great tomato for colder climates

hello i am new to dave's garden but not new to tomatoes i live in northern michigan where we have mabye three months of summer so we have to make every day count
i have been growing stokes ultra sweet for some time it is a 62 day determinate tomato that does really well it is a hybrid so no saving seed it sets well in cool weather it has nice 8 oz round fruits with no green shoulders nice for market gardeners great for canning ir you have a cold climate and short summers try this one

Trouble is, Birdlady, that because it works so well for you they'll likely discontinue it. And then where will you be?

That's the way it always works for me, anyway. Soon as I find something I like, they take it off the market.

Which is one reason that I love heirlooms so much. When I find one I like, I know I can have it forever.

This message was edited Tuesday, May 7th 10:01 AM

PS:

Welcome to Dave's. Your gonna like it here.

So, are there any heirloom varities that would fit into the northern Michigan 3 month time frame and do well? I'm even concerned that my summer isn't going to be long enough for the heirlooms. Our nights start cooling down in September very quickly. I'm giving the heirlooms a try this year though. I'm so hungry for a good tomato and not one of those rocks from the grocery store.

I promised Birdlady I would research some heirloom varieties appropriate to her season. A cursory check of some of my references provides quite a few. Among them:

Short Season (55-65 days)

Matina; Sophie’s Choice; Stupice (said to be one of the earliest); Aufbinder; Beefcake; Bloody Butcher; Highlander.

Mid-Season (65-80 days, with early midseason marked [e])

Amish Paste; Anna Russian [e]; Black From Tula; Box Car Willie; Cherokee Purple; Dr. Carolyn [e]; Arkansas Traveler [e]; Alma [e];

Basically, this keeps everything inside of 75 days. Figuing a late May/early June plant out, any of these should make it just fine.

I'm sure there are dozens of other possibilities as well.

I printed off your information. Thanks. I'll be using some of these plants next year. Didn't mean to butt in on this thread, but found it to be something I was also interested in.

Butt in all you want Brugie. That's why I posted it here instead of just emailing her privately.

You might also want to try Illini Star, a relatively new OP bred by Merlyn Neidens in Illinois. It's officially 75 days, but usually comes in earlier than that.

Baker Creek has seed if you want to give it a try.

any of the tomatoes brook listed will grow there but i would use black plastic to warm the soil they may not be thinking about soil temp under 50* the first part of june

Every year is different. Most years I would already have my tomatoes in the ground. Usually by May 1st, but this year has been so strange. This week we are to be down into the upper thirties again. So, still I wait. I'm trying the red mulch this year. Just hope it is worth the effort it takes to lay it down. At least it will take care of most of the weeds. Looked at my tomatoes today and some of them are putting on bloom buds. Should I remove them?

Another thing that might help in the colder climates is to use a raised bed, as well as black plastic, in which to raise tomatoes. Soil should get warm earlier and stay warm later. Starting the plants in large pots inside, thus allowing the plants to get pretty large prior to planting outside, should give additional earliness. Heavy pruning of the plants may hasten ripening also.....not sure.

Owen

Brugie,

I'm in 6B, and usually don't plant until May 1. If your soil really is warm enough at that point, most years, (I suspect you are pushing things just a bit) then you should have no problems with 99% of tomato varieites.

We're talking May, June, July, and August for you, and possibly even into September. Most late maturing tomatoes do so at 90-105 days. So, even if you plants delayed flower and fruit set because of cold feet, you would still have at least 90 growing days (June-August).

What I'm saying, really, is that given your growing season you should pick varieites based on what appeals to you in terms of described flavor, size, color, etc., rather than on maturation date per se.

thanks for all the info folke but we can't put tomatoes in the ground until the first or second week of june a 75 day tomato is too long for here we get frost early sept. i guess we need to move south except it is so lovely here

Birdlady,

The ones I marked with [e] in the above list are more like 65-70 days, which might work for you. Especially if you use some season extenders, like black plastic, Wall of Waters, and the like.

You might also try starting them earlier, and transplanting into containers that will give you a headstart. Even a two week jump would make an incredible difference.

Might be worth experimenting with, one variety at a time.

I agree with Brook for the short season tomato growers. Start earlier in the house and keep transplanting to bigger and bigger pots.....at least up to one gallon size, and possibly even 2 gallon size pots. That will give your plants a significant head start prior to putting into the ground outside. Use black plastic to absorb heat and warm the ground faster. I am doing this with 5 of my plants this year.....they are in one gallon pots and are blooming now. Gonna set in the ground yet this week, since I don't want the container to start restricting root growth. Hoping for some really early ripe tomatoes from them:)

Owen

Speaking of blooming, Owen, I was just sent an old (1993) article from National Gardening that details the experimental work of Dale Kretchman, a vegetable physiologist then at Ohio State U. Kretchman says that when transplanting it ok to leave buds and flowers, they won't harm anything. But any actual tomatoes should be removed, or the plant's energy and nutrients will all go to the fruit rather than root development.

Brook.....I agree with the article if the plant has been in a "small" container and has become root-bound. However, if the container is of large enough size, the plant would not be root-bound, and therefore it would be just like it's already growing in wide open garden soil. Thus the first blooms should bear just fine without delaying growth of the plant. That is why mine are in one gallon containers. When I transplant the "root ball" to the garden tomorrow, I will be able to visually verify that it is, hopefully, not root-bound, and will let you know:) If it is, I will transplant up to 2 gallon size container next spring:)

Owen

I have no opinion, Owen. But according to Kretchman the problem is that once there is fruit set the plant directly everything to it, to the detriment of, in this case, further root development.

If your plants are large enough this shouldn't matter. His point, I think, is that at regular transplant size (ideally 6 inches) or even slightly larger, you need to direct the plant's energies to root growth.

OK. See what u mean Brook. My plants are about two feet tall, so I think they will be fine. We will see:)

Owen

I had a couple that I planted into the garden today that had bloom and I left them on. I figure that by the time they go through tonights storms and winds, the blooms might be gone anyway. Maybe even the tomato plants themselves. These are plants that have been outside for about two weeks, so I figured the soil in the pots they are in got colder than the ground is now. Have plenty more where those came from if they don't make it. I've never planted tomatoes in the garden this late. Wanted to hold off one more week, but the devil made me do it!! :-)

Thanks for all the information put forth in the forum. Very useful stuff and I do appreciate it.

I live in a climate with a short season, and a summer that will not support tomato plants outdoors. They are a greenhouse or coldframe item here. I grow them in pots, generally selecting the ones that mature the fastest. These are usually the cherry tomato varieties. Some of the shorter season tomatoes are: Siberian (55d-determinate), Glacier (55d-determinate), Tigerella (59d-indeterminate), and Tumbler 49d-determinate container type),Golden Nugget (55d-indeterminate).

I was taught to choke up the tomato plants when I transplant them. Usually, I put a very small amounf of soil in the bottom of the pot, then turn the seedling sideways and let trail up the inside of the pot. Wherever the stem is under soil, it will root. I'll even remove lower leaves sometimes to keep the exposed stem short. I've even spiraled long stems into pots and it works fine.

Hey Weezingreens, the good news is I got my first ripe tomato on the Siberian. The bad news is there is only one other tomato on it. The rain and wind got the poor baby. It looks like a larger cherry; actually I've had cherries larger than this one. I'm just pleased with all that has gone on here that the poor thing gave me any at all ;-)Lunch will be the taste test ;-)
I'll be back to report.
ANYONE HAVING EXTRA SEEDS I WOULD LOVE TO DO A SWAP FOR MY FALL CROP. So I was told here in zone 6 they will be non-producing by July 4th. Now I pray for some cool weather or my a/c bill is going to be high next month.

Carol: I'll check my tomato seed and send what I can spare. Most of my tomatoes are the cherry types that mature in under 60 days. I may have some Siberian seed for you.

OMG, I am so excited. I would love to share something with you LMK what you are looking for. I am updated my list tonite. If I can stay awake. Just found out I got the virus so don't e-mail me till I get it straightened out with my ISP

FOR ALL TO SHARE CHECK THIS OUT
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/tomato/2000082820026233.html
Great list of all tomotoes. I hope I am not doing wrong by posting this here but info is info no mater who the source.

carol: Just email me your address when you get the virus thing taken care of and I'll send you some seeds.

Bless you! I will do that by tomorrow.