"Mike Stevenson" wrote in message t...
Hi There. Zone 6B. West Virginia Eastern Panhandle. First year gardener.

Hi, Mike, thanks for a very informative post.

Like many places on the east coast we had an extremely wet late spring/early
summer. Much like poor Pat we had nearly 6 full weeks of rain with little or
no sun. Then all at once the rain broke, and aside from today, we've had
little or no rain to speak of since June 20th or so. The ground was so wet
for so long my lawn had become a haven for mushrooms and toadstools of
various kinds. Frogs were thriving, and many turtles were appearing along
side the roads...

Ditto here minus the dry spell. Had maybe a week in June with no rain
and have had intermittent showers since. It is unusually mild too
with no temps over 92 yet.

I had purchaced young transplants for Burpees. I got 3 Sugar Snack Hybrids,
3 Brandy Boy Hybrids, 1 Health Kick, 1 Big Mama, 1 Burpee's Burger, and 1
Forth of July. All were put in the ground on May 8th. It's a relatively
small garden, a total of 294 sq. feet. WV has some rather heavy clay soil,
and this plot had never been used for gardening. I hadn't prepared the bed
the previous fall, so I spent most of the early spring using a cheap
garden-claw knock off to tear up the sod. I then hand pulled every chunk of
sod I could locate, shook off the lose soil, and hand picked every grub and
cutworm I could find. Then tilled the soil up again, more picking of weeds
and bugs. And then again lol. After all this I amended the soil with peat
moss and dried composted manure, only 1 bag of each. Once I recieved the
plants I laid down some of that red plastic mulch where I intended to plant
the tomatoes. The Health Kick and one of the Brandy Boys were not at all
healthy and suffered not long after I got them in the ground (which I must
admit Burpee's was very nice about giving me a refund for those plants). I
laid out black plastic mulch between the row spaces of the tomatoes, and
each plant was given a bamboo stake. I did my best to prepare a
psuedo-raised bed for the tomatoes by mounding the dirt in the wide row.
Once in the ground, the plants, though wet from all the rain we were still
getting decent growth and seemed to be doing well. I hadn't yet gotten my
fence up around the garden...

I made the mistake of ordering some Cherokee Purple plants from Burpee
a few years ago. Same result...DOA plants but Burpee readily
refunded.

Looks like your tilling approach is the same as mine except I use
progressively smaller shovels. Only way to go in heavy clay.

About 2 weeks after planting, I went outside one morning to discover 5 of my
plants eaten down to almost a nub. RABBITSSES!! Well...hmmm. 2 of the Sweet
Treats, the Big Mama, 1 of the Brandy Boys, and the Health Kick had been
damaged severely. The health kick and brandy boy did not recover. I got the
fence up, at least around the tomatoes, that day...

Fortunately, no major rabbit problems here. Most yards are fenced
here and rabbits prefer the wide open spaces. Cutworms, now that is
another matter. Lost at least 5 plants to the little buggers.

So now it's mid July, almost August. My plants, all of them, even the ones
eaten by rabbits are HUGE. The one Sweet Treat that was not eaten is now 6
and half foot tall. They are laden with unripe fruit, and I am SOOOO happy
with the Brandy Boy and Burpee's Burger. The fruits are just huge...so much
so that the plants have broken thier stakes and begun to tip over hehe. The
big Sweet Treat has had 5 or 6 ripe cherries so far (they are tasty too )
with many more ripening now quickly. My first ripe full tomato finally
appeared on the Forth of July, which is sopposed to be a very early variety.
It was the first to set fruit. There is another ripening on it now. While
small, and not very flavorful, it was my first ripe tomato and I was
pleased. I look forward to many more. The plants are thriving, and I am
pleased. My only real problem is that they are too heavy for the measly
stakes I bought. I did discover one fat bug on one of my plants the other
day, but I yanked him off and smooshed him. I felt bad afterward. But my
plants are important to me...

Amazing how they snap back isn't it.

The basil I have planted near the tomatoes is also doing very well. I tend
the plants daily, check for bugs, water as often as I think they need it now
that the weather is so warm and dry. The mulch helps keep the soil moist,
and the liquid fertilizer I use every 10-14 days (per directions). The
plants seem to love it, and the soil under the mulch is easy to keep weeded.
I started a compost pile in a bin I built a few weeks ago, and its nice and
hot thanks to all the grass clippings and bio-garbage I've tossed in
there.

Next year I'd like to try some Aker's West Virginia, and Mountain Pride,
which are sopposed to be good varieties for the area. If the Brandy Boy
fruit and Burpee's Burger turn out to taste well, I will definately use them
next year...

I'm still forming my 2004 list but it goes something like this.
(Varieties I have grown before designated by asterisk*.)

Clear Pink Early*
Delicious*
Husky Cherry Red*
Brandywine* (going to try a non-potato leaved strain to see if it is
more productive here)
Tropic VFN*
Eva Purple Ball
Siletz
Stupice
Giant Belgium

Lee Hall
Zone 6B - Tennessee

"Lee Hall" wrote in message
om...
Below is my report from 5/14/2003 with the mid-season update
afterward.
----------------------

Greetings from Zone 6B. Today was perfect tomato growing weather. It
was about 75F for the high and will be in the 50's tonight. May 5
wasn't as kind.
Around 2:00 AM on the 5th, we had the worst hailstorm I have ever seen
in my mear-half-a-century on this planet. Size wasn't the issue. It
was duration. Here in Tennessee I have seen it hail for 3-5 minutes
many times but this storm was different. We had hail for at least 15
minutes. Fortunately, the wind only served to clear some of the
detritus known as the Bradford Pear. I had 16 tomato plants in the
ground which ranged in size from 5 inches to 18. They all experienced
some damage and some were reduced to but a single leaf. Here is the
lowdown, 9 days after "the storm". I am trying something new this year
I call "bucketing". Here is how it goes. Plant as deep as you can,
usually 8-10 inches here. Use a large breed of plant. Once the plant
reaches 12-15 inches tall, take a 1-2 gallon plastic nursery planter
and put it next to the plant. Strip off the bottom leaves of the plant
to the level of the top of the planter.
Cut the bottom off of the planter. Fit the planter over the top of
the plant. Fill planter with compost. Voila, increased root volume.
So far this looks like an effective method.

Storebought plants indicated by *
Bucketed plants indicated by #

Kentucky Beefsteak - planted 3/22 - 27 inches - trellised plant - one
of two growing tips broken by hail - first buds did not set fruit -
waiting to see on second - this looks like it will be a very tall
plant

Jeff Davis - 4/2 - 12 inches - wispy plant with 1 bud set and 1 green
tomato about 1/3 inch dia. - little storm damage

Russian Black# - 4/2 - 15 inches - lush plant with first bud set -
bottom of plant denuded by storm

Hawaiian Hybrid - 4/11 - 12 inches - this plant gets none of my tasty
homemade compost as an experiment - 16 inches - splindly plant with
first bud set - little storm damage

Tropic - 4/2 - 14 inches - very stocky plant absolutely wrecked by
storm - re-growth has been vigorous - 2 tomatoes on first bud set -
1/2 and 1 1/2 inches

Neptune - 4/2 - this plant was a weak seedling with choriosis due to
overwatering - lean plant but with lots of secondary growth - caged -
has two bud sets just developing

Mortgage Lifter# - 4/11 - 14 inches - lush plant developing first bud
set - bottom denuded by storm but has really filled out since
bucketing on 5/7

Super Sioux - 5/11 - seedling

Neptune2 - 4/22 - 12 inches - average plant with first bud set

Husky Cherry Red* - 5/1 - 4 inches - extremely stocky dwarf plant
taken down to one large leaf by the storm - recovering nicely

Russian Black2 - 4/22 - 4 inches - a very weak plant that was almost
broken by my mishandling then trimmed down to a stem 4 inches long
with a nub from where I had pruned it before the storm - believe it or
not it now has a 3 inch growth from the side where the nub was

Patio* - 4/26 - 10 inches - another extremely stocky dwarf plant but,
oddly, virtually no storm damage - several bud sets - 3 green tomatoes
1/2 to 1 in.

Mortgage Lifter Red# - 4/19 - 14 inches - Lush, powerful looking
plant, prettiest one I have, imho. Bottom was denuded by storm but
has responded nicely to bucketing. This plant is caged and since it
is so powerful looking, I think will allow it to have 3 main stems
from the bottom rather than my customary two.

Super Sweet 100# - 5/1 - 6 inches - another sad story - i hate cherry
tomatoes but my wife wanted some so....i waited until sunday on a
beautiful weekend to get a plant and everything was extremely picked
over. Wound up with a sad little plant that was actually growing up
the side of the cup. You could hold the cup up to the light and see
the roots. It responded nicely to being transplanted and was looking
really great at about 10 inches when the storm reduced it to a single
leaf. It now has two nice new shoots and is growing very rapidly.

Brandywine*# - 4/19 - 24 inches - leggy potato leafed variety with
lots of foliage - lost one of 3 growing tips to storm but is
recovering nicely - has two new bud sets

Bullsheart - 5/11 - seedling

Ponderosa Red - 5/11 - seedling

Mystery Plant - 5/14 - seedling - found growing next to mortgage
lifter plant. probably a Juliet since that what was planted nearby
last year and they are notorious for self-seeding - i hate them too
but i had to see - moved it to my seedling bed

I think I should be on track for my average first ripe tomato date of
Jun 4 but the storm has probably lowered my early production
considerably. I hope some of you will post so I can see how your
tomato plants are growing. I will try to post again every month or
so. It has certainly been an interesting growing season so far.

Lee Hall
Middle Tennessee - Zone 6B
"He who hesitates is lost, and vice versa."

__________________________________________________ ____________________

The first harvest was very late this year due to the hailstorm damage.
I harvested my first tomato, a Tropic, on June 20, more than 2 weeks
later than normal.

Bacterial Speck has reared it's ugly head again, affecting all of the
plants except the ones planted in May to some extent. The most
affected plant is the Mortgage Lifter Red VFN, which continues to
produce large tomatoes anyway. The Bradley plant is showing signs of
late blight.

So, here are the winners and losers, so far.

Kentucky Beefsteak - Very rangy plant, moderate production, very late
maturing.
I have just now picked my first tomato from this plant. While
advertised as an orange beefsteak tomato, what I have is a dark pink,
medium sized specimen. Will let you know how it tastes on next
posting.

Jeff Davis - Medium sized plant producing medium sized dark pink
tomatoes. They have a nice taste with a mix of sweet and acid. Very
fleshy with few seeds. Might try these again. Have picked a couple
so far.

Russian Black #1 - Large plant, moderately productive. Produces golf
ball size pretty mahogany color tomatoes with less green shoulders
than other so called "purple" or "black" tomatoes I have grown in the
past. The tomatoes have a very sweet taste which is not to my liking
but my friends who don't like highly acid tomatoes rave about these.
Have picked about 8-10 so far.

Russian Black #2 - The "given up for dead twice" plant. This little
dude is bushy, compact and productive. It is only about 2 1/2 feet
tall but is loaded with little dark green tomatoes in clusters of 3 or
4.

Hawaiian Hybrid - Shows no more resistance to bacterial speck than
non-hybrids but still producing nicely. As a matter of fact, this is
the plant i experimented with by using no additional compost on it.
It has the heaviest load of fruit of all of my plants. I am not sure
whether it is the lack of compost or the fact that it is a hybrid.
Will try same experiment next year with two plants of same variety.
Produces very tasty orange/red, medium large tomatoes with a nice
blend of acid and sugar. Will probably grow these again.

Tropic - This was the plant which had the most foliage before the
storm but it has never recovered completely. Instead, this had become
a short bushy plant with a lot of stem and not much leaf. This was
the opposite of the intent of the breeders who were trying to produce
a heat-resistant variety. Production on this plant is low, due not
only to the storm but the plants uncanny ability to attract corn-borer
caterpillars which have ruined 5-6 of these. The intact fruits,
though, are very tasty, medium sized pink/red jewels. Will probably
grow these again.

Neptunes #1, 2 and 3 - Yuck. These plants are the losers for this
year. Weak determinate plants with no resistance to bacterial spot,
whatsoever. Even before being blighted these plants were starting to
look puny. They are advertised as red tomatoes but mine are decidely
orange. Taste is fair but blander than most of the tomatoes I have
grown.

Husky Cherry Red - Surprise, another good tasting hybrid. Another
plant which was very bushy before the storm that sprung back with a
rangier habit. Produces a moderate number of large tasty cherry
tomatoes. I am not a cherry tomato fancier but my wife loves these.
Another repeat for next year. BTW, sure it's a hybrid, but still no
resistance to bacterial speck.

Mortgage Lifter - A reclamation project. This was a spindly seedling
with choriosis. Very low production of beefsteak size tomatoes.
Haven't harvested the first one yet. Mortgage Lifter was my biggest
producer by weight last year so I'm pretty sure I just have a messed
up plant here.

Super Sioux - A later addition. None harvested yet. Has a couple of
nice clusters of what should be medium sized tomatoes.

Patio - Another hybrid stricken badly by bacterial speck. Produced
the second and third tomatoes I harvested in the early season. Nice,
salad sized, pink/red tomatoes. Just now recovering enough to set new
fruit. I don't think it knows it's a determinate.

Mortgage Lifter Red VFN - This is where all the blight started. What
was at one time my biggest plant has now been denuded up to about 4
feet above ground level. The one tomato I have harvested so far was
GREAT. It was actually pink/red and about 24 ounces with a great
taste and just the right bite. Will try these again in a different
location. Still has about 4 very large beefsteaks hanging on it.

Super Sweet 100 - The other given up for dead twice plant. This one
is tall and rangy and productive with massive clusters of red cherry
tomatoes. The taste nod goes to the husky's but these sure put out
the fruit.

Brandywine - I am still looking for a strain of Brandywine that is a
better producer. This storebought, potato-leaved variety isn't it.
These are the best tasting tomatoes in my garden this year but I have
only harvested 3 from a massive 7 foot tall plant. Fortunately, it
still has about 3 more on it. I may try a non potato-leaved
Brandywine next year. BTW, the tomatoes on this plant are running a
bit small, about 12-14 ounces. They are pink/red and the taste is
fantastic with a lot of sweet and a lot of bite.

Bullsheart - There is a contest in about 8 days here locally for the
biggest and the ugliest tomato. The one tomato on this plant is a
contender for both categories. It is a hideous looking pumpkin-shaped
monster which is probably 2 pounds already. Will report on taste
later. Plant is small and wispy.

Ponderosa Red - Corn-borer caterpillars ruined the first two fruit
from this plant so I haven't tasted them yet. Looks like it will
produce medium large fruit at a moderate rate.

Bradley - Moderate production of pink/red thinskinned salad tomatoes.
This Bradley is smaller than the ones I grown in the past. The fruit
are typical of Bradley, tart and sweet. This is the only plant
showing signs of late blight despite heavy sprayings of Neem oil
during wet weather.

Late additions:

Super Sioux - Bushy plant that looks like it will produce a large
number of medium sized tomatoes. I hope they don't turn out to be
orange.

4th of July - I have grown these several times before. As usual, they
should produce a very large number of golfball sized tasty red
tomatoes. This is an early season variety so we shall see how they do
when planted late.

Mystery Plants - the original mystery plant wasn't looking too great
so the 4th of July took it's place. Have since relocated two other
volunteers which are now about a foot tall. They both look like
Juliets but it is hard to say for sure at this stage.

Clones:

I successfully cloned a Neptune (hey, I didn't know) and a Super Sioux
for my boss in late may. He says there a lots of green ones. Hope to
get a report soon on how the ripe ones taste.

I accidentally broke a stem off one of the Russian Blacks so I decided
to clone the stem. I actually didn't expect it to survive in the July
Tennessee heat but it seems to be doing very well.

Okay, folks, while it's too hot to hang out in the garden, let's hear
the lowdown on what is happening in your tomato patch. I need some
good ideas on varieties to try next year. Have already added to the
list Eva Purple Ball and Siletz from comments I have read in the NG.
More suggestions, please. I try to grow early, middle and late season
varieties and my personal preference is for the tangier fruits with
less sugar but I do grow tomatoes for friends and family with
different tastes.

Lee Hall
Zone 6B