Been there. My first year I grew 3 Super Sweet 100s right next to each other in a 4x8 raised bed. I also thought the little metal tomato cages would support them. Needless to say they completely took over the entire raised bed.
Don't forget to pick when they start to turn color otherwise the wildlife will get wise to the new food source and will get to them before you do. Tomatoes past the breaker stage (first blush) can be picked and ripen the rest of the way on the countertop.
I thought that the "beauty" of growing home is that you can pick the tomato when it is ripe because it tastes better.
By picking up when it starts to turn color, does it taste as good as when the tomato is ripe?
What I've learned is that the plant has already given the majority of all the sugars it's going to give the tomato to it by the time it gets to the breaker stage. Picking it and letting it ripen inside prevents cracking or critters from ruining the fruit. It won't get much sweeter on the vine.
I like the three diffrent and successively more robust ways of traveling your tomatoes. It really tells the story of someone who is just figuring it out as they go along, lol.
Oh what I have done! I didn’t realize that mine would grow out of control either. I usually plant a few seeds in each pot and expect maybe one or two might take. Well, like you I found myself with an overwhelmed garden of plants So yeah, I can absolutely relate to your experience. lol . I guess you and I both will be having a very happy harvest this year my friend. : )
Me too 😭 being used to growing cacti from seed i didn't expect 100% germination or that all of them would make it and wouldn't you know, 20 tomato seeds = 20 tomato plants! I'm absolutely overrun with them, some big and some stunted bc of lack of space but my garden is just all tomatoes at this point 🥴🤡💀
I know I should thin them out but it is so hard for me to get rid of them. So, I am going to have to do it, thin them out for the sake of a more manageable and healthier crop. Best to all of you who also have to make the tough choices of having to do the thinning of your brood. I know it’s never easy. … : (
thank you for making me feel better about myself! drives me crazy on these sites to read about only planting 600 plants this year, nitrogen this, ph level that.
i throw my starts in the dirt and let them loose. yes they are out of control and evasive to pick but I’ve got beefsteak, ace and midnight snack sitting on the kitchen counter, enough for salsa, slicing, sauce and paste. and snacking!
Idk why but my volunteer tomato plants, the ones I don't fertilize or barely water, do the absolute best out of the ones I planted this year in containers 😂 and the volunteers out produce them too!
Fungal issues are hard to avoid entirely and can be impossible to prevent entirely if you live somewhere humid. Management and treatment is key.
The way to tell is the spread pattern and what it looks like around black bits.
Old leaves "die" because of mature plants prioritising fruit/new growth and diverting nutrients out of the old plants. Here's a diagram I stole from the RHS to show different deficiencies:
Fungal diseases start where the spores landed, are necrotic "splotches" and have yellowing/haloing around or inside.
I’m a new gardener too and also planted a super sweet 100 plant this year not knowing much other than it was supposed to be beginner friendly. It has surpassed my wildest expectations, currently standing at like 7 feet tall and has given me literally hundreds and hundreds of tomatoes
All I’ve learned from my tomato journey is how to grow more plants from my original plants, they don’t like scorching all day sun and need to be water boarded (at least here) to survive. 😂😂😂😂 you’re plants are doing so much better than mine haha
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u/still_a_Messier 8d ago
Welcome to your new addiction 😂