Jennie, glad you like the video, I too find Dr Ingham fantastic presenter.

BER happens when to much water prohibits the roots to uptake calcium or if calcium is lacking in the soil. One remendy is to spray the tomato plant or squash with tums in a gallon of water. The leaves will absorb the Ca.My sisters squash had BER and I found the tums solution on google.You can find over 5 different BW on tomatofest.com.

Ajsmama - I have just 2 single rows of fencing with the tomatoes planted close to them. I would have to have fencing with bigger openings in the wire to do the sandwich thing, otherwise I wouldnâÂÂt be able to pick the big tomatoes. I do tie the plants, and it gets old sometimes, but the plants also weave themselves through the fence and I sometimes just tuck them in the openings. The fences are about 80 ft long counting the supports on each end. We take them down at season end and put them up in a different spot the following year.

HereâÂÂs what they looked like shortly after planting (you can see the fencing better).

This one shows the ties

I grew Green Drs too, and those definitely drape over the top of the fence! The pic you posted wasnâÂÂt accessible.

Susan

Susan wrote:

>After years of cussing at cages, we grow on wire fencing.

Excellent decision, imo !

IâÂÂm looking at one of your pictures (please see bellow.)

What can I say ? Your solution is:

* SIMPLE
* ELEGANT
* STURDY
* LONG-LASTING
* CHEPEAR than cages (for same surface / area)â¦

What else can you ask ? Your trellis simply does the job !

[NOTE: Picture's copyright belongs to Susan (homegrowninthe603)]

This post was edited by Daniel_NY on Fri, Sep 12, 14 at 11:10

When I saw your trellis I remembered

that I saw in Laurel GarzaâÂÂs Website.

Thanks Susan, I didn't notice that, it showed in the preview but I guess lost it when I edited before submitting. That's a picture of the entire garden July 2012 - potatoes on the left, I think it was peppers in the middle (far end of partial row of potatoes and near end of partial row of FL weave tomatoes) and then tomatoes on the right, tied to fence on outside row and tried FL weave on inside partial row.

Here's a closeup from that year - still early so the plants hadn't gotten out of control yet.

So you plant practically underneath the fencing? And use white/gray (poly baling?) twine to tie them? Looks like good-sized holes to me - bigger than 2x4 fencing I have, though not as big as CRW.

Those frames in Laurel's Website, are pretty similar to one of my frames.

This post was edited by Daniel_NY on Fri, Sep 12, 14 at 11:25

Michael, I wish your wife will get well soon.

Michael wrote:

> My apologies for the ridiculous amount of posts and to all those sub'd .. Pictures you want, pictures you'll get OP lol..

Hehe, I loved those pictures.

I saw interesting things such as: a really sturdy cage, a âÂÂscaryâ monster tomato, and a few other things.

Michael, did you buy the cage or you made it ? (link please if you bought it.)

What landscape fabric did you use ? (link please.)

To be honest I never heard of Bonny Best. Well, you live and learn. IâÂÂll try both Bonny Best and Yellow Brandywine next year.

I donâÂÂt know in your computers but in mine, most of MichaelâÂÂs pictures were⦠horizontal, not straightâ¦

Hey Linda,

Yes azomite and rock dust are one in the same .. You surely know your stuff and will do just fine I'm sure.. I'm curious how you could have experienced some burn with the foliar application though.. Was it mid-day, or morning when you applied?

The KIS products look nice, are you using their brewer as well, or homemade? The BB is indeed an heirloom, but I personally wouldn't recommend it .. I find the good ol' Jetstars to be similar in yield with much more flavor ( IMO of course lol).. I know, they're not an heirloom.. please don't excommunicate me gardenweb haha.. Haven't grown JS' in a while but I used to really enjoy them..

Daniel,
LoL that monster tomato with all the cat-facing was funny looking! Should have seen it in person .. I made the cages from cattle panels that I purchased at tractor supply.. I'll try to dig up the DIY for ya .. The landscape fabric was nothing special, just the run of the mill Home Depot special lol (weedblock- brand name). As I said to Linda, I personally wouldn't recommend the BB in regards to flavor but again, we all have different palate's etc .. Now the YB I would most def recommend .. I'd also be interested in the Orlov Yellow that Linda mentioned ..

In regards to the pictures: I don't understand why they rotate when in the preview they're correct.. This site isn't too user-friendly when it comes to images.. It stinks having to post them individually (without photobucket etc) HINT HINT GW.... Lol

Thank you ALL for the well wishes for the Mrs!

This post was edited by michael723 on Fri, Sep 12, 14 at 17:46

Daniel, thank you. The fences may not be right for everyone, but they work well for us.

Ajsmama, the ties are just any clean old cotton t-shirt that has seen better days, torn into strips. Just happened to be a gray one! Yes the fencing has a 6" x 7' grid which should accomodate even a large tomato. However with the vines, leaves, ties, and clusters of fruit it is almost impossible to harvest some fruit through the grid without damage. I just pick from both sides of the fence. You have a much bigger operation than we do. We just have a family garden, even though it is a rather large one!

Michael, thanks for sharing all of your photos. Impressive cages! My best wishes for your wife's recovery too.

So much good information to be had from everyone.

Susan

Michael, I do have KIS brewer and use their products, they have high fungal compost and Alaska Humus which is bacterial and also sell microbial food mix . I think I burned plants by mixing KIS microbial food half and half with food that I would use such as molasses, kelp and fish.
KIS offers one of the best researched products out there and I am not handy to create and tinker with my own system. I did start my batch with vermicompost of bacterial brew for mustard seeds- recipe from compostjunkies, thank much for the link! Pity my season is nearly over.

Susan wrote;

> Daniel, thank you. The fences may not be right for everyone, but they work well for us.

EVERYONE... no, MOST OF US.... yes.

Except someone who has a very "complicated" garden that requests cages, ANYBODY ELSE could use your beautiful solution.

Those who HAVE TO use cages, better use STURDY cages, such as Michael's cages (see picture bellow.) [ BEAUTIFUL job, Michael ! ]

I do NOT recommend the regular cages.

I saw this EXPENSIVE Folding Professional Gauge Galvanized Tomato Cage

Never tried it, but looks interesting (72 inch high x 21 inch diameter)

$ 35... PER CAGE !

This post was edited by Daniel_NY on Sun, Sep 14, 14 at 8:25

Another tomato âÂÂjungleâ in my garden (Spring 2013.)

During the summer, the frames are not covered.

This post was edited by Daniel_NY on Thu, Sep 18, 14 at 13:11

In autumn, when the temperatures are in 70s, the frames are covered partially - only sides and roof.

This post was edited by Daniel_NY on Thu, Sep 18, 14 at 13:13

In autumn, when at night temperatures are in the 50s - or lower - the frames are completely covered. As you can see the roof roll down.

This post was edited by Daniel_NY on Thu, Sep 18, 14 at 13:33

For the second time - in the last 10 days - the tomatoes went above the 10 ft. high frame. The first time I guided them horizontal. This time if I use the same trick, the top of the plants would be too bushy, so I let the gravity do the job.

NOTE: the pictures were taken today Sunday,October 5, 2014.

Things are STILL going well in my garden.

I am in California, we limited ourselves to planting 4 tomatoes this year in an attempt at not being overwhelmed with tomatoes.

Imagine 4 plants, 4 52" tall home made cages 3 feet across that have morfied into a giant tomatoe mass 10x10x5 feet tall.

No photos, but it looks like a big green mass that we stopped most watering to get to stop making so many tomatoes a month ago

Each season we try and plant a few less in the hopes of not having so many tomatoes, but other than the yellow this season it seems we end up with the same number no matter the number of plants.

Cherries are doing great, especially those in the small hoop house.

My garden is OK but not as good as yours, Daniel.
Some of them have some kind of mold, like mildew on older leaves . But top leaves are healthy. I might do another round of Daconil spray, for the last time. Some of my plants have quite a few large maters. And a lot of smaller ones. I am not holding my breath on those.
Tomorrow I might prune the branches with no/tiny fruits, as there is no hope for them. And actually I might get rid of some all together. So I am getting rid of my jungle, little by little. Next season I will have fewer and compact indets , more dets to avoid jungles.

Now I am babying my hot peppers . They have no disease and are loaded with pods. Since they are in pots I can move them around and put them inside the mini hoops.

Say hello (or Good bye ?!) to your jungle for me ! :-)

Dave wrote in Eating tomatoes - Daconil (GardenWeb thread):

> Yep, even with over 100 plants all you have to do is pick then spray, then wait 7 days to pick again.

Today Sunday 54' F OUSIDE, 79' F INSIDE my small hoop house...

Can't wait to see the "jungle" in my hoop house...

This post was edited by Daniel_NY on Sun, Oct 12, 14 at 10:51

A little pruning... but it's still going...

I am done with watering, fertilizing, spraying, pruning... The plants are on their own. I just pick the fruits at this point, at the first sight of color break. They/plants have had a good run. The next major work ahead would be pulling up, cleaning up, preparation and putting the beds into bed, and tuck them in with some plastic blanket. hahaha
Then I will enjoy my winter break from gardening, as I am not into fall cool crops this year.

Today will mark our coldest day this fall, so far : 57/47F. Tomorrow will be back to mid 60s (65F). Jungle no more.

still going well...

Friday, October 24, 2014

I had to prune today, because some leaves got Powdery Mildew. I stopped fungicide in early September, thinking : itâÂÂs over ! It was⦠NOT ! .

Today Tuesday, October 27, 2014 we had here in Long Island (NY) a highest of⦠72â F !

Daniel,
Your garden is going like Energizer Bonny. hehe. Good for you. Some of my plants are live and well but nothing near yours.
I am waiting for a nice sunny day to clean up and call it "a season". I am working on my 2015 plans now. " What To Grow, What Not To Grow". @ your recommendation, I will grow Brandy Boy, for sure. I know it is a hybrid . So I got to get seeds.That will be probably the only hybrid I will grow.

So, can we see some jungles, please ?

Here are couple of pictures taken in July. .

and

Over 8ft tall. But I keep pruning the lower parts.

On the left (first picture) are some hot peppers and some potted dwarfs.

Sey

Nice, tx.

Can you post current pictures ?

Actually, even if your tomatoes are not a "jungle" you can still post pictures of your plants.

Pictures from July are ok, but I'm mostly interested in pictures from... August.

I can see your pruning techniques, your tomato support, how you organized the branches, and so on.

Tx.

daniel_nyc(7a)

Nice, tx.

Can you post current pictures ?

^^^^^^^^^^^

Sure ! I will take a few shots today.

Sey

Couple of recent shots 8-26-15

... and a long shot

They have slowed down a bit. Some of them are about 10 ft tall.

Sey

Tx Sey.

I see people are not willing to share pictures of their plants...

Why the secrecy ?

We all could learn A LOT of useful things, by looking at other people's tomatoes...

A pity...

Here ya go my friend...

These black and chocolate cherries are around 12-13' and sprawling now .. Both tasty but blacks are the best cherry of the year .. Ahead of Isis candy due to their disease susceptibility.. Although, being my first year with Isis I can't write it off just yet - deliciously sweet! While the blacks are a more spicy sweet with that beautiful bite.. Both winners in their own ways lol..

Largest of the season so far..

Ananas Noire ....

Cukes finally getting tired lol

Most of the tomato pics are late July early August at best, but I'll take some currents for ya tomorrow..

Michael, You have a very healthy looking jungle.

And I like your AN. Mine do not have ripe ones yet, but any day now.

But I have been harvesting from about 10 varieties for a good while.

=== 4th of July, Mini Roma, Big Beef, Brandy Bow, Siletz, Willamette, Azochka, Large Red Cherry, Rosella Crimson, Indigo Rose ...

Sey

Wow Michael, niiiiice.

Well after seeing a bunch of picks on here I'm embarrassed to post mine but here goes. Welcome to my jungle

Tomatoes grown in cages, I actually had to tie wire 2 cages togather. A pain in the butt for pruning and pulling fruit. I cut squares though them and get cut up a lot reaching through. Next year just a wire fence. I'm still getting tomatoes but kinda slow, late sept I should get a bunch. I grew 8 plants 4 better boy and 4 mountain pride, I've been fighting disease for quite some time. Received a lot of good info from the people on here, without it my plants would have been dead along time ago

Most of my jungle is peppers, I didn't realize how tall and wide they would get. I actually have to crawl on my knees under these plants to get to my super hots

Thanks Sey! I found the Noires to be well worth their disease susceptibility.. Nearly lost one to a wilt/canker - unsure ..

Looks good Karl, healthy peppers! Here's a few more for you guys..

As you can see I'm no longer caring for this "Blue Gold Berries" as the fruit is terrible IMO, and not even worth another piece of string lol..

A happy "Porkchop" .. Wonderfully sweet yellow variety

Black cherry (excellent, sweet/hearty flavor with a little "bite")

Pruning is for amateurs - haha just kidding .. Not an advocate for pruning though, apart from the lower 4-6 nodes..

Enjoy the rest of the season! Cheers ladies and gentlemen

Tx to all that posted pictures of their "jungles."

karl_tn wrote: > Well after seeing a bunch of picks on here I'm embarrassed to post mine...

I think many DON'T post pictures for being "embarrassed [?!]"

Jungle No More !

This picture was taken couple of weeks ago. The highest point is probably 10 ft and more draping.

There you see some red but a lot of green maters not visible.

Sey

Here are my modest jungles - 8 ft. and 6 ft. high:

Meantime the fruits grow - despite the 51' F outside.

Two years (2014, 2015) of tomato jungle diaries.

Those were both good years. Looking forwards to 2016, to be even better, when Daniel gets back into action. I am ready with a tentative grow out list of about 20 varieties and about 30+ plants of all sizes and colors.

Sey

Hope everyone had a healthy winter! Looking forward to some jungles this year. Currently off to a nice start, but the aphids are something awful this year!

Welcome back , Mike. I had a pretty good winter and a nice 2016 spring so far. I am building my jungle.

Here is a shot of my garden as of May 16, 2016

Today may 31st, some of my plants are almost 4 ft tall and setting.

Sey

Hello
everybody.

This thread
is too long - 146 Comments – so please post in the
new one:

Show off your tomato "jungle" ! (2016) [Part 1]

Looking good Seysonn!

I think it's cool to see our progress as the years have passed all in the same thread, no?