For the Gardners: Mighty 'Mato

[GigaBuist]

I got wind of these a few weeks ago and we're planning on carrying them in our greenhouse this spring.  Figured some of you might be interested.

And no, we don't ship, but you can find vendors online that do. Check Amazon.

http://mightyveggies.com/mighty-mato/

The "Mighty 'Mato" is a tomato plant with an heirloom variety grafted onto a disease resistant hybrid root system.  So, you get the nice juicy succulent fruits that you get with their heirlooms, and a higher yield, without them being a pain in the arse to actually grow.

Yep, I'm gonna have to try this out in my garden.  Looks cool.  Not cheap, though.  Prices I'm seeing on Amazon are $7.99 for a 3" starter pot.

[RoadKingLarry]

Might be OK but my current plans run to at least 100 tomato plants in my garden this year. I'll start mine from seed and will only buy plants if I loose too many too early. I'm setting up to have maters in the ground the first week of March in my high tunnel.

I've done some reading on grafting tomatoes and it looks interesting but I don't have the space for it, yet.

[Lee]

I need all the help I can get.  Might check them out.  My plants started off great this year, but produced almost nothing.  Those few mators were then eaten by some critter just as they ripened.

[MechAg94]

I didn't know tomatoes were hard to grow, but I have never done it myself.

[Brad Johnson]

Got my seed tray started last week.  While not on the scale of Larry's endeavor, I'll have a couple plants each of three tomato and pepper varieties.  The peppers have already begun to sprout.  The tomatos are taking their time.

Brad

[GigaBuist]

I didn't know tomatoes were hard to grow, but I have never done it myself.

Depends on the variety a bit.  A Roma is easy if you keep it pruned and staked well.  A Tumbling Tom is about as easy as you can get, easy to pull off in a patio pot container.

Heirlooms seem to require much more work that I'm capable of, but they fruit nice, so I'm itching to try some of the 'Mighty Mato' things this spring.

[RoadKingLarry]

My current favorite heirloom variety is Cherokee Purple. I've got customers from the farmers market  I sell at that have been asking if I'm going to grow them again this year.
A very dark colored tomato great tomato flavor and pretty good sized, a single slice will cover a slice of bread. It's hard to beat a bacon, tomato and bacon sammich.

Hey Giga, are you having problems with the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in your area? I'm pretty sure they are what nearly wiped me out last year. I finally got them pretty well controlled but not eliminated late in the season but they cost me a boat load of salable tomatoes. Now that I know what I'm up against I think I've got a better shot at keeping them at bay this year. Oklahoma hasn't officially acknowledged them in state yet but I've seen a number of anecdotal  reports of them in the state.

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated-stink-bug

[Pharmacology]

Those few mators were then eaten by some critter just as they ripened.

Get a bunch of green tomatoes, and color them red somehow to get rid of your tomato thief.
Green tomatoes are very toxic to many animals.

(DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU HAVE A TOMATO EATING DOG)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3rhQc666Sg

[Larry Ashcraft]

I usually plant 60-70 tomato plants, a couple dozen Heartlands, half a dozen Better Boys (early in Walls-o-Water) and the remainder in Romas or San Marzanos.  I've experimented with a couple of heirlooms and haven't had much luck, but I may try those Cherokee Purples this year.  The Heartlands are a container variety, but for whatever reason, in my clay soil, nothing can beat their taste.

Last year we had a phenomenal season with tomatoes, probably because we had a dry May and June.  The Romas averaged 4" in length and we put up tons of them, canned, frozen and in salsa.  Also, we didn't have a single Mexican Bean Beetle in the green beans.  Usually I have to resort to chemicals in August or they'll completely destroy the crop.

[GigaBuist]

Hey Giga, are you having problems with the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in your area?

Not that I'm aware of.  Never heard of them before.  Found a picture online and I don't believe I've ever seen one.  They don't appear to be popular in Michigan either.

[wmenorr67]

Haven't had a garden in several years now.  I'm going to get home too late to start one this year.  Looking to do it maybe next year.

[zxcvbob]

I'll be planting some 3rd generation Better Boy seedlings in about 6 weeks.  (I know BB is a hybrid and you're not supposed to save the seeds.) 

And I will plant the first pepper seeds in about a week -- some long yellow Capsicum baccatums that I don't think have a name.  I thought I'd lost the variety due to several consecutive crop failures (rabbits) but I found some 10 year old seeds last year and got a few to germinate, and got just enough fruits to eat a few and save the seeds.  I'm hoping the vigor returns now with fresh seeds.  And I have some nasty bitter spray to keep the rabbits away until the plants are big.

[RoadKingLarry]

Haven't had a garden in several years now.  I'm going to get home too late to start one this year.  Looking to do it maybe next year.

You can always plant a fall garden. We've got a long enough growing season. Heck give me enough heads up and I'll start some tomatoes for you timed to transplant when you get back.

[wmenorr67]

You can always plant a fall garden. We've got a long enough growing season. Heck give me enough heads up and I'll start some tomatoes for you timed to transplant when you get back.

Thanks for the offer but first few months home going to be so busy catching up on stuff that getting a garden ready is not even going to make the first two pages of the to do list.

[RoadKingLarry]

Well, if you get a chance run up to Chelsea on a Saturday and I'll hook you up.

[wmenorr67]

That can be arranged.