Glorious Tomatoes.

[sirineou]

Growing nice meaty beefsteak tomatoes has been an elusive goal for me and from what I read many others. 

Some seem to grow in the cooler, higher elevations of Chiang Mai. but In Khon Kaen where we are  I was always unsuccessful except for those small cherry tomatoes. 

   So with immense pride and joy I would like to announce success. 

While vacationing in Greece last summer, among other things I brought back seed of beefsteak tomatoes .

One thing I learn the hard way  is that tomatoes do not like a lot of water, I read that it disrupts their ability to absorb calcium.  I learned that when I started getting a back spot under my tomatoes and googled it. It seems I was killing my tomatoes with love, I was overwatering . Now once every three-4 days and my tomatoes

 are doing great. So start seed October so that you are getting in the dry season, and you can control the amount of water. 

.

[couchpotato]

Why are called beefsteak tomatoes...and what is the difference with other types...thanks.

[ozimoron]

They look like Grosse Lisse.

[Keeps]

They certainly look good but more importantly, how do they taste? I have had some excellent tomatoes when holidaying in Greece over the years. Has the Thai climate been conducive to growing this type of tomato to the level you would expect in Greece or thereabouts? 

[sirineou]

6 minutes ago, couchpotato said:

Why are called beefsteak tomatoes...and what is the difference with other types...thanks.

I an no expert on tomatoes , and different countries have different names for them 

as far as I know, In the US we have  beefsteak tomatoes

Roma  tomatoes 

and cherry tomatoes.

I am sure there are other varieties for each type , but these are the three groups I  put them all together in .

IMO beefsteak are the nest for salads, I also have a very good recipe for stuffed tomatoes 

Roma are fair for a salad, and cherries are IMO only good for my slingshot.  LOL

[sirineou]

4 minutes ago, Keeps said:

They certainly look good but more importantly, how do they taste? I have had some excellent tomatoes when holidaying in Greece over the years. Has the Thai climate been conducive to growing this type of tomato to the level you would expect in Greece or thereabouts? 

Cant beat the tomatoes in Greece, 

Have you been to a farmers market while there (Laiki Agora)  When people go to Greece they go to the Acropolis and Santorini , the first thing I do is go to a farmers market . 

 

Then to a bakery 

 

I was pleasantly surprised with my tomatoes, They taste great of the vine with just a bit of salt. I am very happy with them

[sirineou]

32 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

They look like Grosse Lisse.

Yea there are so many varieties, 

The generic I use for all large meaty tomatoes is Beefsteak 

Medium egg shaped ones "Roma"

And ammunition for my slingshot "Cherry" LOL

 

[Keeps]

I have been to farmers markets when on holiday, mainly Cephalonia and Skiathos. Fantastic tomatoes, cheese and olives. Even with the perfect ingredients, I can never make a Greek salad taste anything like you get in the most basic taverna.

 

Are you growing your own Oregano yet? I've never tried but assume it would thrive in the Thai climate.

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, Keeps said:

have been to farmers markets when on holiday, mainly Cephalonia and Skiathos. Fantastic tomatoes, cheese and olives. Even with the perfect ingredients, I can never make a Greek salad taste anything like you get in the most basic taverna.

I feel the same. First the tomatoes they sell here are mediocre at best, Macro in our area,has same good Dondi feta, Good luck finding good Kalamata olives. 

I found a place on Lazada that had 5 kilo (3 kilo dry) and I wanted to order but I just spend a bunch of money on some toys, and could not justify 1800 baht for olives to the wife. 

Then you need to build yourself a seaside fishing village.  55555 (My emojis are not working) 

That should last me for a year 

[Morch]

1 hour ago, Keeps said:

They certainly look good but more importantly, how do they taste? I have had some excellent tomatoes when holidaying in Greece over the years. Has the Thai climate been conducive to growing this type of tomato to the level you would expect in Greece or thereabouts? 

 

 A lot of the tomatoes you get in Greece are imported.

[Liverpool Lou]

12 minutes ago, Morch said:

1 hour ago, Keeps said:

They certainly look good but more importantly, how do they taste? I have had some excellent tomatoes when holidaying in Greece over the years. Has the Thai climate been conducive to growing this type of tomato to the level you would expect in Greece or thereabouts? 

 

 A lot of the tomatoes you get in Greece are imported.

...from Thailand!

[WhatMeWorry]

Very interesting, I was wondering why the tomatoes in Thailand have no taste. Keep us posted as to your success.

[Morch]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

...from Thailand!

 

On various occasions we were told they were from Turkey, Morocco and Israel. Maybe more so on tourist season.

[novacova]

22 minutes ago, WhatMeWorry said:

Very interesting, I was wondering why the tomatoes in Thailand have no taste. Keep us posted as to your success.

Potassium/potash listed as K20 on fertilizers is the main component for making fruit and vegetables sweet. It also regulates water in the plants.

[scubascuba3]

5 hours ago, WhatMeWorry said:

Very interesting, I was wondering why the tomatoes in Thailand have no taste. Keep us posted as to your success.

Tomatoes here are mostly poor, i might give up buying them

[moogradod]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Tomatoes here are mostly poor, i might give up buying them

 

Unfortunately true. Even worse, in a lot of other countries tomatoes seem to have lost their expected rich flavour as well. For example in Switzerland. I guess you have the best chances in Italy. I suppose this might be because of the disappearance of older varieties.

 

By the way - never seen a really tasty orange here, too. THe tasty ones are from Spain.

[sirineou]

8 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

...from Thailand!

Definitely not from Thailand. I have lived in many countries, Thailand by far has the worst tomatoes I have ever seen. Though, much to my surprise,  I did find some nice ones to buy at the morning market. 

Thais don't like tomatoes, my wife will not eat them. They don't have the taste buds for them. They put then in SomTom  but only for color. 

[Skipalongcassidy]

20 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 

Thais don't like tomatoes, my wife will not eat them. They don't have the taste buds for them.  

I know many Thais that love tomatoes and eat them almost daily... my wife included... your typical broad overstatement is not totally supported.

[KhunLA]

10 hours ago, sirineou said:

Growing nice meaty beefsteak tomatoes has been an elusive goal for me and from what I read many others. 

Tell me about it ... as not much success here.  Can't beat a Jersey (USA) beefsteak tomato.  1 slice would cover a slice of bread for a sandwich.

 

And definitely less water, or they'll split before ripening 

 

[sirineou]

7 hours ago, WhatMeWorry said:

Very interesting, I was wondering why the tomatoes in Thailand have no taste. Keep us posted as to your success.

I think they import them green, and then let them ripen in storage, but that's just a theory , I dont know why for sure, but you are right, Thai tomatoes just don't taste that good. 

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Tomatoes here are mostly poor, i might give up buying them

If you have the space, Try growing your own.

By no stretch of the imagination am I an expert. my success was just dumb luck. 

Do it in rich soil , with good drainage, and start your seed late October, that way the grow during the dry season.

And here is an idea I will thy next tomato dry season or do it inside under a grow light in a pot

Put the dirt in the oven and bake it for 30 minutes. 

I know you are thinking WTF

I remember reading some place that part of the reason that non native tomatoes don't do well in Thailand , is that there are bugs (I think nematodes) in the soil that destroy the roots . I am thinking that baking the soil will kill the little buggers.  Perhaps I will do three different pots each heated for different time lengths, and one not at all  and see if one works better than the other. 

33 minutes ago, moogradod said:

By the way - never seen a really tasty orange here, too. THe tasty ones are from Spain

As I said i think the poor taste is because the ship them Green to prevent loss from ripening and damage  while shipping, and let them ripen in storage. But I don't know for a fact that this is true , or entirely true. 

While in Greece we spend a week at a country house with lemon and Orange groves. 

You are right . The taste of the Oranges here do not even compare.

 

while i was searching for this picture on my cloud storage. I Found a treasure-trove of pictures U had forgotten about. 

You know how expensive a bag of chamomile tea is?  Here is a field full of it growing wild

and picking wild prickly pears . 

 

[sirineou]

27 minutes ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

I know many Thais that love tomatoes and eat them almost daily... my wife included... your typical broad overstatement is not totally supported.

Typical?

[sirineou]

7 hours ago, novacova said:

 

listed as K20 on fertilizers is the main component for making fruit and vegetables sweet. It also regulates water in the plants.

Learned something new today. I will definitely consider this next growing season. 

I copped your response in my notes. 

So I did a little bit of research ,and it seems that chopped banana peels are rich in potassium, which I happen to have a lot of, so I will chopp a bunch and pot them under a few tomato plants .

 

 

[sirineou]

29 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Tell me about it ... as not much success here.  Can't beat a Jersey (USA) beefsteak tomato.  1 slice would cover a slice of bread for a sandwich.

Growing tomatoes in NY, not far from the NJ border ( Monroe) was a breeze,  you only had to fence the garden to keep the racoons , squirrels  and deer out. By fall everyone had so many you could not give them away. :)

(My emojis are not gorning today) 

 

[KhunLA]

4 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Growing tomatoes in NY, not far from the NJ border ( Monroe) was a breeze,  you only had to fence the garden to keep the racoons , squirrels  and deer out. By fall everyone had so many you could not give them away. :)

(My emojis are not gorning today) 

We always had them in the garden, at suburbia Philly.  Pick them and eat them like an apple, 1 slice sandwiches ... BLISS

 

Find best tasting tomatoes here are the cherry tomatoes,   Takes a few to compensate for larger tomato, but at least has some flavor.

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

We always had them in the garden, at suburbia Philly.  Pick them and eat them like an apple, 1 slice sandwiches ... BLISS

 

Find best tasting tomatoes here are the cherry tomatoes,   Takes a few to compensate for larger tomato, but at least has some flavor.

IMO and to my taste , cherry tomatoes because of their size have a high ratio of skin to meat . but you are right, they are the only tomatoes with any taste. I just don't like all that skin. 

But that's my personal preference. 

[sandyf]

12 hours ago, sirineou said:

So start seed October so that you are getting in the dry season, and you can control the amount of water. 

Good advice but not just for the water. The weather has a lot to do with it, if the temperature gets too high when they flower the pollen becomes sticky and pollination greatly reduced. 

I gave up trying to grow tomatoes, kept losing the battle against the wildlife.

Nice looking tomatoes in the photo but I would have thought a bit small for to be called "Beef". That is normally the larger varieties where you can cut a "steak" from the central section. The largest I have ever seen on a mass scale was at a market in Turkey last year, fill the palm of your hand. Wife bought some seeds, they got to about a foot high then one day the leaves were almost eaten away.

[KhunLA]

30 minutes ago, sandyf said:

I gave up trying to grow tomatoes, kept losing the battle against the wildlife.

Definitely need a greenhouse for fruits, or the squirrel & birds will beat you to the pickin'.

 

Have ours mainly for the figs and tomatoes.  More figs than anything.  Have mulberries in the back yard, and birds leave a few for the wife.

 

[sandyf]

10 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Definitely need a greenhouse for fruits, or the squirrel & birds will beat you to the pickin'.

We grow a lot of fruit, bananas, mangoes, coconuts, jack fruit, dragon fruit, pappaya, sugar apples, pomegranites, longkhon?,  squirrels are certainly the biggest problem.

As far as the tomatoes are concerned it would be great to see fruit for the taking. The wildlife I referred to was more the discreet variety like insects and disease, tried spraying but plants very seldom reached the flower stage. I gave up but my wife has persevered trying to be protective but without much luck.

I tried potatoes one time, grew to about 18 inches and looked great. Suddenly they all keeled over and when I pulled one up there were no roots left.

Never thought of figs, may look into that.

[sirineou]

3 hours ago, sandyf said:

Good advice but not just for the water. The weather has a lot to do with it, if the temperature gets too high when they flower the pollen becomes sticky and pollination greatly reduced. 

I gave up trying to grow tomatoes, kept losing the battle against the wildlife.

Nice looking tomatoes in the photo but I would have thought a bit small for to be called "Beef". That is normally the larger varieties where you can cut a "steak" from the central section. The largest I have ever seen on a mass scale was at a market in Turkey last year, fill the palm of your hand. Wife bought some seeds, they got to about a foot high then one day the leaves were almost eaten away.

I agree

They just started turning red. I have a bunch of very big Green tomatoes, lets keep our fingers crossed.

and talking about Green tomatoes have you tried frying them in tempura flour? 

Arroy mak mak. in fact I was thinking of what to have for lunch , maybe I will make some. 

[sirineou]

Ok 

so fried green tomatoes, and since I had some leftover tempura I made a bunch of onion rings

and to commemorate the occasion I brought out the good paper plates.