Glorious Tomatoes.

[chickenslegs]

I decided to transfer all the seedlings to soil pots. I started with just potting 2 but they were doing so well that I was tempted to pot them all. I have about 30 more tomato seeds (beef steak from a packet) starting to germinate in foam cubes - nothing to show yet.

 

My only tomato plant has developed these markings on its leaves. Does anyone know the cause and treatment?

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, chickenslegs said:

I have about 30 more tomato seeds (beef steak from a packet) starting to germinate in foam cubes - nothing to show yet.

The problem you will have IMO (not very educated opinion) will be temperature. You should certainly give it a try, I could be totally wrong. 

My tomatoes were growing like gang bangers, nice big tasty. then it started getting hot again. First I noticed that their skin started to get thicker, I researched it and discover that after a certain temperature, cant remember which but I think it was mid to high 80s  their skin starts getting thick to retain moisture in the tomato fruit. Then my tomato size started decreasing, I speculate also for the moisture retention reason. One advantage you might have with hydroponics might be that because the Fluid might be lower than ambient temperature you might be able to mitigate the temperature issue.

Perhaps you might want to try a hydroponic box that you put a couple of ice cubes in it every day.

Anyway I am fowing you progress with interest and hope to learn from your mistakes and successes .

   

 

 

[sirineou]

2 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

My only tomato plant has developed these markings on its leaves. Does anyone know the cause and treatment?

Never seen that before , look like insect tracts. 

Ok so I googled it and it seems like they are indeed insect tracts. (leaf miners)

https://gardeninminutes.com/dealing-with-leaf-miners-easy-growing-episode-4/#:~:text=We see these little white,they're easy to fix.

[chickenslegs]

40 minutes ago, sirineou said:

The problem you will have IMO (not very educated opinion) will be temperature. You should certainly give it a try, I could be totally wrong. 

My tomatoes were growing like gang bangers, nice big tasty. then it started getting hot again. First I noticed that their skin started to get thicker, I researched it and discover that after a certain temperature, cant remember which but I think it was mid to high 80s  their skin starts getting thick to retain moisture in the tomato fruit. Then my tomato size started decreasing, I speculate also for the moisture retention reason. One advantage you might have with hydroponics might be that because the Fluid might be lower than ambient temperature you might be able to mitigate the temperature issue.

Perhaps you might want to try a hydroponic box that you put a couple of ice cubes in it every day.

Anyway I am fowing you progress with interest and hope to learn from your mistakes and successes .

   

 

 

Temperature inside the poly box is hardly affected by the outside temperature, but I nearly lost some seedlings when I forgot to put shade over them. I didn't look at them until mid day and they looked very sad ...

[sirineou]

4 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Temperature inside the poly box is hardly affected by the outside temperature, but I nearly lost some seedlings when I forgot to put shade over them. I didn't look at them until mid day and they looked very sad ...

Yea I had a similar issue and used green shade cloth outside and resolved the problem 

I always had a problem growing cilantro  until I covered the whole raise bed with shade cloth , then both the cilantro and scallions took off. I will take a picture when I go there later today and post. 

[sirineou]

8 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Temperature inside the poly box is hardly affected by the outside temperature,

as I said , this is also a learning experience, so take most things I say with a grain of salt. 

I am not sure if it is the root temperature, the Plant temperature . or a combination of both that cause the high temperature reaction issue. Or even the percentage of the day under high temperatures. 

That's why I suggest you try things different ways and see what works best. 

I am going to the States in a couple of months for a month and I dont want to start any new projects that require my attention.

 but when I come back. I want to try a hydroponic box of tomatoes inside the house where it is airconditioned most of the day, under a grow lamp.  

[chickenslegs]

4 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I want to try a hydroponic box of tomatoes inside the house where it is airconditioned most of the day, under a grow lamp. 

I'd be interested to know how that pans out.

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, chickenslegs said:

I'd be interested to know how that pans out.

Ok so I just came back from my farm/garden.

Bell peppers are starting to come in 

Jalapeno peppers starting to come in, first time I tried growing them so we will see

chives and cilantro doing better. Notice the shade cloth. 

Tomatoes are almost done for. 

[djayz]

On 1/21/2024 at 6:52 AM, sirineou said:

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. 

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. 

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 . 

 

I've been growing my own tomatoes here in Korat for the past 8-9 years, usually quite successfully. 

Baking the soil?! Never done this and never needed to. Plant seeds in good potting mix, good drainage around mid August. Plant out in mid October, just as the rainy season is coming to an end, in rich soil. I assure you, you don't need to bake the soil. Yes, I grow a lot of foreign toms here. 

[sirineou]

On 6/27/2024 at 11:54 PM, djayz said:

I've been growing my own tomatoes here in Korat for the past 8-9 years, usually quite successfully. 

Baking the soil?! Never done this and never needed to. Plant seeds in good potting mix, good drainage around mid August. Plant out in mid October, just as the rainy season is coming to an end, in rich soil. I assure you, you don't need to bake the soil. Yes, I grow a lot of foreign toms here. 

Sorry for the very late reply, I have been staying away from this forum, The Baking the soil idea was not mine, as I said I am not an expert in the subject by any stretch of the imagination, and on my previous successful attempt i did not bake the soil. Many people are unsuccessful growing any  other then the local variety of tomatoes,it has been regularly reported in this forum, which is why I was excited when I finally had some success.   I have learned that the soil in Thailand contains nematodes, or molds  that non Thai varieties have no resistance against, and a way around that problem is baking the soil to kill them.Perhaps your success is attributed to using potting soil in containers. As I also said certainly start early fall so that the tomatoes grow in the cooler, dry weather. I started a bit late because I was away, last  year I will also start my seeds late August and use the same non baking technique if I am successful again I will continue as I did, if not I will try sterilizing the soil.     

[djayz]

On 7/7/2024 at 8:59 AM, sirineou said:

Sorry for the very late reply, I have been staying away from this forum, The Baking the soil idea was not mine, as I said I am not an expert in the subject by any stretch of the imagination, and on my previous successful attempt i did not bake the soil. Many people are unsuccessful growing any  other then the local variety of tomatoes,it has been regularly reported in this forum, which is why I was excited when I finally had some success.   I have learned that the soil in Thailand contains nematodes, or molds  that non Thai varieties have no resistance against, and a way around that problem is baking the soil to kill them.Perhaps your success is attributed to using potting soil in containers. As I also said certainly start early fall so that the tomatoes grow in the cooler, dry weather. I started a bit late because I was away, last  year I will also start my seeds late August and use the same non baking technique if I am successful again I will continue as I did, if not I will try sterilizing the soil.     

Your comment about the nematodes and molds reminded me of something I forgot to mention in my previous post. I rotate my tomato plats every year (by that I mean I plant them in a different grow bed every year). This helps to prevent a buildup of diseases in the soil. 

[drtreelove]

4 hours ago, djayz said:

Your comment about the nematodes and molds reminded me of something I forgot to mention in my previous post. I rotate my tomato plats every year (by that I mean I plant them in a different grow bed every year). This helps to prevent a buildup of diseases in the soil. 

Crop rotations can be an important consideration in a comprehensive Integrated Pest Management program.  But I plant tomatoes in the same beds. I know that most soil dwelling nematodes, bacteria and fungi, protozoa and microarthropods are beneficial, so I don't want to kill off the good guys by wiping out all the soil biology with baking, harsh chemistry, or other forms of sterilization.  I know from my experience in my own gardens over the years and that of hundreds of customers, that "preventing a buildup of diseases in the soil" comes best with soil fertility and good water management, creating good growing conditions for beneficial soil biology to thrive and suppress the pathogens and help the plants build natural resistance pests and diseases.