Five more large heirloom tomatoes picked today

As if yesterday's record 20 pound harvest wasn't enough, I stopped by the garden in the late afternoon, and there were five more heirloom tomatoes ripe on the vine and ready to be picked. The heirlooms have very thin skins, and there is a perfect time to pick them just before the skin begins to perforate on account of the tomato contents expanding to perfect ripeness.

Now that 58 large heirloom tomatoes have been picked, the amount left on the vine is probably down to single digits. These tomatoes are so amazing and so perfect, I can understand how growers have kept the strains pure for well over 100 years. It is amazing that these are genetically identical and are the same exact tomatoes that people in the 1880's ate, before hybrids came into existence. Not that there is anything wrong with hybrid tomatoes. Hybrids have been introduced that have been bred to resist many of the more common diseases that afflict tomato growers which cost the agricultural industry millions of dollars in lost crops.

Since the heirlooms are original strains, many of the diseases have not been bred out of the variety. This is all the more reason that I am just beyond amazement that I've had the success growing these giant tomatoes which are loaded with flavor. Each plant has more than reached and surpassed its expected average size. Each of my tomato plants has exceeded its expected height by more than 50% and has set more than double the amount of tomatoes.

The plants were started in my garage on Dec. 1st, 2010 using the best seed starting mix I could find. I used seedling mats to raise the soil temperature to the optimal temperature that tomatoes like to grow in. Once sprouted, with a near 100% success rate, and when the plants were about 2 weeks old and had set their first true leaves, I took them out of the 2 inch peat pots and put them into 5 inch cow pots using the best transplant mix I could find. I kept them about 3-5 inches from 2 four foot high intensity grow lights using a timer where the plants had 16 hours of light per day. I watered the plants from beneath by keeping the cowpots in plastic bins. I also kept a small desk fan running at all times, as it is very important to keep air movement in the room where seedlings are growing.

Here is a chart showing the optimal soil temperatures for various vegetable plants:
For tomatoes, 85 degrees is optimal to sprout seeds, and they can do well in cooler outdoor soil temperatures for transplanting, as low as 55 degrees.

When the plants were 6 weeks old, in mid January, they were over a foot tall. We planted them outdoors into the garden mixing in all the soil amendments into about 5 gallons of garden soil. We buried the entire stem beneath the surface of the soil, so that only the top set of leaves were above the soil level. Any leaves beneath that were carefully cut off with a very sharp stainless steel clean scissor. Then a Kozy Koat, also known as a wall of water was placed around each seedling. Even though we are in Zone 9, our last frost day is typically Feb. 15th. The Kozy acted like a greenhouse, keeping the seedlings in a warm, climate controlled environment, shielded from the wind, and from the cooler temperatures that both would have retarded maximum growth. The Kozy's also act to prevent transplant shock. I don't find it necessary to harden the plants off when using the Kozy's.

In just a few short weeks, by early February, the plants had grown to over 3 feet. After removing the Kozy's in mid February, the plants were staked and pruned. I pruned all the suckers and all but 2 main stems. The trellis system I chose worked very well and one I'd use again. I cut off all growth beneath 2 feet to give the plant plenty of air circulation and to keep it off the ground, where it would be more susceptible to bugs.

By late February/early March the plant was over 4 feet tall and was flowering like crazy. I put the plant on a regular weekly fertilizing schedule, and kept it watered in just about every day, with about a gallon of well water. Each plant yielded about 25 pounds of tomatoes. There really isn't anything much I'd change when next year rolls around again and I once again grow these heirloom tomatoes.

Even though we are in Central Florida, in early Dec. of 2010 we got hit with a rare early freeze. It is impractical to cover a gigantic plant and shield it from the frost, and the wind. Planting tomatoes in the Fall runs the risk of a plant killing freeze when there is still unripened fruit on the vine. Therefore, it is best to wait and grow these heirlooms under the more favorable growing conditions of the late winter and early Spring again. The Kozy's extend the growing season by easily one month. We were picking red ripe tomatoes by mid April, and have been picking just about every day since then.

Next year, I am going to be growing many more of the large heirloom tomatoes as I mentioned in an earlier Blog post. I will photodocument all the steps in real time. Now that I know it can be done, and I have proven that you can grow tomatoes in bug infested Florida, and without any insect or pest control, I am certainly eager to keep this really rewarding and fun hobby going. My goal by next Spring is to have as many as 8 of these heirloom plants, producing a yield of as many as 200 tomatoes or more, each weighing in at a pound or more!