, and yes it did remind me of it.

I want to plant kale this fall and I got my brussel sprouts and broccoli starting so I will try the kohlrabi then. yum.

We just put up dark shade cloth on the fence to the west of our container garden. It's mostly to block the prevailing winds coming from that direction but it's also providing afternoon shade. The tomatoes and brassicas are MUCH happier! The eggplants, OTOH, are absolutely loving the heat.

So fun to read all your experiences on here - we love tomatoes too and try all kinds!! Faith, you'll need to develope your idea about seed exchanges....sounds like fun!

We actually got a nice hot day today. I even went swimming this afternoon. Up in the 80's--but we didn't need to turn on our air conditioning in the house so it wasn't "unbearable" heat. But my tomatoes are growing. We put in heavy iron stakes and I tie them up with green plant tape--something I enjoy doing. But I've got a lot of little green tomatoes so I guess even in the cooler weather they were growing!

Chile--how nice you could shelter some of your plants from the wind. I sure wish I could....we live up on the top of a hill and the wind loves us. Fortunately my garden is a little protected by the shop but the wind still blows some of my plants around. In the summer we don't get so much wind unless we get a thunderstorm.