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Ohio

I know I can buy a book to find this info out, but Id much rather get the info right here from you guys/gals. Can you tell me how you grow the huge 3-4lb maters!?

Im going to be a rookie giant tomato grower this year that doesn't have any seeds yet, and had a few questions for the heavy hitter tomato guys..

What variety is the best seed to plant?

Do you only grow one tomatoe on one plant?

How do you know which tomato could be the best one to go with once they srart growing, how do you chose?

When do you start your seeds?

and last, how do you keep the tomato on the vine once it starts getting some size to it?

Brooks

1/15/2009 8:24:47 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

The size of the blossom will give you a good clue..

1/15/2009 2:26:10 PM

Northern Cambria, Pa.

C'mon Brooks, just buy the book. You'll be glad you did. Not very expensive and easy to order online. Like George said, it is loaded with info.

1/15/2009 3:37:05 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

Start early, plant deep,limit main vines...look for mutant flowers, lots of stamens (?) in the flower!! Makes for multi-lobed maters, limit # of fruit set...never mind...do like Larry said!!! LOL Peace, Wayne

1/15/2009 4:56:37 PM

Brooks these guys a all keeping a secret here.

all ya really need is the special 10.68 hybrid seed, hope you can find some ;-)

1/15/2009 5:44:55 PM

Ohio

lol Larry, ok,,,you talked me into it!!,,lol

1/15/2009 6:02:44 PM

Ohio

I noticed that you dont get very many giant maters tips, why is that!!!!???,,,lol!!

1/15/2009 6:03:49 PM

Ohio

OK, this just made me furious with all these secret keepers!!! (*mumbling* after I read Marvin's book) Im gonna grow the biggest Mater this site has ever seen!,, Marv wont have anything on this ole boy. How hard can it be to grow a Giant red ball the size of a softball anyway , huh? hahaha!

1/15/2009 6:09:19 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

This is what I did:

1. Prep the soil no different than you would for AG’s. There are plenty of sources her for that. The only difference is I also gave mine some of those tomato specialty pellets you can get any regular seed store.

2. When you plant the plant, make sure the stock is already about 18” long, punch of the bottom 12” of leave, and bury it at and angle that deep.

3. Stake the plant. I got 8ft fencing posts for mine, and I use zip ties, with strips a pantyhose to tie them to the post. They do not need to be hard tied to it, just enough so they can be held upright. What the pantyhose also allow is they breath and will not cut off the circulation of the plant later on.

4. Only let the plant keep one main vine if you intend for absolute size of fruit. The more directions the nutrients are sent in, the smaller the fruit.

5. When you prune off the secondary vines, do NOT use the simple punch method if you intend for giant size. Instead, let each secondary get two leaves on it, then top it. That way you literally triple the amount of photosynthesis on the one main vine that you do not top.

6. Do not let the plant set fruit until the first fruit is at LEAST 3’ up the plant. You want as much plant pushing the nurtients as possible. Kind of like not letting an AG set until the vine is at least 10’.

7. Trim off any leaves that are within 12” of the ground to lower the risk of soil born disease.

1/15/2009 8:20:23 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

8. Mulch around the base of the plant to hold in moisture. Tomato plants like consistent moisture.

9. Only allow the plant to keep one fruit per cluster, and make sure there are at least 3 leaves between clusters.

10. When selecting the flower to allow pollination, most people suggest that you let a mutant stay, as these multi stamen mutants are essentially multiple tomatoes grown into one. I actually did NOT do that, and I just let them all start growing, then picked the fastest growers. Incidentally, mine ended up much better looking (even though a little catfacing from growth splitting happened), as mine were from normal single stamen vines.

1/15/2009 8:20:40 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

11. The variety I chose is Big Zac. Yes, Delicious has the WR, but that was a more unique circumstance. Not due to the breed. Belgium Giant and Delicious are my favorite heirloom giants for 2-3 pound tomatoes, but the Big Zac hybrid are known for being relatively consistent with proper care at going 4-6 pounds (I strongly suspect it is a cross of the two others I just mentioned). Even if it does not yet hold the WR, it consistently puts out a larger average size, than I am aware of for any type of tomato, and is IMHO the surest bet for a giant. I got mine from totallytomatos.com Also, even if you do not intend to compete, they taste very good. They also had less problems with disease than any tomato I have ever grown before.


Here are a couple pics of my best from last year, same as in the other thread a few I posted a week ago. I am still kicking myself for not bringing it to a weigh off after I found out how well it would have stacked up (I thought 5 pounds was common). It is UOW 5 lbs. 2oz. , and the scale was just a regular kitchen scale, but in the pics the dimensions speak for itself:

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/6470/meatheadsbigzac2vx2.jpg


The second pic does not do it justice, but it was 4.75" tall and 8" diameter.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/Meathead320/MeatheadsBigZac6.jpg

1/15/2009 8:20:45 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

Ok, a few typos in all that. punch was supposed to be "pinch", and I meant single stamen "flower", not "vine".

1/15/2009 8:26:04 PM

Ohio

awesome meathead!! Thank you for all that info! That paints a much clearer picture in my mind on how they are grown.

Brooks

1/15/2009 9:12:08 PM

canal winchester ohio

That tomato must have been solid as a rock. Here is a pic of mine this year, because of the injury I couldn't take very good care of them. The 3 lbr was 8" across & 5" high. The 3 & a quarter one was about the same. The 3 & a half lbr couldn't sit upright ( funky shape) but it was about 10" tall.
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=98385

1/15/2009 10:00:30 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

Like I said it was weight UOW, only used an old kitchen scale, and I never cross-checked with an official one. It easily could have been off, as the kitchen scale older than dirt. The tomato was thick and solid throughout anyhow.

The dark area was actually not rotten either, it was "woody", and I just removed it before salsa'ing the rest of the tomato.

I don't have much to compare it to, as I have never gone to a tomato contest.

1/15/2009 10:20:16 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

I forgot to mention, it also had these weird crystals in it that may have added weight. I discarded them before turning it into salsa. I think they may have been calcium, not unlike what shows up in some AGs. That is my best guess.

1/15/2009 10:24:45 PM

Columbus,ohio

Meathead I wouldn't be suprised if that would be a state record

1/15/2009 10:45:45 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

My neighbor said the same damn thing. I had no idea where to take it however. I do not know, and still don’t know were to take it.

I heard there was a contest at the state fair, but it was not ripe in time for that.

I don’t even know who/what the Minnesota tomato record keeping body is. Sure you can look up the world record on google, that one is over 7 pounds, Maria Zacharia (sp?) consistently breaks the 6 pound barrier too, and you can find that on google, but I have not been able to find anything on Minnesota state records for tomato.

Nadda, zip, nothing. Even tied every combination of word “Minnesota record”, “Minnesota state record” etc... with “tomato”, and could find nothing.

So I took some pictures, showed it off at work, to friends family, then before it would go bad, I turned it to salsa and ate it.

It was big, its was weighed on an old kitchen scale, so the weight is not official, and being an F1 hybrid, the seeds are worthless, so its not like I would have been sending them out with SASBE’s or anything like that.

The pictures are good enough for me to set a goal next year.

Still, I would love to know some things.

1. Where to take one to get officially weighed on a certified scale, the grocery store?

2. Where to apply for state record, with certification of weight? Does it need witness signatures like a fish?

3. What on earth is the Minnesota state record tomato? Are there tomato records even being kept for this state for that matter?

I had another one almost as big, and I am confident I can do just as very good this year too. I am pretty careful with the plants, but other than the state fair, where would I bring it?

1/16/2009 12:08:39 AM

Napa Valley, CA

Brooks..... as far as when to start the seeds...... Big Zac and Delicious take about 75 to 80 days (from transplanting) to maturity.....and that may vary depending on the weather.

1/16/2009 12:48:11 AM

Ohio

I just ordered the book 'Giant Tomatoes' from Amazon.com, and at a great price, cant wait to read it! Thanks for all the help guys!

http://www.amazon.com/Giant-Tomatoes-Marvin-Meisner-M-D/dp/0975515314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1232106385&sr=8-1

1/16/2009 6:51:21 AM

canal winchester ohio

Wow Hoss!!, I compliment you on your tomato & show you mine ( even though the weights weren't high I was proud of them because I couldn't walk unassisted this summer). Big Zac's are notorious for weighing heavy as they are all meat & very little "gel" in them. They are just like pumpkins, you can have 2 measure 1000 lbs & one will go 925 & the other 1125. If I would compliment a pumpkin for going heavy & being a rock would you get upset? That's why I stopped posting on here a long time ago, folks read something & you can't hear them speak-hear the inflection or tone of their voice & jump to conclusions, post wildly & it gets out of hand. Now with that being said I'll answer a few questions you would love to know.
(1) Yes, take them to the deli counter at the grocery store for 2 reasons. (a) you can get a true weight & I've never had a problem getting the clerks to do it for me. (b) you will be surprised at how many people will ask you questions about how you did it.
(2) When you have one that big again find your county Ag. extension agent & see if he could assist with the weighing & document it. Again I bet he ( or she) would be glad to.

(3) Your county extension agent can probably help you here as well
With your state fair being around labor day the timing is perfect for tomato growing, everyone contest I've ever seen the tomatoes can be green or red. If your fair is a couple weeks away & the tomato is starting to turn red " PICK IT", once it starts turning the tomato is done gaining weight & can start losing weight. That's the real challenge-timing. Timing is everything, if's it's ready August 1st & the fair is Sept. 1st your out of luck.
Now with that being said, Congrats on your tomato it is a monster, I DO believe it can weigh that much & you should be proud.
There, this should be a better response & not hurt your feelings, geeeezzzz!!!
....Paul

1/16/2009 10:22:54 AM

Buffalo, new York, USA

Brooks got my copy of Marvin's book yesterday. Just scanned it and believe me you may have to clone yourself if you're still groning AGs.

1/16/2009 10:28:07 AM

canal winchester ohio

Buying the book is the right way to go Brooks. I contributed to it & learned more while doing it & after reading it. Great book....Paul

1/16/2009 10:34:05 AM

Bemidji Minnesota

Thanks for the info paul.

That answers a lot of Questions for me. That is not easy info to google either. So that helps me a lot.

I was just trying to think of reasons it may have gone heavy. Not mad at all.

I do have a temper, but was not actually upset by your your saying it must have been a rock. I just wanted to list a few more details about it, that should have given clues as to "why" is was so heavy. Even if not 5, I am sure it would have been over 4. I am still in the learning stage myself.

Knowing that, I should have just picked it for the fair, as it was already full size, just green. Some of the splitting only started once the color turned too. I think the skin gets softer then.

I thought they had to be ripe to compete.

BTW yours were huge too, in spite of you not having the chance to care for them like you normaly do. What variety were they?


Also, do you know what the crystals were? Do giants commonly get calcium build up in them?

1/16/2009 11:31:25 AM

Columbus,ohio

Meathead if you wanted to see how good your scale is to find the true weight go to the store and buy a certain number of pounds of something to get a idea where your scale is working....Just a ideaa

1/16/2009 1:33:23 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

Meathead, at the deli counter...with County Ext. Agent, and a Notary in tow...take close up pics of the mater on the scales w/weight showing, also a close up of the state certification certificate on the scale. Have a print out made of the weight & have all notarized. Good luck....some work, and the fair is a lot more fun!!! LOL Peace, Wayne

1/16/2009 3:29:40 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

Thanks for the advice Wayne, but I would rather just grow another one this year and do it the right way.

I’d prefer to have an unofficial 5 pounder as my personal record to beat, vs. Having an officially controversial record.

This year, if it is green at fair time, and it has stopped growing, then its going to the fair green!

1/16/2009 4:20:55 PM

ExtremeVegetables.com

Meathead320 seems to have covered it fairly well. The only other thing I could add is that I shaded my fruit as I would my pumpkins. I grew mine using the same basic principals as I would my pumpkins.
I've grown the Big Zac variety for a couple years now and haven't grown any monster size fruit off of them, personally I believe there is a lot of advertising hype behind that strain. Most growers here have been using that varety for size for years now and I don't see many 6 pound tomatoes being recorded on the GPC list.
Last year I used an heirloom variety which was given to me by a good friend "Tomatoaddict" called "Church". IMHO, this variety is perfect for growing for weight. At one time I had over 36 different heirloom varieties growing here with 600 plants going in one season, and I have yet to see a tomato which is as solid and gel free as the Church variety. Because of how solid it is It's not a very good eater, but would probably make a good paste tomato.

Meathead320. I'd suggest taking your tomato to a local bait and tackle or wherever there is a notary present already, IF you can not get it to a local weigh-off. If you get another one that size call the local paper and ask them to meet you there, get as much publicity as possible.

1/19/2009 8:37:54 AM

Columbus,ohio

Greenhousin....Beeting the state record could easily growing a big one....That is the biggest in your climate

1/19/2009 11:58:36 AM

Ont (jjb22hornet@hotmail.com)

Brooks e-mail me

2/1/2009 1:29:24 AM