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On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Here is Tip #2. Comments and criticism are still welcome. Please try to stay on topic. Marv

I believe many giant tomato growers are starting their plants too early in the season. The biggest tomatoes are the result of a megablossom being properly fertilized. Air temperatures must be between 65 and 80 degrees for successful fertilization to occur. This means the highest temperature during the day should not exceed 80 degrees and night temperatures should not fall below 65. Most tomato growers have been aiming toward getting their plants into the ground after chance of frost has passed. This is fine for those wanting early tomatoes but is not so good for those aiming for “big.” Megablossoms have a better chance of not being aborted if fertilization occurs when evening temperatures are above 65. Megablossoms because of their size, need optimal fertilization conditions with temperature being one of them. All of this would suggest that you start your tomatoes later than most of you have been accustomed to. Last season I started my plants way too soon. The starting date was April 15 which aimed toward having them in the ground on June 1, my last frost date. As a result many of the megablossoms were on the plants when the nights were too cool for fertilization and, as a result, I lost them. Now I believe my tomato plants should be in the garden more toward the end of June or early July. The warmer days and nights would provide better weather conditions for fertilization. Try to time your plants so that your first blossoms, which will include most of the megablossoms, are present when weather conditions are more optimal. We are not going for the first tomato but rather the biggest.

3/1/2011 9:21:41 PM

Muddy Waters

I will start may 10th after reading book!

3/1/2011 9:33:35 PM

South East

Marv it depends on your growing area. We live in South Carolina. It was 84 degrees here on Sunday and 86 on Monday. This week it is gonna be in the mid to upper 60's. Last mid May we were already at 96 degrees. Through out the summer we stayed in the upper 90's to lower 100+++. That is the main reason we have to start early. Not going for the first tomato here, heck just trying to get a megabloom to set before it reaches 90 + degrees, which will be in two months. So that means that in one month our day time temps will be in the avg of mid to upper 80's. Wish we could wait till June 1st to put ours in the ground but we just can't because of the EXTREME heat we have here. We kept a good track on temps and dates here last season in our diary. Here is a link to June 5th, 2010 ...... Look at the time on the clock from our truck...LOL.. http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=133095

That time was PM... :)

3/1/2011 10:55:42 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

I was using my starting date as an example only. The point I was trying to make is that you must be mindful of what it takes to get a megablossm to fertilize. Actual starting dates will vary a lot depending on where you live. For my zone it seems that a starting date of around May 15 is probably best. In Texas or wherever it will be different. Sorry for the confusion.
Marv

3/2/2011 12:04:23 AM

Muddy Waters

Those texas boys are already planting,im jealous now,but wont be in july, when its hotter 85 I hide in the A/C.Great Book,Im thinking raised bed,24 inchs is pretty deep,Thats all I have then I hit landfill,cement bricks ,rocks,My patch is 80x100 on an old land filled swamp.I have trucked in about 1,000 yards of dirt,manure,compost,sand etc,Have built up 18 to 24 inch base over 16 year peroid.Do you exp. growers,like Marv & chris L & Don think this would be like a raised bed effect,or not?,lots of concrete down 2 feet & rock?Do you think this would change my start date?may 10 to 15th??

3/2/2011 7:25:10 AM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

Raised beds are the way to go. It worked out very well last year. Most were between 20-30 inches deep. I think the plants grow faster and larger, at least for me so a mid May start works out well.

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=145656

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=143822

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=139233

3/2/2011 8:05:57 AM

Waynesboro, Virginia

I stagger my planting of tomatoes.Plant a few every 2 weeks to help with unforseen weather conditions.

3/2/2011 9:20:28 AM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Staggering your plants is a great idea. John Lyons has been doing this for years. Actually your second and third wave of plants can easily be started from cuttings taken from the first wave. This really works out well when you are low on seed. Like maybe you only have a few seeds from the 7.33 etc. You could end up with 6 plants from two seeds. Marv

3/2/2011 10:26:00 AM

Dorval,Quebec

Thanks Marv!

3/2/2011 11:36:31 AM

Hamilton Nj

most of my megablooms polinated in june,i planted out side too early last year march 15th. lol froze 30 plants in 2 days had 10 left toplant on may 15th. i plan on getting a few cuttings off my 7.33 hunts i hope it works!!! marv, is it bad to fertilize when your megablooms are polinateing???? doing my best to stay on topic very easy to get off topic lol thanks pizza thanks marv!!!

3/2/2011 2:17:48 PM

Hamilton Nj

marv im also going to try when i pull my garlic out first week of july i wil have room for 10 more big zacs hope thats not too late !!! and i get some megablooms i believe phil hunt started his tomato late compared to the rest of us !!1 pizza

3/2/2011 2:30:09 PM

Hamilton Nj

marv do when a megabloom polinates do all the tomatos polinate at once???? say u have a megabloom with 5 pistols in it do they polinate all at the same time if temps. are optimal???? pizza

3/2/2011 2:33:56 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

If the entire megablossom is not fertilized it will either abort or be misshapened. That is why some people give the megablossom extra pollen from other blossoms. Fertilizing the soil just before or during pollination and fertilization is not good. Marv

3/2/2011 2:44:33 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

IS marv's fertilized & pizza's polinated the same thing? Peace, Wayne
Cause pete asked if it was bad to fertilize when marv said you are tryin to fertilize? or somethin like that!!!

3/3/2011 1:44:00 AM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

When Pizza was talking about fertilize I thought he was talking about adding Miracle-Grow or 10-10-10 or whatever. As growers we cannot actually fertilize a tomato. We can pollinate it but the blossom has to carry that pollen down to the ovules and when the pollen is transferred into the ovules, then they are fertilized. Pollen grains land on the pollen-receptive tips of the stigma, germinate, move down the style to fertilize the ovules in the ovary and ultimately form seeds. It takes 24 to 48 hours for the pollen to complete this trip. This is why we can pollinate on the first and second day when we see a blossom open. Putting this extra pollen on the stigma is part of the special attention to the megablossom I was talking about and why extreme temperatures lower the successful fertilization rate. In extreme temperatures, meaning outside the ideal range mentioned in another part of this thread, either the germination of the pollen or the movement to the ovules or the entry into the ovules or all of the above are interferred with. A similar thing happens with pumpkins and that is why some people try to cool off their pumpkin blossoms if they are trying to fertilize them on a really hot day.

3/3/2011 7:11:08 AM

Denmark

Does it take several pollen or just a single one to fetilize a single blossom?

3/3/2011 8:40:05 AM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

The ovary of each tomato blossom has lots of ovules. It ultimately takes one pollen granule to fertilize one ovule. The anther of the tomato blossom has lots of pollen granules. Each ovule that is successfully fertilized will produce one seed in your tomato.

3/3/2011 9:33:44 AM

Hamilton Nj

yes wayne when marv says fertilized i say polinated lol if i say fertilized i mean fertilizer in garden !!!! sorry for the confusion pizza

3/3/2011 2:58:15 PM