Tomato question -- second crop..

[AndyS]

Well, my fridge is full of tomatoes and my fascination with fresh salads is starting to wane somewhat...

However, I have noticed that a SECOND crop is coming in on the vines... All at once, and very prolific...

The plants are Celebrity, from Home Depot, and this is north Texas with temps in the 90s every day and almost no rain, tho I have been watering the garden every other day or so with a sprinkler...

So, learned gurus, is this normal ? Am I going to get tomatoes off these vines until the snow falls, or is a second crop the most I can hope for ?

Also, any advice on how to guarantee some fall tomatoes would be nice....

I will be very tired of tomatoes for 2006, but I'd like to understand this second and third crop thing a little better...

Thanks,

Andy in Eureka, Texas

PS... My cantalope are turning yellow.... I will very tired of eating cantalop in 2-3 weeks, but for now it is pure heaven.....

[V_coerulea]

[Dwayne]

I disagree with Gary. I can all the extra in a Hot Water Bath for about 30 minutes. I add a teaspoon of salt to each quart of tomatoes, put on a sterile lid, and put them into the HWB. They really taste fantastic when you eat them out of a jar.

Dwayne

[ToweringQs]

Andy ..."noticed that a SECOND crop is coming in on the vines... All at once, and very prolific...

The plants are Celebrity, from Home Depot, and this is north Texas with temps in the 90s every day and almost no rain, tho I have been watering the garden every other day or so with a sprinkler...

So, learned gurus, is this normal ? Am I going to get tomatoes off these vines until the snow falls, or is a second crop the most I can hope for ?

Also, any advice on how to guarantee some fall tomatoes would be nice...."

Is it normal that N. Tx is 90+ every day, there/s no rain, and you/re draining your well keeping your garden alive?

It certainly was went I lived in that 'hole 'nuther country!

Determinants, like the Celebrity, set an initial heavy crop, you then get a smaller second crop and after that, it/s +/- over. This type of tomat is good if you/re selling for fresh-market b/c you get a whole lot all at once.

OTOH, indeterminants are more like the Energizer Bunny, provided they don/t succumb to the elements. With luck, they/ll pick all season long.

You can be guaranteed a fall crop by setting out 'short-season' plants, such as Early Girl, again in early July. My zone-7 seedlings are 4" tall and ready for hardening-off. EEBE, they/ll start picking by mid-September.

[V_coerulea]

No one was implying that the determinate tomatoes don't taste good when canned. I was implying that the quanitiy might be less than you want for canning - less than what you could get from indeterminates. Gary

[AndyS]

[e-mail] wrote:> Is it normal that N. Tx is 90+ every day, there/s no rain, and you/re

**** No. We are in the biggest drought in Texas history --- so far about 18 months, and all lakelevels are WAY down... I can't even throw a rock far enough from my dock to hit the lake... However, I have glued together a couple hundred feet of PVC to get to the water, and it only cost 8 cents and hour to run my pump. so I have

water for my garden.......

**** The commone wisdom is that if a person owns Hell and Texas, in the summer they should live in Hell and rent out Texas to Democrats....

*** Thanks, I am going to find out what "determinates" means, and take advantage of that knowledge...

*** OK... If Home Depot has Early Girl, I'll get a flat today... My cantalopes are starting to turn yellow, and in a couple weeks I'll need to till it up and I might as well plant more tomatoes.... Pumpkins are supposed to do well here, planted in July, but what the hell can I do with a bunch of pumpkins ??????

Thanks for your help, all...

Andy in Eureka, Texas , poet, engineer, and novice gardener

[TQ]

Determinants vines grow to a certain point then stop. Indeterminants vines grow and grow and grow some more.

[Dwayne]

Sorry about that Gary. I can what ever I can get, after eating what I want fresh. I raise indeterminate, but get them from the grocery store and I have no way of telling what they are. Either way, they taste great.

Dwayne

[ToweringQs]

AndyS wrote: [snippage] "If Home Depot has Early Girl, I'll get a flat today."

Chances are you won/t find them at the Home Despot but there's still plenty-o-time for some direct-seed-sowing. Sow seeds today, they/re out of the ground in less than a week, and you/re off to the races. Fifty-two days later, you/re pickin' and grinnin' come late September.

Summer seed sowing requires special attention to ensure good germination. Soak the soil one day, then sow your seed the next. Cover the seed with soil and a light mulch of pine straw or coarse grass clippings to conserve moisture. Once the seeds have sprouted, tuck some soil up against the stems and return the mulch.