Ooooooo... I've just planted this for the first time and I've a few that are almost ready. I can't wait to try it. My youngest (2.5yo) loves tomatoes so she'll be right in line behind me.
Mary
I forgot to mention 'Matt's Wild Cherry' is a good one too.
Conceal them? The groundkeepers should thank you. Currant tomatoes are beautiful! Besides, are also big sprawlers.
Yikes! I hate thrips! I got 'Hawaiian' through a seed exchange, I haven't seen it offered since. They are red and an heirloom, I don't know if the red ones available to you might be the same thing. If only there were white, black or a tangy green currants. :) Anyhow, I just did a search and came up with a couple of sources:
I tried a Sweet Millions for the first time this year, in a large container. I don't have any cracking but the leaves are beginning to turn yellow. I don't know much about tomato disease--could it be some kind of blight? There is plenty of fruit and it tastes great. I planted tomatoes in the same container the past two years and only mixed in some compost this year so I imagine it's time to completely wash it out and replace the soil for next year.
Here's a picture of the plant though I'm a little embarrassed to post it because they look so sad!
People don't believe me when I tell them how great currant tomatoes are. I love converting them.
Penelope
Thanks, Steve.
Both of those are added to my list. Yup. Definitely need to cut up more sod.
Gary
Hehe. Maybe I could have termed it differently. When the veggies are ripe, I take them to work pretty much every day to have with my lunch.
A couple of my 1884's are starting to turn. The flavor of those is absolutely incredible. Can't wait.
I like to see the looks I get when I slice up a 1 pound-plus tomato durning lunch at work!
Gary
Thanks for those suggestions, Jim.
They're added to the list. There have been so many great suggestions.. I hope I have the room to try them all.
Gary
I ordered some Stupice seeds.. though I ordered seeds for more varieties than I had room to plant. Next year I'll be digging up more sod.. perhaps this year when it cools off a little.
That one sounds very interesting. Added to the list.
I grew those last year. They were very good, and I am growing them again this year.
Thanks for the link. Looks like a great site.. judging from the few minutes I glanced around.
Gary
I had the same problem with the yellow leaves on my Sweet Million that I potted last year. As far as what actually causes it... I really don't know. Last year I also had one in the ground, and it did incredible, as is the one I planted in the ground this year. as of now, it's a little over 6'.
I've pretty much given up on potted tomato plants. I even had some kind of 'patio' tomato variety last year, that didn't fare well either. Foliage was thin, and yellowed. Fruit were sunscalded, and had a couple instances of blossom-end rot. The only thing I can think of would be improper watering, in my case.
Your Sweet Million is doing considerably better than the one I potted last year.
Gary
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Gary. The plant is still producing fruit which looks and tastes great so I'm not going to worry about it too much. I don't really care what it looks like as long as the results taste good!
As far as planting tomatoes in containers, I've been doing that the past 3 years with mixed results. We always get a ton of rain in the spring (which can last into June here in Boston) and I've found that the containers I place under a slight overhang of the roof do far better than those out in the open. I had a gorgeous Muskvitch (sp?) in a container in that location last year which grew > 6 ft tall and produced well. The other ones I planted out in the open did nothing (I think I got 1 Yellow Taxi all season). I will probably continue planting one cherry-variety on the porch since it's much more convenient that walking down 3 flights of stairs to the garden :).
Good to hear that the Sweet Millions did well in the ground though. The only cherry I have out there is a Sungold which is trying to take over the entire garden. Very prolific and very sweet. I definitely want to plant it again next year but I'll have to reconsider my lay-out since it takes up a ton of space (I only have a 15 sqft plot,unfortunately).
Those two plants are the only ones that have ripened for me so far. I'm waiting on Black from Tulia, Muskvitch, Old German, Paul Robeson and an heirloom plum (name escapes me right now). I'll report back if anyone is interested.
LauraJ Zone 6a (Boston, MA)
I can't tell you how glad I am to hear you say that. I had a helluva time starting my seedlings this year and resorted to a heating pad. Then I put them in the cool window until I planted them out. It's been a very cool and wet season here, but the tomatoes are handling it very well. The fruit is plentiful, if behind in ripening, but the plants are very healthy.
EV
Here's a great place to get some unusual vegetable seed, tomato too.
I grew Sweet 100's this year (Northern Virginia USA). Nearly 100% of them are split and I don't even harvest them any more - I'll eat a few as I'm harvesting other varieties, but I'm letting the rest just fall off the vine. I had already decided weeks ago that I'll try something different next year. Maybe it's all the torrential rain we're getting this year, but they have been a disappointment.
Last year, I put a cattle panel up beside several of my tomato plants which worked very well. I supported it in two places with metal fence posts. This year, I had made a sort of hoop house of one and was not at all happy with it so removed the plastic. I left it in place and planted my Sun Golds and other cherry-type tomato plants at each corner. It is working wonderfully. If it were a normal year, I'd have a completely covered tomato arbor at this point.
FYI, a cattle panel is 16 feet long, four feet high, with 8-inch mesh. Because it is designed to keep large farm animals where they belonged, it is heavy duty. Unlike rebar, it does not rust as it is a fence. In our area, the panels sell for just under $20. They will last indefinitely.
If I had the intestinal fortitude and strong hands and heavy duty lineman's cutters, I'd made some great cages of the panels. Even cut to place as four-feet long pieces shaped to a right angle would work well and stack very well in the off season. Supports could be eight feet tall getting two from each panel if one wanted them that tall (or three 6-ft cages). Of course, the tomatoes would need additional training with only two sides. Metal electrical conduit cut to the appropriate height would work well as a stabilizer (stake).
This year, where I had the tomato plants on the cattle panel last year, I have cucumbers with the pepper plants between the cucumbers and the walkway. Many of you have also had a bumper year of cucumbers so can imagine how well this has worked for those.
I had planned to have one on one side of the garden for raspberry vines but didn't get it done this year, but it should work well for those as well.
This year has definitely not been my best tomato year though I must admit I've had no bad tomato years, just late ripening this year as everyone else seems to have had.
Those Sun Golds are definitely keepers . . . and plant-againers. :-)
Glenna
(snip)
I picked up some cages like that at an auction. Somebody else had made them from the cattle panels. They're about 5 feet tall and about 4 feet on a side. Nice and strong.
Have you tried making a trellis from the cattle panels? Just put two fence posts in the ground about 8 feet apart, then put the panel over them, making a hoop of it with the ends held down by the bottoms of the fence posts. It makes a nice trellis for cucumbers, peas, and anything else you want to let climb on it. (snip)
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