Early Girl

Does anyone have any experience with Early Girl tomatoes?
As I live in zone 5a our season is short and I am always anxious to eat that first ripe tomato.
Cheers,
Carol

I always plant them. Taste is much better than the 'Beef' types. If transplanted in garden same day, will beat Celebrity by a week.
Bernie

Ok..Thanks for your advice

Carol,

I grew Early Girl many years ago, but it's not a variety I grew again, nor plan to. The taste was not to my liking and since there are many many more I prefer, Early Girl doesn't get planted in my garden

You say you're in zone 5a and say you have a short season. I'm also a zone4/5 meaning 19/20 years I'm a zone 5 a and I've never thought of my season as being short.

I can mature every one of the over 1000 different varieties of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes I've grown with the exception of a couple of the very long season gold.red bicolors.

I don't plant out until the first week of June and I expect first killing frost anywheres from early September to late September.

Last year it was late, the two years before were Sept 7th and 9th, not that I remember dates or anything. LOL

If you're talking about wanting some good tasting early varieties that's a different issue. I don't usually grow them becasue waiting a week or so more one can have really great tasting varieteis.

But if it's an early season variety you want, why not try Matina, Stupice ( a look alike for Matina), Sophie's Choice, Jaune Negib, even Sungold, which comes in early for most folks.

Carolyn

Hi Carolyn..boy you know a lot about Tomatoes!
I haven't noticed any of those names except Sungold, at the gadren centres. Maybe I will give those a try.
Yes..it is that I would love to have tomatoes early.
Thank you very much.

I grow Early Girl and also Better Boy. The earliest ripe ones are always the Early Girl, and compared to supermarket tomatoes or no tomatoes at all we think they are wonderful!! I am in zone 5 with cool nights that I believe retard the ripening process. Our first frost is usually late September. Better Boy fruit is just a little larger and a week or so later. I usually start my plants under lights about April 15, transplant from those little cell packs (ice cube size cells only deeper) to 4 inch pots when they start looking a bit big for the size of the cells, I'd guess around the 2nd week in May, and transplant from there to the garden the first week in June. This year I was late getting them set out and now our weather is cooler than it should be with 40* nights, which is not making me or the tomatoes happy. I'm looking for a tomato that is a larger size for canning but ripens about the same time as the Better Boy. Every fall I bring in boxes full of green and unripe tomatoes that ripen on a table in my basement for canning, it would be so much nicer to be picking more of them ripe from the vines.

About this zone business; the zones are for how perennials survive the winters. This goes by how low temperatures are during the winter. There should be a chart for summer heat.
Here in southern MN we have growing season from April 15 to Sept 15. About June first things really grow fast because the temp gets in the 80's daytime & 60 or more at night.
our daylight for today was 15 Hrs - 37 minutes. The farther north you go the more daylight hours. We were in a park near Winnapeg, Canada one June & it didn't get dark till 11PM & was daylight again at 4 AM. Our tomatoes we set out May 20th are now 18" to 24" tall. The EARLY GIRL'S have tomatoes about 1" diameter already.
Lots of field corn here knee high or better now.
Bernie

Nitetime heat makes a huge difference I believe since things stop growing during the night and have to restart sometime after it warms up the next day. I figure about 1/3 longer to maturity than the official number of days. Those zones for survival information sure don't tell us much about growing seasons and I agree that we sure do need some gauge for summer heat hours, average overnight temps, average daytime temps, daylight hours, humidity, and stuff like that. It sounds like a huge complicated job.

I am growing Early Girl this year. I don't have a ripe tomato yet. But, I have delightful ripe Clear Pink Early, Siletz, Oregon Spring and Prairie Fire tomatoes. These are the 4 I would recommend for taste.

I have a bunch of other ripe tomatoes (Polar Star were the earliest for me this year)......

My Green Grapes have just started coming in too. Delightful, and they too beat the "Early" Girl.

Of course I live next to the San Francisco Bay. Your results may differ.

Oh, my Stupice are very forgettable. I ripped them out already.

Starzz, I could have made my first million on Early Girl Tomatoes. We like to grow them best, for taste, color, and size. People don't always like big tomatoes and these really fit the bill. They make a wonderful tomato juice and canning tomato. I love Celebrity tomatoes also. They grow bigger than the Early Girls, but have a great flavor and are attractive for market growers. We have been selling tomatoes from a friend so far this year, as ours haven't turned red yet. They are grown in a greenhouse, but in soil and the plants are at least 8 feet tall. They are called Blitz and are imported from Denmark, which tells me that if you grew them in Ontario, then they would probably do okay. They have great skins, wonderful flavor, are very meaty and not very seedy. Perfect for a lot of things. Let me know if you find them or try them. Not sure where he got the seed from, but I will try to ask when I see them next. Good luck. K @ Misty Meadows Farm

Thanks for the info Misty..

Picked a half of pail of those nasty Early Girls today.
Melt in your mouth, it's been 10 months since I had a fresh garden tomato. All other varieties are still 2 weeks away at least. We'll see how they go at market tomarrow. No tomatoes there yet.
Bernie

My Green Grapes beat the early girls too! I envy you Bernie, I can't wait for my Early Girls to come in. Best all-purpose tomato I ever had, those nasty things. :) How did they go at the market? K @ Misty Meadows Farm

Starzz - I am just down the 401 from you, north of Kinston. I have great luck with Early Girl. I know you are anxious to have that first bite and you should be able to soon. My Early Girls are just starting to ripen now. My mouth is watering already. Sure get envious when I read the posts from Kathy and Bernie and how things are coming into season so much earlier than ours. I also have fantastic luck with Romas, I have alot of fruit this year but no sign of them ripening yet. Enjoy that first bite of your Early Girl!

Yes..lots of rain this year and not as much heat..
it won't be long now till we are eating the first tomato.

We put them in pint berry boxes. About three to a box. Sold them all for $2 a box!

Kidney, Wish I could send you some delicous tomatoes, so you can get a head start on your taste buds :) I am in Kentucky, so will have things a lot before you. Am I assuming you are in Canada? Also, just remember. All goods things come to those that wait and are patient. You will have a bumper crop and be so busy, you're head will be spinning and we will be envious of your crop. :) Any chance of making the KY Roundup this year? Bernie, are you going? See ya....