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how are your tomatoes? diagnosing troubles

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I CAN’T SEEM TO KEEP MY TOMATOES (or anything else) well watered enough in this dry year, and am expecting some kind of havoc as a result. Extended 90-degree daytime temperatures have already caused some flowers to drop before producing, for instance. How are your tomatoes faring, and if the reply is “not so good,” perhaps it’s time to review the Tomato Troubles FAQ page?

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7 comments
July 21, 2012

comments

  1. Abby says

    July 21, 2012 at 2:38 pm

    I was anticipating a bumper crop of Roma but the 100+ temps put the kibosh on that. The earliest ones had a bit of BER, but now I am getting some good – if small – ones. Not as many as I expected from 16 plants. The garlic, on the other hand, did *great*.

    Reply
  2. Michelle Beissel says

    July 21, 2012 at 4:24 pm

    Planting was delayed because of unusually cool weather here in southwest France so they are just becoming pinkish at present. They seem v happy though, with the nice steady rain we have been getting for a couple months as I am, since I hardly need to water! The previous seasons were so different, hot and dry, and keeping them productive was immensely challenging. But I did learn a lot (like the importance of increasing the moisture retentive structure of the soil which I am doing by slowly and surely incorporating leaf mould).

    Bon courage to all who are struggling with heat and drought.

    Reply
  3. Carol says

    July 22, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    Tomatoes are pretty much done here in TX, but I got my best crop ever . . . as did most of my local gardening friends. Probably due to the fairly regular rains we’ve had since planting. And, the stink bugs didn’t find mine till quite late in the game. I’ve cut the plants back and will see if I can get them to produce a few more in the fall.

    Reply
  4. Beverly says

    July 22, 2012 at 6:54 pm

    I have 17 tomato plants, all in cages, some in pairs in the same cage, spread out amidst perennials, annuals and other vegetables. The first to bear were the Sun Golds, a yellow cherry. No others are coming in yet, but it’s just about the right time now. I pulled off about 5 fruits from larger types that had Blossom End Rot, certainly due to the string of outrageously hot days with little rainfall here in eastern PA, zone 6. Some yellowing foliage is evident at the base of many tomato plants, even though I pruned off lower branches for better air circulation weeks ago. I am keeping a sharp eye out for Blight which is in a nearby county and made the front page of the newspaper recently. My dehydrator is standing by for the flood of red and yellow fruits I desperately hope to be picking soon. My new variety this year is the yellow French one called ‘Jaune Flamme’, so far looking very healthy and vigorous. I try at least one new tomato each season, in addition to regrowing favorites.

    My best tomato trick is to sculpt the soil surface after placing the tomato plant into its hole (before the cage goes on). I create a depressed reservoir, scooping up soil to make a little perimeter wall, hoping to catch and hold more rainwater and direct it to the root area. After sculpting, a thick mulch of straw or pine needles goes on to prevent splashback onto stems during rainstorms, possibly spreading disease. Lastly the cage and A LABEL go into place.

    I tried the trick of hanging red Christmas balls on the plant before any red fruits were showing up, hoping to train birds to find no reward by pecking. This backfired somewhat last year as the ball’s shiny surface worked like a reflective gazing ball and frightened birds away from eating bugs off the tomato plants. Insect damage increased sharply. As plants branched out and I ran out of Christmas balls, the fruits were pecked so much I wrapped them in tulle netting so I could at least get a taste!

    Reply
  5. Terri H. says

    July 23, 2012 at 10:10 am

    I’ve been commenting on your Facebook posts that I’m not getting fruit… I think it’s too much nitrogen. I was giving it generic organic veggie fertilzer until a week & a half ago, when I got some tomato-specific organic fertilizer with NO nitrogen. Plus we had a spate of 100+ temps. I’m hoping we get back in balance soon.

    Reply
  6. Teresa says

    July 23, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    Oh ick…that looks like blossom end rot or something. Our tomatoes are doing all right. We’ve had 100+ temps here in the mid-west and dry also. Luckily, spotty thunderstorms gave our valley a ton of rain last week (not a drop in town that’s only 15 minutes away from us though) so the veggies are doing better.

    Reply
  7. Brian G. says

    July 23, 2012 at 7:46 pm

    Margaret, just listened to your podcast from this morning. Regarding your grow bag tomato experiment, try wrapping each bag with some clear plastic sheeting to slow down the evaporation. I had a similar situation this spring when starting seeds in cow pots (bought a whole case of them). I didn’t take into account the evaporation rate and couldn’t keep anything watered well enough. I finally placed the eco-friendly pots inside some old plastic nursery pots and problem solved. Plastic does come in handy for some things.

    Reply

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Podcast: Soups, Soups & More Soups

I’VE FOLLOWED a vegetarian diet for decades, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I mastered a really good vegetable soup. Now I’m learning variations on vegetable-based soups, plus ones with beans and even ideas for mushroom soups, too–all thanks to Alexandra Stafford and these recipes. (Stream it below, read the transcript or subscribe free.)

https://robinhoodradioondemand.com/podcast-player/6211/vegetable-soup-ideas-with-ali-stafford-november-5-a-way-to-garden-with-margaret-roach.mp3

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awaytogarden

mad gardener, nature addict, award-winning writer & podcaster, rural resident, corporate dropout, creator of awaytogarden dot com and matching book.

Instagram post 2190297402408409324_444552553 Snow day. To be followed by a snow night. #awaytogarden #wavehillchairs
Instagram post 2177779417009402040_444552553 No matter that it was 11F and 17F on mornings this week; my lifelong companions and I are all tucked in, each in our respective offseason spots. Three giant pots of #cliviaminiata that are actually pieces of my long-gone grandmother’s original plant from many, many decades ago, love the offseason bright cold of the mudroom, and get no water till around the new year or so. They need a chill (under 50 but above 35) for about 40 days to trigger timely bloom in late winter/early spring (without it they will bloom whenever, later, like June or even summer). The #alocasia reacts to the cold of the mudroom by shutting down and going dormant and leafless, and then I’ll let it sleep till late winter, when I give it a drink to see if it awakens. That one sleeps and wakes on its own timetable because I do not have a proper spot for it (ideally warm, like 60 or 65 at least, and humid and bright...no can do the humid part here). We have been together probably 10 years anyhow, despite my shortcomings as a #plantparent . #alocasiaamazonica #clivias #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplants #awaytogarden
Instagram post 2172580656557749859_444552553 Gardener: “I raked all the leaves!” Nature: “Oh, really?” (Cue sound of demonic laughter from on high.)
Instagram post 2170506606641504178_444552553 I wanna tell you how it’s gonna be You’re gonna give your love to me I wanna love you night and day You know my love will not fade away Not fade away Nope. Not this #cotinus leaf’s fiery hot love at least. Like the 1957 #buddyholly song I first heard by #therollingstones in 1964, it keeps going. #awaytogarden #fallfoliage2019 #cotinusgrace #notfadeaway
Instagram post 2168987273989949378_444552553 “Jack Frost nipping at your, er, geraniums...” And here it comes.
Instagram post 2166837817953503284_444552553 Constant companions: If you want to keep good company all winter, grow some good keepers. My house is stuffed with piles of #cucurbita awaiting their time in the oven or soup kettle. Each one is a character, distinctive. On one chair in the mudroom two close cousins in #cucurbitamoschata — the horse collar-shaped one called ‘Tromboncino’ or ‘Tromboncino Rampicante’ snuggles with some ‘Butternut.’ The ‘Tromboncino’ are better eaten green and small as #zucchini but I can’t resist their eventual mad size and shape, big enough to wear around your neck. I use their meat for enriching vegetable stock; the ‘Butternut’ are far more rich and delicious. Seed respectively from sandhillpreservation.com #sandhillpreservationcenter and @turtle_tree_seed (whose ‘Butternut,’ selected for “lastingness” for decades, will keep and keep into next spring or more). #wintersquash #awaytogarden #goodkeeper #cucurbitaceae
Instagram post 2162565040882902064_444552553 Furry fall friend: I look forward to crossing paths with this woolly caterpillar of the #giantleopardmoth this time of year, when its fiery intersegmental bands and plush coat seem to be just the right autumn-into-winter look. Miraculously this tiny animal will overwinter in a woodpile or in the leaf litter, even here in the North, building up a concentration of antifreeze (glycerol I think?) in its cells before the worst weather begins to avoid disaster. (Reminds me of the super-hardy #woodfrog who does similarly. Such heroes.) Swipe to see a beat-up pic of the adult moth, tattered with scales missing at its wing margins, but still dramatic. Unlike various spine-covered caterpillars that can sting you, this one’s hairs (or setae) won’t, but he will roll up tight if touched, in self-defense. I am in awe of such complex strategies of survival, I am. #mothsofinstagram #caterpillars #awaytogarden #hypercompescribonia #hypercompe
Instagram post 2161992098629435854_444552553 Beans are life. I mean, not only do I live on them daily (as I have as a vegetarian for 40+ years) but each one is a seed, a living embryo, a distinct and gorgeous little DNA miracle. I have been inspired by the hashtag #31daysofbeans by @lukasvolger lately, loving watching someone unknown to me (um, who shares my oatmeal thing too apparently...also see his #28daysofoatmeal) dish up the #phaseolus. We both admire bean ambassador Steve Sando @rancho_gordo and this photo might be my fave bean of all that I “met” via Steve years back, big and flat and chestnutty ‘Christmas Lima.’ My advice: don’t wait till Dec. 25 to dig in.
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Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

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