Plant Yourselves Some Tomatoes ASAP

[twyacht]

Well the tomato market has taken a big hit this winter, Florida (the leading supplier of winter tomatoes), has lost a substantial portion of its Spring market, and the prices are going up, and even "by request" initiatives are starting, (it made the NBC Nightly News).....

For those that can and like tomatoes, get a big pot or 3, and good soil and grow your own. Better Boys, Beefsteaks, Cherry, Roma, all can be grown in big pots.

Or designate, a 5x5 area of your yard and plant a couple. Plus the fried green tomatoes are good also.

For those in the Great White North, I'd go the potted route, as your ground is frozen until May???

The ripple effect will cut into Bloody Mary's V-8, Tomato Juice, Marinara Sauce,....etc,....

Just thought with Spring around the corner, and if you like tomatoes, get em' in and growing.

[Pathfinder]

GF planted seeds indoors - we still have tons of wet, white slushy stuff on the ground in spite of 35+ degrees the last few days - plus sun. The largest plants are almost 6" at this point, 20 of them, mostly Romas IIRC for canning. We're ready - as soon as the ground thaws.

[Woody]

 I take the seeds from my cutting board and plant them. Celebrity is a good variety here. They are a fruit , so I trim them them like grapes and they do well.

[scott.ballard]

Do those upside down hanging tomato baskets from on TV work?

Thanks,

[tombogan03884]

My Mother had good luck with one of those.
The best way to get awesome tomatoes is to run them through a pig .

[Sponsor]

[mortdooley]

 Go to youtube and find out how to grow tomatoes upsidedown without buying the "as seen on tv" product. This is the year I plant another garden, pots and hanging vines will play a big part in my projects. I found that the food you like the best does not do as well as the less appealing vegetables. 

[tombogan03884]

Go to youtube and find out how to grow tomatoes upsidedown without buying the "as seen on tv" product. This is the year I plant another garden, pots and hanging vines will play a big part in my projects. I found that the food you like the best does not do as well as the less appealing vegetables. 

If you find yourself asking, "Why would ANYONE eat this sh!t ? " the reason is probably that it would grow where nothing else would 

[crusader rabbit]

I take the seeds from my cutting board and plant them. Celebrity is a good variety here. They are a fruit , so I trim them them like grapes and they do well.

Don't know if it's always the case, but the second generation seeds that come from plants that have been genetically modified (i.e. from Monsanto) may grow nicely, but often won't fruit.  They (Monsanto) does this so you can't grow seed crop and you have to buy seeds from them each season. 

Crusader's wife, Bunny, grows various heirloom varieties and gets good results generation after generation.  She tried the upside-down pots last season but got some kind of tomato virus that killed off the flowers before the plant fruited.  Right now, we have some beautiful cherry tomatoes that managed to survive the frost and the plants are still producing lovely, sweet little red balls of juice that really perk up our nightly salads.  I firmly believe food tastes better when you have a personal hand in producing/obtaining it.  Catch a fish, shot a pig or a deer, or grow your veggies and they all taste better.

Thoughtfully offered by Crusader

[fightingquaker13]

A question about seeds from the cutting board. I've got these great little tomatoes that are a bit bigger than a cherry and smaller than a Roma. They are about the only thing in Fl. that has taste due to the very evil Fl. tomato cartel (think Democrats want to stifle small business and innovation, they are miles behind Fl. tomato farmers ). Anywhoo, do I need to do anything to the seeds from the board in terms of washing (or not washing), or drying them etc, in order to get the best chance of germination?
FQ13

[crusader rabbit]

FQ, it's been my experience that the closest thing to "natural" propagation yields the best results.  We used to get some post seasonal toms from what grandma called "volunteers" or tomatoes that had fallen to the ground and self-propagated.  They were always the tastiest of the year.  Soooo, if you can take the seeds directly from the cutting board to an old fashioned cardboard egg carton wherein you have placed some quality, moist potting soil, you should have the best chance for success.  Bury them under 1/2 inch of moist soil and keep 'em moist on the window sill until you have some hearty little seedlings.  Then they can go to a pot or hanging basket, or wherever.  You can just cut the egg carton apart as the cardboard will turn to mulch when left in the soil.

Bear in mind that you might not get any fruit from these seeds as Monsanto modifies their seeds not to produce from second generation seeds.  And, Monsanto is one of the world's largest producer of seeds.  Them and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) another bunch of thieves dedicated to the destruction of the family farm.

Anyway, good luck with the project.  I hope you get more tomatoes than you can possibly eat and some of your friends and neighbors are forced to share in your largess.  Homegrown toms are really a treat when compared to the cardboard sold in Publix.