Homegrown Tomatoes

Posts Tagged ‘The Great Tomato Experiment’

The Great Tomato Experiment is underway!  This is the first report of the series, and the race is just beginning.

While you can read the full story behind The Great Tomato Experiment, a summary is as follows:

There are three plants, grown from seed from the same packet (plant variety is the heirloom tomato Pineapple). 

• One plant is the control plant; it gets treated the same was as my other (non-experiment) tomatoes.
• Another plant is being grown for fruit size, per the book Giant Tomatoes.
• The third plant is being grown for productivity of harvest, per the book How to Grow World Record Tomatoes.

All three tomatoes were planted in 10-gallon containers.  Because they are planted in containers, they get fed weekly, although about half strength.

(Note:  You can click on each of the photos to see a larger version.)

Fruit Size Plant

The first plant is the one I am growing for the size of the fruit.  This plant’s soil is about half and half compost and potting mix.  Fertilizer has been mainly Miracle Gro for Tomatoes (half strength), as well as some kelp spray and a little bit of fish emulsion.  Oh, and I did also add some worm castings.

This plant is by far the largest of the three, as far as height goes.  It’s also a little bit leggier, which I suspect is from the Miracle Gro’s higher nutrient count.  Because it’s in a container, the plant gets a little Miracle Gro liquid every week, at half strength.  It also gets some kelp liquid once a week.

The first blossom buds appeared on this plant, just this past week.  But per the book, I pinched them off — the plant needs to grow some more before setting the first fruits.  (Oh boy, was it ever hard to pinch those blossoms off!)

Harvest Size Plant

This plant has been lagging behind, but now it’s starting to catch up some.  The mix in the container was 100% compost.  I also added worm castings, bone meal and blood meal.  The plant gets fish emulsion spray once a week, and now that it’s large enough, also a drink of some (slightly diluted) fish emulsion weekly.  It also got some kelp meal, and a once-a-week spray of kelp liquid (“Sea Magic”).

This plant is the stockiest of the three plants, even though it’s shortest in height.  The theory behing this is that while plants grown 100% organically take longer to “take off” as far as height, they grow better and healthier once they do start to catch up. 

And you know what was interesting?  When I walked out to the garden at lunch, this plant was noticeably larger/taller than in the photo (taken yesterday morning).  The top leaves now drape over the green bar!

Control Plant

The control plant is growing along nicely so far.  It’s planting mix was about 70% compost and 30% potting soil. 

As far as fertilizer, it’s been mostly organic — worm castings, fish emulsion, kelp meal and spray.  I have also added some Tomatoes Alive! all-natural fertilizer.  I also gave the plant a shot of Miracle Gro for Tomatoes (diluted to half-strength) about a week after I planted it .  The reason I did this is because I saw the underside of the leaves had some purple veining — a good hint that the plant didn’t have enough phosphorus.  It’s doing fine now, though, without any extra Miracle Gro.

As far as height and stockiness goes, it’s somewhere between the fruit size and fruit production plants on both counts.  So likely I’ll quit using the Miracle Gro, and concentrate on organic methods from this point out with this plant.

When’s the Next Report?

I figure about every two weeks is a good time period between reports.  So look for my next one on The Great Tomato Experiment around the end of March.  Can’t wait to compare photos then!

Are you interested in growing huge tomatoes? Would you like to see massive tomatoes on your vines? What about large volumes of tomatoes — lots and lots and lots from a single plant?

Two books have gotten my attention lately, and have intrigued me.  One is about taking a tomato plant to new heights (both literally and figuratively) of production, and the other is growing hugmongous tomatoes.

Sound interesting?  Well, if you grow tomato plants, you surely want good production — lots and lots of delicious fruits, ready when you need them (not to mention plenty to turn in to sauces with still plenty enough to give away).

And you’re likely fascinated with those huge tomatoes, weighing in at several pounds each!  Each tomato is a meal in itself for several people; they are simply amazing.

The Great Tomato Experiment

With the tomato-growing weather great in my part of the country right now, I’ve decided to put the two books to the test.  I’ll grow three tomato plants of the same variety, from the same seed packet.

• One tomato plant will be the control plant; I’ll grow it just as I normally do.
• One tomato plant will be grown according to the directions for the high tomato productivity.
• The final tomato plant will be grown according to the directions for making those humongous tomatoes.

The tomato variety I’ve chosen for this test is a heirloom tomato named Pineapple.  It’’s a bicolor, with red and gold stripes, outside and inside.  Not only is it pretty to look at, but the fruit is delicious and sweet.  Oh, and the tomatoes it produces pretty regularly get to be a pound or more in size.  Pineapple is also a bit more disease-resistant than most heirloom tomato varieties, but like most heirlooms is indeterminate.

So, it sounds about the perfect tomato for the test, wouldn’t you say?

Hey, why not join me?  Experiment right along with me if you live in the south.  If you live farther north, get your seeds, books and supplies now, and run your own experiment as soon as your weather turns mild enough.

First, the Books

OK, here are the two books you’ll need for this Great Tomato Experiment.  They are:

• How to Grow World Record Tomatoes: A Guinness Champion Reveals His All-Organic Secrets by Charles Wilber
• Giant Tomatoes by Marvin H. Meisner; M.D

The first book is about growing lots and lots of tomatoes.  How many?  Charles Wilber managed to grow over 1,000 pounds worth of tomatoes…from just four plants!  While I don’t expect to grow that many, you can see what I mean by growing lots of tomatoes!  My goal will be to at least double the tomato productivity of the control plant.

The second book is about growing those giant tomatoes that are heavy and huge.  Can you imagine a tomato that dwarfs two hands?  The tomato variety I’ve selected is already known for growing large tomatoes, but my goal is to have the tomatoes substantially bigger than the largest tomatoes on my control plant.

Next, the Seeds and Supplies

First are the seeds for the heirloom tomato called Pineapple; you’ll need a pack of these seeds for the experiment.  (If bicolors aren’t your thing or you need a tomato variety that matures a tiny bit earlier, try Brandywine.)

Next is a tomato trellis, which helps to hold up the tomato plants.  I’ve selected the Tomato Tower with Nylon Trellising for both the test plants.  For my control plant, I’ll use the staking system I normally use.  The tomato tower is 6 feet tall, and is designed to better support the larger tomato plants, not to mention the larger tomatoes!

After that, I’ll be using the soil and fertilizers specified in each of the books for the appropriate plants.

So, below are the items I’ll be using.  The two fertilizers you see are for my control plant (i.e., what I normally use). I put in the windowsill greenhouse as well, as it’s what I use for the germination phase for any tomato.

So, come on and join me — let’s have fun growing lots and lots of big, tasty tomatoes! The seeds, supplies I’m using are listed below; put your cursor over an item to get more information and/or buy it.

P.S. Don’t think you can’t follow right along with the experiment because you don’t have a yard in which to grow tomatoes — I’m growing each of my three plants in containers! But if you can (and choose to) grow your tomato plants in the ground, you’ll likely have even bigger yields. Wow!