I have a bunch of extra pots and would like to grow some tomatoes this summer. A friend gave me a bunch he grew last year and the taste put the store bought tomatoes to shame.

I got full sun all day on my deck. When is the best time to plant the starts and what varieties do the board tomatoes experts like?
Thanks for your input.
SF

Not what you would call an "expert," but I grow them every year, so I have a fair amount of experience.

Full sun is a great start. Pots are also good, provided they are large enough to support the roots, which grow quite large when the plants really take off, as plants directly in the ground tend to collect slugs, especially when the fruit starts kicking.

I suggest you wait until at least May to plant (or buy starts, which I usually do). June may be even better. The freezing isn't much of a risk by mid-April, but as you know, the rain doesn't slow down around here until June, and too much rain early in the season can cause the roots to rot or develop mold, neither of which is good. When you do plant, mix some good compost/chicken poop/steer manure/etc. into your soil. If the rain doesn't take care of it for you, make sure the plants get a good watering after planting, to prevent the fertilizer from "burning" them. They will probably look a little sad the first week or two, while they adjust to the new digs, but don't worry; they're pretty hardy and will generally come back with a vengeance very soon.

Because our growing season is relatively short, I recommend sticking with small-to-medium varieties. Cherry tomatoes do great. Romas and Early Girls are good choices in the small slicer category. If you find heirloom plants, give one a shot. Sometimes those do pretty good, and the fruit they produce is amazing. There is a variety of fist-sized slicers from Oregon that I have had good success with; the name escapes me now. I quit messing with big slicers like Beefsteaks years ago; you're lucky to get one good tomato before the plants wilt and die in this climate.

Beware the temptation of growing too many plants. Once they start fruiting, especially the small varieties that do best here, they are relentless. You will probably not eat more fruit than three or four plants will provide, and even at that number you're likely to have some to share with friends.

Lastly (this one's somewhat controversial), if you see the frosts of fall approaching fast and still have nothing but green tomatoes on your plants, don't be afraid to start picking the green ones and placing them on a sunny window sill to ripen over a few days. I've had people tell me that makes garden fresh tomatoes no better than the store-bought ones, but I couldn't disagree more. Besides, fried green tomatoes are delicious, so why not have a few green ones on hand?

If we have a typical transition from spring to summer to fall, you should start getting good fruit in August, and they will keep coming through most of October. Good luck, and enjoy!

The only thing I can add to what fleaflickr said is to get at least one plant of sungolds. They're a little bigger than cherry tomatoes, are ripe when they are a yellow orange color,are very prolific and really fuckin good.

Another vote for Sungolds. They ARE fuckin good... and I don't even really like tomatoes.

Our Lincoln peas were the star last year and will be here long before any tomatoes. I can't wait!

Beware!

Roma tomatoes are very good for cooking.

Use the search, this topic has come up several times. Go with the early girls.

Love tomatoes.....wife doesn't

Sweet 100's and Early Girls are my go-to producers

I will seek out some Sungolds this season. All those rave reviews can't be an accident. Thanks in advance, Dudes.

If you find one, stick a SunSugar tomato plant in one of those pots. Better yet, put the plant in the ground. SunSugar is supposed to be an improved SunGold. It's a very sweet tomato; I've seen claims stating its orange fruit is four times sweeter than a red cherry tomato. Here's a bit of info on some cherry varieties:

http://www.sunset.com/garden/best-cherry-tomatoes-00400000040994/

Great info and suggestions. Much appreciated.
SF

I always had success planting the tomato plants inside the opening on a tire. Same principle as black plastic.

We started ours a couple weeks a go. We have been accumulating our seed "library" for a couple years. At the end of the year , we just squeeze seeds out on paper towels and let them dry. In the spring , just moisten the towel, scrape the seeds off and stick them in the Jiffy pot.


We have some strange ones, like Black Japanese Triffle, which is roma shaped and excellent for making sauce. (BTW, blossom end rot can be caused by low potassium) and Blue Cherry , which actually starts out black on the vine and slowly turns very dark purple/bluish. Sun Gold can produce hundreds and our vines sometimes hit 12'+. The school bus stops just down the trail and the kids are welcome to pick as many as they can. They hardly leave a dent.

Find the Tomato jiffy starter pod things. Not the little ones, but the 4" ones. There are 36 in a tray. Check at Freddies. We have two trays going under lights. We use pretty simple lights, plant and aquarium f40.



Here are some shots from the previous few years

(a few store bought mixed in ...)

The upside down things fill in spots nicely


I am going to try and keep up with the pictures this year.

When those hit about 5 or 6" I will transplant to the 5" pots. Those stay under lights until mid-late May, and then start spending days outside. Eventually as it warms, I will leave them out overnight and soon, like first or second week of June depending on weather into the ground. Just keep hoping for a nice September and you could have more tomato's than your neighbors know what to do with

Great info for a tomato raising neophyte with a black thumb, I have been taking notes as I love fresh tomato's.


Fishy

the upside down bucket thing has always fascinated me.
Any tricks?

We have had the upside down things growing around here for a few years. We have usually just stuck things like Patio, Snow White and other cherry type things in them. They do OK. They are pretty easy to deal with once you get the plant in. Be sure to start with a small plant or something with a small root ball. You have to stick it in through the bottom, put the gasket thing around it, fill it with dirt and water. Pretty easy.

A couple more tips from a guy who has been growing them here for 50 years.

Do NOT water unless they are wilting and NEVER water the foliage. Do not fertilize with nitrogen ever and very sparingly with other fertilizers. If you overwater and over fertilize you will get ten foot tall plants and tons of green tomatoes but no ripe ones.

The guys who grow in pots tend to get more ripe tomatoes because the plants are not as happy in a pot as in the ground. They fruit when stressed. Keep them slightly stressed and on a diet and they will fruit faster.

As far as late blight it’s a real killer here. I keep a big sheet of plastic over mine form late August on. In part for heat but mostly to keep that late rain off the plants.

Do not try to grow huge fruited varieties like Beef types. We just do not have the warmth to reliably ripen mid or long season varieties. The wall O water seems to help a bit . . .

P.S. I remove all suckers as soon as they appear. If you have a limb with no tomato larger than a pea by the end of August, remove it . Blossoms not set by August 1st will not make it.

Those are some great tips DV. Gutz setup is inspiring. Thank guys.