Happy Holidays Tom!

Wow! Your FIL tomatoes are a success story and the set up looks so pretty and orderly, I am sure he is happy and enjoying his tomatoes.

In my garden all the tomato plants are pulled and I am getting ready for a new season.

I like the Chef's Choice varieties, they always do well for me. Tidy Rose is also a good tomato.

This coming season I am trying some new varieties and some old ones again...

Silvia

Thanks Silvia,

I have several of those seeds we were looking at if you'd like to try some of them and you haven't started seed yet (Peachy Keen, Anahu, Burrell's Special, Flamenco, Healani, Mica Red, Nano Ciliegia, Sunneva, Amish Gold Slicer and Olga's Round Yellow Chicken). If you're interested in any of them drop me a line ;-)

Tom

Nice 🙂

And I am digging those supports - very impressive!

So these are in Pinellas Park? I thought that was zone 9A or B?

FWIW, a water source might help keep the birds from going after the fruits. IMPE, it's mainly mockingbirds that like to peck at fruits, and they may be thirsty. You're lucky rats and possums haven't discovered those pretty tomatoes.

Looks good Tom,

Which variety is producing best? I haven't tried most of those varieties.

Craig

Hi Carol - I wanted to build FIL some permanent PVC structures that were NOT an eyesore, came up with these from a 1997 Mother Earth News article. Good idea about the water source, we'll come up with something to see if it works. He hasn't seen rats or possums so far but occasionally a racoon comes through, which would really be problematic - fingers crossed.

Most of Pinellas is really a 10A now except for the northern interior county due to all the asphalt and concrete, I'd say for about the last 20 years. I've lived in my current house since 1996 and I've only had frost in the front yard three times, never in the back by the lake. I took this picture 12-12, in it you can see my next- door neighbors coconut palm that he planted in 2001 - not supposed to grow north of Tampa Bay ;-)

Hi Craig - Kimberly has been a monster with golf ball sized wonderful flavored tomatoes, now in decline though and the only one so far to succumb to disease. Otherwise Damsel and Marion so far have been the best indeterminates for taste and production, BHN589 has been the better tasting determinate over Celebrity, with about the same production. We got such a late start though due to the hurricane season that everything has grown so slowly that this may not be representative of a "normal" fall season. Given the current circumstances as long as the plants are not diseased I have on occasion cut the vines down to about 15" from the base and let them vine out again for a second crop from fall into spring, it looks like that is what I will be doing here since most of these plants are not yet in decline and still fruiting. The only drawback to doing this is that production is only about 50% of the initial crop without substantial fertilizer supplementation, but it takes little effort to reap the rewards for a spring crop. And, I have only done this with the pot-in-pot method when it is obvious there are no soil problems (healthy plants).

Silvia - CYE ;-)

Silvia (off topic) Maryland is famous for our crab cakes -- found this great recipe for seafood cakes and wanted to share it with all here.

Tony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn6OaMMYQIk

Hi Tony

It looks like a good recipe, at this time of the day it made me hungry.:) Thank you for the ideas.

Silvia

Thanks Tom,

I'll give some a try. Great picture also.

Craig

Hi Silvia,

Looks like you had a good season, we had a bumper crop here too and my FIL could not give them away fast enough - neighbors started closing their curtains and hiding :-) Thanks for the heads up on the orange varieties, I'll try the first two you mentioned in the fall. Chief's Choice Orange was a real winner here, very productive and disease resistant, great taste initially but dropped off with the rainy season, flavor picked up again once we started into the dry season - plants did very well starting mid-fall and carrying them over into the spring season...pulling them out this weekend. Of the other varieties Jet Star and Damsel were the clear winners for growing only one extended-length crop from October through April here, I will grow them again next fall but probably start some successions mid-September if we don't have too active a hurricane season.

Happy almost-summer to everyone ;-) Stay safe and healthy!

Tom

Tom, it is a nice problem to have too many tomatoes.:) It is a pleasure for me to make tomato baskets for gifts, that is one of the reasons that I grow a lot of cherries different colors and flavors.

I also like to dry them in the oven to use them later in recipes, today is a rainy day here so that is what I am doing.

The big tomatoes are ripening and they are all doing good, few of my favorite and few new ones. The Chef's Choice varieties have done well for me, this season I am growing the bi-color.

The season for giving vegetables started with carrots and onions, they did so well this season, now is tomatoes and soon figs,mangoes and avocados. The citrus I found them tricky, you can give away some and people are happy , you give away more and they are not happy. Kind of like closing the curtains.:)

Best wishes for health! That is what we all need it now.

Harvesting tomatoes every day, what a good season! In the picture Amish, Olga, Chef's Choice Bi-color I am getting 2 pounders from this variety and the bottom row are the Bolseno.

Silvia, fantastic!

How is the flavor profile for each variety, also juiciness and texture (soft or crispy rind, creamy or firm flesh)? The most exciting thing for the whole family here during the gardening season is when we do the first ripe tomatoes taste test -- and each starts commenting on the various pluses and minuses until we reach a consensus on which variety has the best tasting tomatoes for the season.

Tony

Hi Tony

You are the expert on describing flavors, me not so much.:) The Amish and Olga I am waiting to try them, the Chef's Choice is a very good tomato, thin skin and flavorful but they don't last too long.

Most of the varieties planted this season did great, a lot of red varieties like Dona, Akers West Virginia, Precious, Skyreach. I liked them all but for longer life Bolseno is the king

Every day I am making tomato salads like in Greece, homegrown tomatoes is the only time to make them.

Tomatoes are still producing in the garden, I am giving them them away left and right, I even sent some in the mail for my brothers in the North East.

Silvia

Glad to see you guys have your gardens going. Lovely tomatoes!

I have so many tomatoes amd peppers growing this year plus a few (new to me) okra varieties (Jing Orange and Okinawa Pink).

I have a few volunteer tomatoes and squash, that I think the pigs planted too :O

The volunteer tomato plant's fruits looks like Juliette. I was giving the pigs many that had fallen off the plant last year lol.

Thank you Sultry

Good to know that you are having a successful gardening season. I cannot believe so many tomatoes this season, made baskets for a lot of people and is nice to see them opening their eyes when they taste homegrown tomatoes.

Made Ratatouille this morning with eggplants, peppers, onions and tomatoes from the garden, made wish for this season all year round.....

Olga tomato, what a good tasting tomato! I will grow it again

That is such a pretty tomato!

Got lots of wind rain and a cold snap last night. Does this look like mild frost damage ?