I planted mine on the 23rd. It's not going to frost, but will something bad happen to them if it's cool this week? I grew mine from seed, so they are still kind of small and I figured I should plant them out and let their roots grow, even if their tops don't too much.

DH is the tomato grower in the family, he bought an heirloom in Home Depot last week (Mr. Stripes) and he has 20 different kinds of seeds he's germinating in peat pots. Too cold to put them outside yet. They'll go outside around the end of May.

End of May. Ha, if I planted at the end of May my first fruit wouldn't be until september. I am going to start planting the tomatoes today.

I'm hoping for my Bloody Butcher to have fruit by early June :) Tiny flower buds have just appeared over the last few days. It's been cool outside, but they seem to be holding up well and growing/strengthening. the top of my Black Krim got smushed by something that blew over it in the wind though =( So I guess I'll be waiting longer for that one than I'd hoped.

I have 24 tomato plants and I planted half of them today. Had some other planting to do so thats as far as I got. I put in the biggest plants I had as I wanted them in ground instead of getting lanky sitting in their pots. I should get the rest done either tomorrow or Monday.

Each time I have taken any seedlings outside, they look unhappy in a day or two. I brought an sad looking Early Girl back inside and left a perkier one outside.

Last year I got quite a few plants fruiting without putting any in the dirt, kept them all in pots with cages on them.

Has anyone tried those red mulcher things?They look like red plastic dirt coverings? They are said to encourage more tomatoes

I picked up some cherry tomatoes yesterday, plunked 1 in a stoop box to twine with the clematis eventually, the other 2 in the dirt and all look very perky and happy.

I got the rest of my tomatoes in the ground today so finished planting May 4th. I think that is the earliest I ever got them planted. I know May 6th is usually my planting date, some years later because its cold.

I only got 24 plants this year. Last year I went totally overboard and kept buying tomato plants until I wound up with something like 40 or more plants. I had a tomato jungle out there come mid summer and I didn't have room for any other veggies.

I bought 4 pepper plants this year and still need to get some cucumber plants. Other years I have broccoli, sugar snap peas and string beans too. Was not organized enough this year earlier to get the peas and brocolli in and I just don't feel like planting beans. Maybe I will change my mind.

Last year I had three different kinds of tomatoes. I left one fruit of each to set seed and they have all sprouted. I think Mother Nature is saying its ok to plant. The sprouts are just beginning to get a good set of second leaves.
All the best
George

gee oh- how exactly did you leave last years tomatoes to set fruit?

i harvested some seeds last year and stored the the seeds over the winter and then planted the seeds but if i could just leave a couple of tomatoes out there to self re-seed that would be alot easier.

by the way, for any of you looking for a huge selection of heirloom tomatoes, i ordered from lauries heirlooms and the plants arrived in immaculate condition-

Here is a link that might be useful: lauries tomatoes

Lychee, my tomatoes self seeded with abandon. The problem with this for me is that they sprout too late. I started mine inside weeks before the volunteers outside came up, so the ones I started inside were much bigger. They'll bear fruit much earlier.

Unfortunately, I can't use my little volunteers, I've just been weeding them out, but they keep coming up. in a pot that's for my peas.

I bought two more tomato plants only because I do a row of six and I had the four peppers. Honestly after going absolutely bonkers putting in so many plants last year that I was suppling the neightborhood, I was not in the mood for tomato jungle again this year.

I was at Hicks and honestly I just choose the last two plants on the fact that they were large and ready to flower.

Now last year I put in mostly heirlooms because everyone just raves about them. I had no problems with poor production as I had had a large load of compost delivered and the tomatoes got plenty and grew and set like mad. They did taste good but honestly, my tomatoes always taste good to me.

This year I mostly bought my selections at Home Depot early this year because the price was right.

to self seed, do you just leave a couple of tomatoes to decompose on the tomato plant or do you bury a couple of tomatoes in the soil, or something else?

Last year, I stopped watering my tomato plants in mid august because I was busy. A bunch of tomatoes on the plants got ripe and dry and i composted them back into their containers. This year, a ton of tiny little tomato plants sprouted.

Hi y'all I was reading Northwest forum(peach diseases). Said hmmm whats going on in the N.E., found this forum.

I did plant seeds on the windowsill. Planted April 15 cause that's traditionally last frost. Through several frossts and they are still kickin'. Rest of the vegetable garden is planted; bush beans, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, radishes, carrots, potatoes, peppers, squash, corn, beets, cucumbers, kholorabi, broccoli and a few others i can't remember. Some of these I traded. I am still waiting for my Geogia Jet sweet potatoes to be delivered. Garden vegetables need warmer nights to grow and we have been having cold nights and rainy days. If you didn't plant a garden, google farmers market, your town, NY. Every weekend July till thanksgiving. You'll be hooked. The fruits and vegetables are grown on the east end of LI. They get harvested the day before to sell at the market.

Here are some of my tomato plants growing in the backyard.

Hi, what are those plastic cups for?

Cutworms. I cut off the bottoms so its really like a plastic collar around the tomatoes. Before I did this I used to loose plants until they got big enough. Now I never loose any.

My seven heirloom tomatoes have been in the ground for three weeks,they're doing fine,thanks for asking. Lots of foliage, no blossoms yet.

newyorkrita,
I used a few cans of Milkyspore after someone said there yard has no grubs of any kind left at all. Takes a couple of years for full effect but it lasts over ten years and it is organic. I don't have to use 50 lbs of poison on my lawn each year.

"Milky Spore Grub Control - A host specific bacterium that is effective against Japanese Beetle grubs. In their immature beetle stage, the grub enjoys feeding on grass roots. The spores that are applied to your turf are swallowed by grubs during feeding. It controls grubs for 10 to 15 years. As the grubs die they decompose and release billions of new spores. Rate: 10 oz. treats 2500 sq. ft. or 40 oz. treats 10,000 sq. ft. Nat'l List"

I got Milkyspore at the Home Depot.

I wasn't going to do it but I finally gave in .I bought enough deer fence and poles to build a 20 x 20 enclosure .I'll be ready to put in my 25 new heirloom tomato plants on friday

Awww, Tom does that mean the deer ate all your plants? I'm struggling with birds eating my small crop of strawberries. =( I've been thinking the same thing just with bird netting instead.

Not this year. They ate every thing to the ground last year. Deer are the reason I gave up vegetable gardening about 10 years ago . If this experiment works I'm going to put fencing around the whole area that used to be the garden .On top of about a million reasons to raise your own food this year its going to be cost as well .Fresh veggies are going to be ridiculous. I talked to one of my farmer friends this AM .He is talking about going out of business .Fuel at $5.00/gal .He said that last year he paid $200 /ton for fertilizer now he is paying $900

My lord! That is expensive fertilizer. The problem with fertilizer is that it's fossil fuel based and they are just getting more and more expensive. I happen to be writing a paper on this kind of stuff as we speak. I just don't see how farmers can continue like this... Organic farmers aren't as dependent on oil prices but their produce is expensive overall because of higher labor requirements. We need a farming revolution. I think waste management systems need to start recycling the nutrients out of the water... There's no other way to get large amounts of fertilizer sustainably.

Yipla ,
Organic fertilizer is even more expensive than fossil fuel based 5-10-5. I'm not sure if we could ever have a"organic "based agriculture for everyone
Decades ago when I was in graduate school I did a paper about using treated sewer sludge as a agricultural ferilizer .Too many toxins in it . Milorganite has been in business for yours .Thats Milwaukee's sludge . I know they use it on golf courses .They don't recommend using it on veggies.I can't make enough compost .I have it trucked in by the yard

Picked 6 beautiful tomatoes this weekend. Variety =glacier

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