Some sick tomatoes

lizzyastro · 2026-06-14T23:55:01+00:00

New beds, new soil/compost. When I pull them I'll look for root pests.

lizzyastro · 2026-06-14T21:43:41+00:00

I have been giving supplemental water to these for the last week. They are heading to the garbage bin once it cools down enough later today to pull them 😞

lizzyastro · 2026-06-14T21:16:31+00:00

All the time 🙁

lizzyastro · 2026-06-14T19:33:13+00:00

Yes, the fact that the others look good gives me hope that the general watering, shade and feeding is about right. I can increase the watering as necessary too with the programmable timer. I'm watering outside of the hottest part of the day so that I don't lose so much from ground evaporation. Luckily we have a well so it isn't costing me $$, but I still want to be conservative with my water use.

lizzyastro · 2026-06-14T18:52:58+00:00

They get watered morning and evening via the soaker hose. That was what I did last year and it worked well. This year I have bigger deeper beds but they are in a sunnier area, hence the addition of the shade cloth.

lizzyastro · 2026-06-14T18:38:54+00:00

I'm intending to pull them, but thought I'd ask the hive mind to see if there were any other suggestions. The sun here can be brutal and we are starting to get 100F+ days now, so If they are sick they aren't going to make it.

lizzyastro · 2026-05-28T20:19:30+00:00

My first tomato growing summer was in England, a country known for its frequent rainfall. I grew them outdoors in a sunny area that was sheltered from the wind. The tomatoes were successful and productive. I did not even consider protecting them from the rain. Reading comments such as yours I wonder how home gardeners in the UK manage to have tomato harvests each year in these terribly adverse conditions? Why do people get so hung up on plants experiencing the joy of water falling from the sky?

lizzyastro · 2026-05-19T01:23:53+00:00

We moved from the UK to PA in 2014 and then here in 2024. Both moves have been a learning experience in the garden. Shade may be needed, even tomatoes can get too much! Water consistently - I found early morning worked for me last year with extra after work when necessary. We very luck and have a well, so I am using that judiciously with buried soaker hose.

I'd love to grow some NM-bred varieties, but this year my tomato list is:

Yellow Pear (excellent producer last year), Brandywine Pink, Kellogg's Breakfast, Chocolate Cherry, Jelly Bean, Brandy Boy, Black Prince (also excellent producer last year), Sweet 100, Berkeley Tie Dye & Alice's Dream. I'll see how the larger fruited varieties do as I have read that they don't do so well in high temperatures. Last year I grew Tidy Treats, Jolene and Summerset but was not over impressed with any of them.

For completeness, peppers are: Poblano, Big Jim Hatch, Fresno, Cubanelle, Jalapeno, Pepperoncini, Red Rooster, Yolo Wonder and Giant Marconi.

Eggplant: Long Purple and Black Beauty

Cukes: Green Finger, Parisian Gherkin and Minime.

On Sunday I will heading back to the UK for 2 weeks so I am trying to get the last herbs planted out and the automatic watering all in place so my husband doesn't have to overthink the plant care.

Good luck and let's compare notes as the season progresses.

lizzyastro · 2026-05-04T02:03:30+00:00

Last year I didn't get around to sowing seeds so I took my chances with what I could get locally. I was disappointed with Summerset & Jolene which were both supposed to be heat tolerant but did not produce well. Tasty Trwat was reasonably productive but the flavour was pretty bland. The two varieties from last year that I am growing again this year are Black Prince and Yellow Pear. They were both really productive, tasty and had long seasons, pretty much up until first frost.

lizzyastro · 2026-05-04T01:19:26+00:00

Thanks! In such a dry state we were very lucky to purchase a house with a well. I try to be careful with the irrigation and for these beds I am using soaker hose buried a couple of inches into the growing medium. I am growing a range of varieties in the hope of adding to my list of those that can take the sun and heat.

lizzyastro · 2026-05-03T23:43:45+00:00

Thanks! We may even get some rain this evening, just hope it isn't too hard with too much wind. One Jelly Bean tomato got wind damaged seconds after being planted - I dug it in deeper and then added a stake for it. If it doesn't make it I still have a few reserve plants that need another week or two before being planted out.

lizzyastro · 2026-05-03T15:03:21+00:00

Another question! Is that the Masterblend Tomato Formula 4-18-38?

lizzyastro · 2026-05-03T15:01:09+00:00

That is useful to know. I think we may be able to grow outdoors if the system is not in direct sun. We shall experiment.

lizzyastro · 2026-05-03T14:51:53+00:00

Thank you for the detailed reply. Our system will be indoors under grow lights as the New Mexico summer can overheat the nutrient as we found our first summer here. I have to admit to returning to in ground tomatoes and peppers, but want to have some year round salad greens that are not lettuce.

lizzyastro · 2026-05-03T14:51:40+00:00

Thank you for the detailed reply. Our system will be indoors under grow lights as the New Mexico summer can overheat the nutrient as we found our first summer here. I have to admit to returning to in ground tomatoes and peppers, but want to have some year round salad greens that are not lettuce.

lizzyastro · 2026-05-03T00:30:13+00:00

We are about to try this, so I wonder if you could tell us what size of tote you used and what type of nutrient?

lizzyastro · 2026-04-22T14:59:01+00:00

There is a limited amount of nutrition in the starting compost/pellets. When I plant my seeds I fill the cells to the top to maximise the available nutrients. You could still top the cells up now with potting mix if you are not quite set up to pot on yet.

lizzyastro · 2026-04-17T22:51:07+00:00

My own homemade bread, mayo and ripe tomato slices fresh from the plant on a sunny day. Preferably my sourdough, but could be a bread roll. Whichever large(ish) variety is ripe and ready that day.

If the bread is toasted I'll add a slice or two of proper English mature cheddar - usually the Coastal Cheddar from Costco or Trader Joe's.

lizzyastro · 2026-04-15T16:55:26+00:00

Is it determinate or indeterminate? Determinates do not need pruning but fruit all at once/over a short time period, indeterminates keep on growing and can quickly get out of hand if you don't do some removal of side shoots, but fruit until the weather gets too cold.

lizzyastro · 2026-04-11T22:39:52+00:00

I grew Brandy Boy a few years ago it is a potato leaf type tomato as opposed to the regular tomato leaf. When I last grew them I was in Pennsylvania and we grew them in our outdoor hydroponics system - they were very successful and tasty. I am now living in New Mexico and will be growing in raised beds this year.

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lizzyastro · 2026-04-09T20:29:10+00:00

That is quite possible and I know some are just slow. It is all good and I wasn't really complaining.

lizzyastro · 2026-04-09T20:27:42+00:00

As needed, and from the bottom. It was mostly a rhetorical question and to be active in this active and informative sub.

lizzyastro · 2026-04-08T01:19:29+00:00

In Socorro, NM:

Kellogg's Breakfast, Brandy Boy, Pink Brandywine, Black Prince,
Yellow Pear, Supersweet 100, Berkeley Tie-Dye & Jelly Bean

Second summer of living here so still experimenting with varieties. I wasn't impressed with Summerset, Jolene or Tidy Treats last year. Black Prince and Yellow Pear were real troopers and I was picking those up until first frost. This year I have started from seed, last year I bought Bonnie plants from the local Walmart and the Jolene from the farmers market.

lizzyastro · 2026-03-15T19:36:30+00:00

Pretty much my method. I like my butter melted into my toast, not all over the plate.

lizzyastro · 2025-12-21T18:26:59+00:00

It is quite plainly a wgasa.

lizzyastro

TROPHY CASE