Andy writes:

Well, my fridge is full of tomatoes and my fascination with fresh
salads is
starting to wane somewhat...

However, I have noticed that a SECOND crop is coming in on the
vines...
All at once, and very prolific...

The plants are Celebrity, from Home Depot, and this is north Texas
with
temps in the 90s every day and almost no rain, tho I have been
watering
the garden every other day or so with a sprinkler...

So, learned gurus, is this normal ? Am I going to get tomatoes
off these
vines until the snow falls, or is a second crop the most I can hope
for ?

Also, any advice on how to guarantee some fall tomatoes would be
nice....

I will be very tired of tomatoes for 2006, but I'd like to understand
this
second and third crop thing a little better...

Thanks,

Andy in Eureka, Texas


PS... My cantalope are turning yellow.... I will very tired of eating
cantalop
in 2-3 weeks, but for now it is pure heaven.....

Most tomatos will go on bearing for all eternity with the right conditions.
Celebrity is a determinate type which means it grows to a certain height and
stops. But that's only if you remove all the suckers from along the stem.
Otherwise the suckers will grow and produce secondary plants which bear
later. Indeterminate varieties just keep on growing and produce more or less
continuously. Unless you are limited for space, don't can, don't like a wide
choice of varieties, or just don't like a lot of tomatoes, I don't see too
much reason for growing determinates IMHO.
Gary

"AndyS" wrote in message
oups.com...
Andy writes:

Well, my fridge is full of tomatoes and my fascination with fresh
salads is
starting to wane somewhat...

However, I have noticed that a SECOND crop is coming in on the
vines...
All at once, and very prolific...

The plants are Celebrity, from Home Depot, and this is north Texas
with
temps in the 90s every day and almost no rain, tho I have been
watering
the garden every other day or so with a sprinkler...

So, learned gurus, is this normal ? Am I going to get tomatoes
off these
vines until the snow falls, or is a second crop the most I can hope
for ?

Also, any advice on how to guarantee some fall tomatoes would be
nice....

I will be very tired of tomatoes for 2006, but I'd like to understand
this
second and third crop thing a little better...

Thanks,

Andy in Eureka, Texas


PS... My cantalope are turning yellow.... I will very tired of eating
cantalop
in 2-3 weeks, but for now it is pure heaven.....

I disagree with Gary. I can all the extra in a Hot Water Bath for about 30
minutes. I add a teaspoon of salt to each quart of tomatoes, put on a
sterile lid, and put them into the HWB. They really taste fantastic when
you eat them out of a jar.

Dwayne

"AndyS" wrote in message
oups.com...
Andy writes:

Andy ..."noticed that a SECOND crop is coming in on the vines...
All at once, and very prolific...

The plants are Celebrity, from Home Depot, and this is north Texas
with temps in the 90s every day and almost no rain, tho I have
been watering the garden every other day or so with a sprinkler...

So, learned gurus, is this normal ? Am I going to get tomatoes off
these vines until the snow falls, or is a second crop the most I can
hope for ?

Also, any advice on how to guarantee some fall tomatoes would be
nice...."

Is it normal that N. Tx is 90+ every day, there/s no rain, and you/re
draining your well keeping your garden alive?

It certainly was went I lived in that 'hole 'nuther country!

Determinants, like the Celebrity, set an initial heavy crop, you then
get a smaller second crop and after that, it/s +/- over. This type of
tomat is good if you/re selling for fresh-market b/c you get a whole
lot all at once.

OTOH, indeterminants are more like the Energizer Bunny, provided they
don/t succumb to the elements. With luck, they/ll pick all season
long.

You can be guaranteed a fall crop by setting out 'short-season' plants,
such as Early Girl, again in early July. My zone-7 seedlings are 4"
tall and ready for hardening-off. EEBE, they/ll start picking by
mid-September.

No one was implying that the determinate tomatoes don't taste good when
canned. I was implying that the quanitiy might be less than you want for
canning - less than what you could get from indeterminates.
Gary

"Dwayne" wrote in message
...
I disagree with Gary. I can all the extra in a Hot Water Bath for about 30
minutes. I add a teaspoon of salt to each quart of tomatoes, put on a
sterile lid, and put them into the HWB. They really taste fantastic when
you eat them out of a jar.

Dwayne

"AndyS" wrote in message
oups.com...
Andy writes:

wrote: Is it normal that N. Tx is 90+ every
day, there/s no rain, and you/re
draining your well keeping your garden alive?


**** No. We are in the biggest drought in Texas history --- so far
about
18 months, and all lakelevels are WAY down... I can't even throw a
rock
far enough from my dock to hit the lake...
However, I have glued together a couple hundred feet of PVC to get to
the water, and it only cost 8 cents and hour to run my pump. so I have

water for my garden.......



It certainly was went I lived in that 'hole 'nuther country!

**** The commone wisdom is that if a person owns Hell and Texas,
in the summer they should live in Hell and rent out Texas to
Democrats....




Determinants, like the Celebrity, set an initial heavy crop, you then
get a smaller second crop and after that, it/s +/- over. This type of
tomat is good if you/re selling for fresh-market b/c you get a whole
lot all at once.

*** Thanks, I am going to find out what "determinates" means, and
take advantage of that knowledge...


OTOH, indeterminants are more like the Energizer Bunny, provided they
don/t succumb to the elements. With luck, they/ll pick all season
long.

You can be guaranteed a fall crop by setting out 'short-season' plants,
such as Early Girl, again in early July. My zone-7 seedlings are 4"
tall and ready for hardening-off. EEBE, they/ll start picking by
mid-September.

*** OK... If Home Depot has Early Girl, I'll get a flat today... My
cantalopes
are starting to turn yellow, and in a couple weeks I'll need to till
it up
and I might as well plant more tomatoes....
Pumpkins are supposed to do well here, planted in July, but what the
hell
can I do with a bunch of pumpkins ??????


Thanks for your help, all...

Andy in Eureka, Texas , poet, engineer, and novice gardener

"AndyS" wrote in message
ups.com...

wrote:
Determinants, like the Celebrity, set an initial heavy crop, you then
get a smaller second crop and after that, it/s +/- over. This type of
tomat is good if you/re selling for fresh-market b/c you get a whole
lot all at once.

*** Thanks, I am going to find out what "determinates" means, and
take advantage of that knowledge...

Determinants vines grow to a certain point then stop.
Indeterminants vines grow and grow and grow some more.

Sorry about that Gary. I can what ever I can get, after eating what I want
fresh. I raise indeterminate, but get them from the grocery store and I
have no way of telling what they are. Either way, they taste great.

Dwayne

"V_coerulea" wrote in message
.. .
No one was implying that the determinate tomatoes don't taste good when
canned. I was implying that the quanitiy might be less than you want for
canning - less than what you could get from indeterminates.
Gary

AndyS wrote:
[snippage]
"If Home Depot has Early Girl, I'll get a flat today."

Chances are you won/t find them at the Home Despot but there's still
plenty-o-time for some direct-seed-sowing. Sow seeds today, they/re
out of the ground in less than a week, and you/re off to the races.
Fifty-two days later, you/re pickin' and grinnin' come late September.

Summer seed sowing requires special attention to ensure good
germination. Soak the soil one day, then sow your seed the next.
Cover the seed with soil and a light mulch of pine straw or coarse
grass clippings to conserve moisture. Once the seeds have sprouted,
tuck some soil up against the stems and return the mulch.

Most tomatoes will continue bearing the appropriate conditions for all eternity. Celebrity is a certain type, which means it grows to a certain height, then stop. However, this is only if you delete all of the suckers along the dry. Otherwise, the sucker will grow and produce secondary plant bears later.