Tomato Contest -Growing Pictures and Chat

Ok folks, show and tell time. Only if you want to. Roll that beautiful mater footage. ( like roll that beautifull bean footage)

Sadly---I had to order tomato plants for my Big Zack and they wont be here til APRIL! DARN IT!
Totally Tomatoes is not selling the seed for Big Zack this year. Guess I will go ahead and order those burpee delicious seed too. Late starter.

HAVE FUN!

CRICKET

You can grow them by April

I just feel like im running behind is all. My burpee delicious will be 3 weeks behind by the time I get them in the mail and get them started. Oh well . I'll be growing my Plants in 5 gallon Pots. I do have two 15 or 20 gallon pots but I dont think that will be needed for just one plant. Biggest Pot I ever saw. And I always want to use it but never have anything that really needs that much dirt to grow in.

Looks like a cow lick tub to me If so I have about 12 of them and I grow lots of things in them like 5 gerainiums and some trailers like Lobellia , Three pepper plants, Three trailing cherry tom plants, One beefsteak. You could grow cukes or squash lots of things in that tub so much better than 5 gallon buckets you can't believe it. Ernie

I have no idea what a cow lick tub is. I bought this pot from another greenhouse. It has grip handles and pre punched holes in bottom for drainage. I think I paid $2 each for them. They just wanted to get rid of them. I will most likely put them over at the greenhouse doors---for decoration---just dont know what ill put in them yet. Havent made up me mind.

My entry, Mr. Stripey, was half eaten by a varmint of some kind ! I was really looking forward to being the first to post a picture but not meant to be. To bad ! It was as big as the first one.
Now I'll see what develops out of the rest of my beauties. I'm depending on Delicious, Polish, Anna Russian, Stump of the World and a couple of others.

oh sorry to hear that T. I think I have mice in my greenhouse---I found a few broken seedlings.
maybe you can find a mr stripey somewhere and try again.

Well the worst part was that I wanted to take a picture of it and then have a BLT sandwich cause I just bought bacon and fresh lettuce and a loaf of Pepperidge Farms white bread that I was going to toast and droooooool !!! Need I say more ? I don't have one ripe tomato left at this time. All green and won't be ripe for two mor weeks. Oh well ! Nothin wrong with bacon and eggs.......

Tplant, I don't think it is very nice of you to talk about having a BLT with a tomato from your garden when we still have a foot of snow on the ground. You do have a nice day in the sun.
Ken at the Pondview Alpaca Ranch

I SECOND THAT POND.
I would pay big bucks for a reallllllllllllllllll fresh vine ripe tomato right now.
: P

Guys ! Guys! Ain't no sun today w/o my BLT.....


P.S. It is a really dreary day...

awwwwwwwww

well--i guess im a late starter----my burpee seeds are just now germinating and big zac plants will be here in few weeks.

I just started some seeds today. I just couldn't wait another second. It's spring! ; )

I'm not growing any varieties that get particularly huge, so I don't think I'll be much competition! LOL! But, gosh durn it, I'm going to try anyway.

I'm so excited about all the new tomatoes I'll be growing this year I just might BURST! :O I can see the headline now: "Excited Gardener Victim of Spontaneous Human Detonation." (!)

Rhonda

lol--the fun of it all is to grow our maters and show them off----just take pride in what ever you grow no mater what size they are.
have fun

cricket

Here is my set of pics. They were started about the first of February. Nothing special just looking pretty good. Have not used any fertilizer yet, waiting to do that once planted outside. I have 3 earthboxes that I am going to try and 1 homemade one that is Rubbermaid -don't know about that one...I guess we will see. I really want to order 3 more earthboxes.....

Cindy

cmalon.... BEAUTIFUL plants !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cmalon --- Healthy lookin plants there ! You just gave me an idea for my marigolds by growing them in the plastic cups ? Thanks.....

Thank you guys for the compliments. I really appreciate them. Those dixie cups are great to use. They are in the 8 oz size and are really doing quite well. I even transplanted some of them into their containers today that I am going to set out around my earthboxes. I read somewhere on a thread that marigolds (French Dwarfs) will help with some sort of bugs (I hope I read that right). Anyway thanks.....Now if the temperatures would just cooperate....LOL

Cindy

Its a shame that big beef wont grow a huge tomato--my big beef are 7 weeks old now. blah I will still weigh my first big beef just incase no other type produces a big one. big beef produces over a pound and thats not very big at all compared to the burpee delicious. Wasnt the burpee delicious the world record of 7 pounds? Then big zac is next at 5 pounds. Thats a 5 pound bag of sugar. I heard you can grow a 2-3 pound with parks whopper.

hope yall have good luck and fun

cricket

Us in zone five won't have mators for a looooooog while yet.

ok folks----where are the pics of your baby tomato plants that are gonna grow the largest tomato we ever saw????????
My burpee has germinated nicely---its about 1 1/2 inches tall lol. Sweet little baby. I took a pic of it but it was blury. Gonna try again later.
Will transplant my burpee in few days.
Still dont have my big zac plants yet.
I'll be growing the maters in 5 gallon grow bags. The biggest maters are your first maters so ------treat them with TLC.
I was telling my grandfather that I have big hopes.
Take pics of all your large tomatoes---never know which one will be bigger than the other.

hehe---you know yall could share some techniques too. I know you dont want to give away secrets but some need to learn.

My advice is: after your first blossoms start producing tomatoes---dont let all of them form. Cut them all off but the first one that formed. Make sure you have several plants just incase your first mater happens to get blossom end rot---back up plants. Make sure you give your mater a little calcium to help prevent blossom end rot. I will be giving mine Calcium Nitrate----one teaspoon every two weeks per plant. ( 3-4 inches away from the main stem.)


Lets Grow Tomatoes!!!!!

CMalon,
WOW just gorgous!!!
And hey, that greenhouse of yours is like a vision to me!!!!!!!

It's freezing and raining here and I would love to go out into that house!!!!!

Best of Luck!!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!!

Maureen
I just started my seeds or I would show my plants.....sigh.....nothing yet.

Big Beef Tomato Plants---not my contest maters---but my produce maters.

HOLY TOMATO BATMAN!!!!!!!

LOL WOW

Maureen

Beooootifullll 'maters, Cricket.

Thats only 2/3 of them-----the other 1/3 is on other side of greenhouse. And will be putting out 80 more in few weeks. That first double row you see is 240 mater plants

Move over Tplant.....here we come! ☺

At 13 days from planting seeds.

Or maybe it's this one @ 14 days! Hehehe, just having fun folks!

Big_Red I see you are also growing "Delicious". Mine is at least 1lb. and still growing. I'm having a real bird problem. They seem to beat me to my pick a day before I do. Real frustrating !!! Took pictures of mine and went to Wal-Mart for development but their machine broke down. Left my film there and will pick-up and post late Sunday. I hope..... I really need a digital but with the cost of all the meds I must take it will have to wait awhile.

Tplant,

Sorry to hear about your bird problem, maybe you should get some bird netting. I've got to get some for my blueberry plants. Hang in there, we need the competition!

I know what you mean about the cost of meds, mine are expensive also. Hopefully Medicare will pick up most of the cost next year!

I'm in, my pics are right around the corner. I'm going with the T-Plant method, take the film to Wal-Mart. Meds first T, the camera can wait, we have Maters to grow. Looking good Red, and Critter, off the charts. Danny

you can buy those kiddy digital cameras---they work just as well=----$20
gee this is gonna be a long 16 weeks ---I just transplanted my seedling the other day. About 5 burpee delicious. In 3 weeks it goes into the 5 gallon grow bags. Cant wait.

I just finished planting 99.9% of my garden last week, cukes, green and red peppers, eggplant, cantaloupes, yellow squash, zucchini. green beans, romaine and buttercrunch lettuce, and tomatoes of course. I think I'm getting too old for this planting thing. EVERYTHING aches. LOL

At the moment, I have 112 tomato plants in the grown with 10-15 more to plant. I also need to plant some onion sets for green onions, and a few sweet banana pepper plants. Oh yeah, I also have the herbs to plant like sweet basil, dill, and rosemary. After that, I'm done because I'm out of garden space. Ahhhhhhhhh. Life is good even if everything hurts. :-)

Terri, great attitude, keep up the good work, and keep us informed on the progress of your garden. Danny

If you only knew what I went through this past week to plant my garden, Danny. Well, since you insist, I'll tell ya. LOL

I had two days this past week to plant as much of my garden as I could finish. I had a slight accident a few nights ago with a weighted down basketball thingy that needed to be moved. Long story why... I enlisted the help of my scrawny (I thought) 15 year-old son to help me. He pushed while I pulled on the darn thing. Hah! He was stronger than I thought. The whole darn thing landed on and smashed my big, right toe. I won't describe it for you, but it was awful looking. I just couldn't believe it! How could this have happened to me the night before my last big planting day the next day? I couldn't wear a shoe for love nor money! So I did what any dedicated, determined gardenerer would do with a little imagination. I used gauze and duct type on my big toe. Boy, did I ever! Then I covered it with a sock and went out and planted the rest of my garden in socks. Oh yeah, I was covered in dirt all right, but my big toe was protected. All that for a garden... LOL

Friday, I went to the doctor. Bad news. He said he had to do a nerve block on my big toe and take the nail off. If anybody ever says that to you, RUN!!! They stick needles all the way through your toe, and it hurts like H***. It's even worse with the deadening stuff wears off. Oh man, what a week. Last week, I got tortured by a dentist when I broke a tooth. This week, the toe torture thing. But at least my garden is planted. (sigh)

Awww Pete2 ! I'm cringing just thinking what you had to go thru. I am so very sorry ....

Terri: You poor thing! Oww, eek, ack!!! I'm wincing just thinking about it.

We'll have to encase you in bubble wrap to keep you safe! ; )

Rhonda

I can grow tomatoes only in the greenhouse, and a few years ago tried "Vendor". It is a little touchier in my climate (can't start it as early) but produces terrific tomatoes, very tasty as well as attractive, so I've been growing it ever since. Here is a picture I took last year:

What a beautiful photo! So sharp and clear! Lovely maters for you...