On 1/30/2015 10:32 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
Boron Elgar wrote:
On Fri, 30 Jan 2015 20:08:06 -0600, George Shirley
wrote:

On 1/30/2015 5:58 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
Well , I've got lots of tomato seedlings now ... and two in most
cells . When do y'all thin your seedlings ? I can do it now , but
then if one dies ... or I can do it when they're bigger , and the
dominant one is more apparent . That approach however uses more of
the finite amount of nutrients available , and maybe thinning now
will make one that wouldn't have been dominant actually be stronger
than ... Decisions decisions !

If there were two or more seeds planted in the same cup I just pinch
off all but the sturdiest seedling. Don't have enough space to plant
a lot of tomato plants. The plants themselves need plenty of room
around here and I keep them pruned so that sunshine gets into the
plant.

On occasion I have transplanted extra seedlings from a group and
mostly they succeeded but not as well as the primary. And, like you
said, the secondaries suck up all the energy for the primary.


I tossed caution and common sense to the wind a few years ago.

I have a bed up front that is about 8' x 8'. It is enriched with
compost every year in the spring - just after I pull the tulip bulbs.

Yes, I put in about 80-100 tulip bulbs each fall (maybe $10 worth,
with a careful eye to local offerings). I think of the tulips as
annuals and get rid of the bulbs after bloom...some go to neighbors,
some wind up in other parts of the yard, some just get composted

After the pull, the new compost goes in, as do tomato seeds of many
varieties. I am a seed saver and some of the seeds that get used are
the older ones in the collection or ones I have picked up or ordered
from end-of-season sales. Way too many tomato seeds go into that plot
than any intelligent or knowing gardener would deposit. They come up
like crazy, as do any number of volunteers from the compost or the
tomato husks left as drops the previous fall (you know... when I pull
up the tomato plants before I put in all those bulbs).

Oh, it means I do not get huge tomatoes up there early in the season,
and that is ok. I tend to plant those that bear smaller fruits in that
plot.

The wonder is that the plants come in so thick and lush and flower and
fruit like crazy even though logic says they'd block the light from
each other and be undernourished. Nah....that plot is incredibly
productive....and it does not get a full day's sun, either...not once
the neighbor's huge oak leafs out.

It is odd to direct sow here in northern NJ, but seed is cheap, and
after the first experiment, I have continued it the last 5 years or
so.

Then this starts daily happening in late July and continues until
frost in October.

http://i57.tinypic.com/11rdkp5.jpg

Nice ! Not exactly what we're looking for though . This year I'm trying to
maximize the type of tomato that we use a lot of for cooking . There will
also be slicers and cherry tomatoes , but the biggest portion will be San
Marzanos along with a few Romas . We're growing for later use , not only the
tomatoes but several other veggies - green beans , squashes , peppers ,
berries and other fruits will all be preserved for next winter .

One of the things I do on bumper year tomatoes is just wash them, dry
them, then into a large vacuum bag and vacuum seal. Toss into the
freezer. Take a bag out, put in fridge, let thaw, pour off the liquid (I
usually drink it), skins, etc. go into compost, use the tomato meat in
soups, chili, etc. Has worked well for several years now.