Q.
Is it time to plant tomatoes or still too warm? My garden is a raised bed on
the south side of the house. We have a shade cover for the summer. Do I need it
for the winter? Tomatoes seem to be the only vegetable I have luck with.
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| Most squash are indeterminate as well like this one. Indeterminates just keep getting longer and longer. Indeterminates are used in greenhouses and large gardens. If you want to keep it flowering through the season, get the indeterminate form. |
https://www.southernliving.com/early-girl-tomato-7550728
If you are growing in a raised bed, use predominately compact or determinate forms.
https://bonnieplants.com/products/bush-early-girl-tomato
https://www.burpeehomegardens.com/Vegetables/PlantDetails.aspx?plantid=5093
https://www.edenbrothers.com/products/tomato-early-girl
If you want to try a variety of the traditionally indeterminate type of ‘Early Girl’ and still have it fruit early, then try the bush or determinate form of ‘Early Girl’. It was bred for small spaces like raised beds and containers.
A.
If you have an indeterminate variety (keeps getting longer and producing, such
as the old-fashioned indeterminate type of ‘Early Girl’) you can cut it back
now for fall production. In fact, it should have been cut back in September
actually when temperatures are still hot but, looking at your app, first starts to cool. But try it now. Give it a shot. Alot depends on the weather after you cut it back.
Sometimes you will luck out and it stays warm through most of the winter. The
compact determinate types are pulled out after they produce fruit.
Indeterminate types are cut back in the fall and then pray there is good
weather.
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| Judging from its green shape, I think it will be a grape tomato, not cherry. |
Tomatoes are tricky in this climate. Any
time the temperature gets above about 95F tomatoes have trouble setting fruit.
You will continue to harvest tomatoes that set earlier when temperatures were
cooler, but tomatoes stop setting fruit when air temperatures are consistently
above 95°F. Tomatoes probably produced well this past year if you kept fungal
diseases at bay. This past year air temperatures would drop below 95°F
erratically so tomato production may have been erratic as well in some parts of
the valley.
.JPG) |
| That’s what we want to accomplish is the perfect slicing tomato. This tomato was grown in Northern Afghanistan when I was there. Northern Afghanistan. although dry, had humidity more like the areas around Modesto, California. |
Always grow a couple of tried-and-true
varieties such as the compact ‘Early Girl’, ‘Patio’, ‘Celebrity’, ‘Jet Star’
and others that you have had success with in the past. Always throw in a Roma
type such as ‘San Marzano’ and cherry or grape tomatoes such as ‘Sweet 100’. If
you are trying a couple of “new” varieties of tomatoes, do that carefully
and remember what you planted. If you are serious about growing tomatoes,
evaluate its production and care for it for three or four years in a row. You
always want some older tried-and-true varieties as backups.
.JPG) |
| Tomato suckers can be rooted in more humid climate or in a propagation house in the desert. Otherwise they are removed to improve air circulation through the plant. |
Planting in the spring Between February 15
and March 15 is better most years than cutting back indeterminate types in the
fall. The weather can play havoc on gardens. You may luck out and have a
non-freezing winter or location. Look at your weather app and which varieties
of tomatoes you planted to determine the precise timing.
When to plant, the varieties to plant and
soil improvement are always important when growing tomatoes. Soils that have
been “fluffed up” (rototilled or spaded) warm up faster than those
that haven’t. If you’re using a soil thermometer, temperatures above 55°F are
good for root growth on tomatoes.