First Official Ripe Tomato!

I picked my first "official" ripe tomato on Monday.

I had noticed it was ripe on Sunday, but I decided to wait just one more day.  To my surprise, when I went to pick it on Monday, someone else had already taken a bite!  Most likely a bird of some sort.

I found some advice by doing a "google" search and went to work. Now my garden has shiny CD's on each cage. Apparently, birds are afraid of shiny metal objects. Sometimes birds eat tomatoes because they are thirsty. So I put out a water dish for the birds. I also put some mesh around each cage so they can't get in. I think I'm covered now. Next tomato is mine! Within a few days there are several tomatoes that will be ripe.

Tomato Update as of June 13, 2012

I have already eaten 4 ripe tomatoes as of June 13 from my tomato plants. I ate the first one May 25th. However, those 4 were considered "unofficial" ripe tomatoes because I had brought them in the house to ripen. Because of the extremes in temperatures (from very hot to freezing) during May and early June, this has caused "blossom end rot" on the first tomatoes. The tomato looks great from the top, but has a black thick skin on the blossom end of the tomato. They were still very tasty on the inside. The rest of the tomatoes will be great because I've added Natural Guard Tomato food (organic) and egg shells to the soil. As of today (June 13) there are 45 full sized tomatoes beginning to ripen. They are turning a lighter green and should be ripe within the next couple of weeks.

2012 Tomatoes

I have ordered 10 Big Beef tomato plants from Fonsbeck nursery in Mendon, Utah to plant around the week of April 23, 2012. They will be about 3 feet high when I pick them up with blossoms and green tomatoes already growing. This way I will probably have several ripe tomatoes by July 4th, and possibly 1 or 2 by the first week in June. I included the above picture to show what they looked like last year when they were first planted (in wire cages with plastic and lights that go on at night to prevent them from freezing). I plan to do the same method this year.

Tomatoes 2011

I'll write a description of how I grew my tomatoes this year. I learned how to do all this from Verlin Simmons when he did a stake workshop on growing tomatoes.

I called Fonsbeck nursery in Mendon around February and asked them to start growing me five tomato plants (Big Beef). When I picked them up on April 23rd, they were about 2-3 feet high, and 3 plants had tomatoes already growing on them. The biggest tomato was about 2-3 inches in diameter. However, at the time it was still too cold to plant them. I would set them outside in the mornings and brought them back in at night until May 2nd when I planted half of them and the rest on May 4th. I also purchased 4 additional gallon sized plants at Anderson Seed to try out a few varieties: Better Boy, Beef Steak, Big Beef, and a Utah State hybrid with a number, something like DX 52-12. I planted one big beef and one Anderson Seed variety in each tomato cage (One of the cages only has one plant). There are five tomato cages. Here is the wheel burrow with the tomato plants ready to plant.



Here are the tomatoes already growing on the day I planted them:



Here is how I planted them:

I dug a large hole and added potting soil. I snipped off a few of the bottom leaves and buried some of the stem in the ground where I cut off the leaves. That will help more roots grow and produce more tomatoes.



Then I cut a slit in a piece of clear plastic and put it carefully over the tomato plant on the ground to keep moisture in the ground and prevent weeds from growing.



The plants this year were much larger than last years (to see them click on the blue words and then click the back arrow to get back) last year's tomato plants Click on the next blue words to see the year before's plants 2009 tomato plants

Next I put a string of lights (one light bulb in each cage) with a metal tent on each light (and set the lights on a timer) so that at night the lights turn on and warm the plants (in case it freezes) and the lights turn off in the morning.





Then I put the tomato cage around each plant. I use the same ones year to year. Click here for the post with more details and directions on how to make the cages.



Interestingly, I still have a ripe tomato from last season. I had picked them green just before the frost in the fall and kept them in the kitchen. I would just eat them as they became ripe. The last one finally ripened, and here it is with the next season of tomato plants.



Update as of June 4th:

I counted 29 tomatoes so far, in various stages from 1/2 inch to about 3-4 inches in diameter.



About 6 of the tomatoes have started turning a lighter green as they are in the process of beginning to ripen.



I use an electric tooth brush to pollinate them. I turn it on and let the vibration of the tooth brush touch each blossom. It provides the same effect as a bee does going from blossom to blossom.

June 10th update:

My tomatoes are beginning to ripen! (as of June 10th)



On June 18th we had our first official ripe tomato (with several more on the way). We ate it on Father's Day, June 19th.



Here is a picture of last season's last tomato with this season's first tomato.



On June 20th there were two more ripe tomatoes and 2 more will be ready in a few days. All the ones that are currently ripening were from the Big Beef plants I got at Fonsbeck nursery.


The fourth tomato was ripe on June 21st. I stopped turning the lights on at night around the end of May or early June. There were still nights that were close to freezing until then. The growing season is so short in Cache Valley if you wait until all frost danger is gone. Starting early and keeping them protected in plastic and with lights at night keeps them from freezing and makes for a much longer growing season.

Tomato Planting Progress 2010

I posted Planting Tomatoes for Family Home Evening last year. It ended up being a good way for me to see this year how my tomato plants compare to last year"s plants. So I am going to document the process again this year so that I have something to also compare it to next year. We have had very brutal weather for the first two weeks after planting this year(very strong winds that tried to blow the cages away and did blow tops off the cages, lots of rain, 4 or more inches of snow, and freezing temperatures, and power outages that prevented the light bulbs from lighting the tomatoes for 24 hours, etc.), but despite all that the tomato plants are hanging on so far. I wish I could have taken pictures of all this, but I was in Arizona for those two weeks. Janae and Michael tenderly cared for them while I was away or they would have froze for sure.

I planted on April 16th this year compared to April 11th last year. Last year I planted 3 Big Beef and this year I planted 3 Big Beef as well as 2 Romas and 1 plant called "Kelloggs Breakfast." The Big Beef plants were smaller this year compared to last year, but the 2 Roma plants are comparable in size to last year's Big Beef. The Kellogg's Breakfast is bigger than last year's plants.

I did everything much the same this year as last year except I made 3 new bigger cages. Last year the cages were too small. The holes where you reach in and pick the tomatoes were too small to pull the tomato back out of the cage. So this year I made bigger cages like Verlin Simmons' tomato cages. I made 3 new bigger ones and I am re-using 2 from last year. One from last year was completely destroyed.

I called Fonsbeck nursery and asked them to grow me some tomato plants beginning in about February. I picked them up on April 11 and planted them the same day. Last fall I dug the holes and built up raised circle-like places to plant them in the Spring. I try to do this like Verlin Simmons does his. I purchased a lighting system from Home Depot that has a string of 5 outdoor lights that take a 100 watt light bulb. They are connected to each other and to the house by an extension cord.

This picture shows the wire cage without plastic yet and one with plastic. I also put garden hose on the top edge so the wires on top are not likely to hurt anyone reaching in for a tomato. I had an old leaky hose so I just cut it up. I just cut it down the center with tin snips and place it on the top of the cage.

I bought the fencing from Home Depot. It comes in a sheet that you bend around and connect by wiring it together.

I hang a thermometer so I can monitor the temperature. I got the thermometers for a dollar at Honks. The temperature shouldn't go below freezing or above 100 degrees. The plastic on top can be taken off in the morning and put back on at night.

The light bulbs shatter and break if they get moisture on them either from condensation or rain. So I purchased a metal sheet 12" by 24" and used tin snips to cut it into 4 pieces and bent them to be tent shaped. This goes over the light bulb so it doesn't get wet when the lights are on at night.

I filled each hole with potting soil (purchased from Sam's club). The potting soil has miracle grow in it so they ought to grow fast. I then mixed the soil with the dirt in the ground so that what I plant the plants in is 50/50 potting soil and dirt. I put the two Roma's together but gave the rest their own cage. I lay them on their side and snip off the bottom leaves. Here they are planted. I bury them so that the parts where the leaves were cut off are under the ground. This stimulates more root growth and makes for a bigger, heartier plant. I am excited to see what Kellogs Breakfast will turn out like. It is ripe when it turns the color of a Kelloggs cornflake. If it turns red, it is over-ripe. It also looks great in salads mixed with red tomatoes for added color. Verlin Simmons had suggested to water them with 2 quarts of water when they are planted, and then no watering until May. The plastic keeps the moisture in the soil. He told me this year he didn't even give them any water. But I figure since I put in dry potting soil, it needed some water. Verlin said that the biggest mistake people make is to over-water. The plastic I purchased was from Home Depot. 6 mil, 10' by 25' to cover the cages. I also put plastic over the tomato plant. I cut a hole in the middle. But later I realized I could have cut an X. I tenderly pulled the tomato plant through the hole. Next the cage goes on top. I haven't done it yet, but Verlin has the plastic covered with dirt on the edges. Here is a picture of his.

This is one of my Big Beef tomato plants from inside the cage. I also hammered in some rebar next to each cage and wired it to the cage so my cages don't blow away (although the winds this past week did blow some over. Michael pounded them back in deeper).

I went and visited Verlin and he showed me this year he put black plastic in some of his cages. it makes those cages much warmer. He put a large garbage bag over a sheet of cardboard. It is just on the inside of one side of the cage. The tops of the cages stay on with a rope tied in a slip knot.

Hopefully having the cages lit up at night does not keep the neighbors awake. These lights are on a timer to turn on at 7:00 PM and turn off at 8:00 AM. Last year we ate our first ripe tomato on June 7th.

Update on May 1st:

After snow, terrible winds, power outages, and freezing weather for two weeks, I came home from sunny Arizona to find the tomato plants are still alive, although the Kelloggs Breakfast is slightly yellow. Here are the two Romas as of May first. Here is Kellogg's Breakfast. Here is one Big Beef in a cage made last year and here is another one in a cage made last year. Here is the Big Beef that gets a cage built new this year. This one is doing the best.

As of May 1st last year, this is what they looked like. There were also 2 or 3 tomatoes growing on each plant. This year's plants have a lot of catching up to do.

Update as of May 5:

It froze last night (got down to 24.6 degrees) and my tomato plants are STILL ALIVE!!! I am very grateful. I had added black plastic to the cages yesterday, which may have helped, along with prayer. I put a large black garbage bag around a sheet of cardboard and put it in the side of the cage. This is what Verlin Simmons had done. Black absorbs heat. Here they are:

Two Romas (some leaves have a few black spots on them but the plant is just fine)
Kelloggs Breakfast (looking a little yellow, but it was this way before the frost)
Big Beef in small cage
Big Beef in other small cage
Big Beef in new larger cage. I only had enough black plastic and cardboard for 4 cages. This cage keeps the warmest of all so it doesn't have black plastic.

Update as of June 11th

We were on vacation for two and a half weeks. I set up the lights on a timer and left the cages with plastic and the tops halfway covered. When we came home the three big beef plants had grown to the top of their cages. The Kellogg's breakfast had a ripe tomato. The big beef plant on the far right has 21 tomatoes (still green) and the next big beef has no tomatoes but lots of blossoms. The big beef in the middle has 9 tomatoes growing. The Kellogg's breakfast has 6 tomatoes. The Roma plant has 1 that I could see. They are very dense but short, so it was difficult to see.

June 13:

I took out the light bulbs and they no longer have lights on at night. I had been using lights up until today on a timer going on in the evening and turning off in the morning. I pollinated with an electric toothbrush before we left to Arizona on May 27th and also on Monday after we got home June 13th).

June 20th update:

I officially have a 2nd ripe tomato from the Kellogg's Breakfast plant. Bugs got to my first official ripe one. These tomatoes are ripe when they turn orange.











View of Roma plants from the top.














view of Kellogg's Breakfast from the top









View of 1st Big Beef plant from the top











View of 2nd Big Beef from the top











View of last Big Beef from the middle of the plant (so you can see the tomatoes)


The plants don't look so good in the pictures, but in real life they do look good. Double click on the picture and you can see the tomatoes.


Update as of July 31st:

Now I have picked more ripe tomatoes than I have kept track of. I stopped counting after about 20 or so. I have enough to eat whenever I want a tomato, which is about 2 or so a day. The Kellogg's Breakfast tomatoes are not that great tasting and the plant is scrawny and ugly looking. I won't plant them again. The Roma plants have not had a ripe one yet, but there are a ton of tomatoes on the plant. I imagine they will all ripen at the same time. I like how the Big Beef plants give me tomatoes evenly spaced throughout the summer.

More on Planting a Garden for Family Home Evening

Earlier I posted pictures on how to grow tomatoes for Family Home Evening. You can also plant melons, using Verlin Simmons' suggestions:

1. Dig some mounds of dirt and then make a hole in the center of each mound. It will look somewhat like a volcano. Kids may enjoy making the volcanoes. In each hole add potting soil.

2. Plant melon seeds in the potting soil. Pat the potting soil down. Water with 2 quarts of water. If the seeds surface after you water them, simply poke them back down in the dirt.

3. Put clear plastic over each volcano and shovel dirt around the edges so the plastic stays in place. This creates a greenhouse for the melons to grow under. There is about 3 inches of space between the planted melons and the top of the plastic (because the center of the volcano is 3 inches lower than the sides of the volcano.

4. Keep plastic on all summer. When plants grow tall enough to touch the plastic, cut an X (or a t)in the plastic for the plants to grow out of.

5. Other plants that are already grown and purchased from a nursery can be planted with clear plastic also, but cut the holes as you put each one in the ground.

The tomato plants planted on April 11th are already double the size they used to be. Two and a half weeks later there are three tomatoes each on 2 of the 3 plants (still green, though). They really grow well in their plastic cages.

As you work on your family garden, you can talk about faith being like a seed and then watch it grow all summer. Remind children of how small the seeds were in the beginning of the summer. Our faith also grows much like these seeds. See Alma 32: 28-41.

Planting Tomatoes for Family Home Evening

With the present economic situation, planing a garden is a good idea. A two-part FHE could begin with the first week discussing what things to grow in a family garden and what responsibilities each family member would have in the "family garden." A great song to sing would be "The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden." Then during the week gather needed supplies. The next week the family could all work together in the garden planting the seeds or plants. Talk about not only growing food for your own family, but think of all the people you can share your garden with (thinking of others, service, sharing, etc).

I went to the stake preparedness workshop on gardening and was really motivated by Verlin Simmons' ideas for growing tomatoes. Here are the instructions for growing tomatoes to be ripe by the 4th of July. Usually, in Cache Valley, tomatoes are barely ripe when it begins to freeze (or it seems that way). Getting ripe tomatoes sooner means more tomatoes longer and more savings.

If you plan on planting early, like Verlin Simmons did, ask a nursery to begin growing your tomato plants in about February or March. For this season you can call around and see who has large sized tomato plants already (about a foot tall).

1. Build up tall mounds of dirt for each plant (about 3 feet or more in diameter and about 6 feet apart). Form a well for the plant to be planted in.

2. Lay plant on it's side in the ground so that half of the plant gets buried along with the roots. Snip off the leaves of the part you will bury. Cover with soil (potting soil or a good mulch). Water with 2 quarts of water. You won't water again until the plastic comes off the cages in June. Secure the plant to a stick so that it stands up.

3. Put clear plastic over the plants (slit a hole for plant to come out of). Shovel dirt over the ends of the plastic so that it does not blow away.

4. Build a wire cage about 4 or 5 feet high (I only built mine 3 feet high because that was the size the fencing came in that I bought). Roll out the fencing and cut with wire cutters. Wire together so it is 26 inches in diameter (that's how wide Verlin Simnmons' are). The wire squares on my cages are too close together so I'll need to use wire cutters to get the tomatoes out.

5. Place clear plastic around the cages and top of cage.

6. String a set of light bulbs with an extension cord reaching from an outlet outside your home to the garden so that there is one light bulb per plant. People who know what they are doing can build this on their own. I purchased a set from Home Depot. Verlin uses 100 watt light bulbs. This part is not really necessary. The lights add warmth, but you can also place blankets over the cages when it gets really cold at night instead of using light bulbs.

7. Place a tent shape piece of metal over each light bulb so that moisture does not get on the light bulb. The bulbs burst if they get water on them. I've already had one burst because the metal tent tilted off the bulb. Also place a piece of metal under each bulb so it doesn't touch the ground.

8. Place cages with plastic over each tomato plant. You can peek through to see how they are doing. Here is a view from the top looking inside. These cages will stay on them all season, and the plastic will stay on until June.

9. Attach an outdoor thermometer to the inside of each cage so you can monitor the temperature. Don't let it go over about 110 degrees. Take the plastic top off when the sun is up, and put the cover back on during the night and when it is cold outside.

10. You will need to help pollinate the blossoms. Verlin uses a long paint brush. He tickles each blossom with the long handled paintbrush. He also helps the plants grow tall by tying the branches to the sides of the cage as they grow. Otherwise, the limbs bend down to the ground and the tomatoes will rot on the ground. He is able to pick the tomatoes from the square holes of the cages.

Hopefully we'll have tomatoes on July 4th.

Update as of June 5th 2009:

On May 12, I forgot to turn on the lights, and it just so happened that temperatures dropped to freezing that night. The top three quarters of each of my tomato plants froze. So I cut off the dead parts and continued to let them grow. Just in case, though, I planted a new plant next to each frozen one. The plants continued to grow. As of today (June 5th) we have our first officially ripe tomato! It came from one of the plants that froze. Two more tomatoes are close to ripe and will be picked in a few days. There are 14 total tomatoes (all but two are from the original tomato plants that froze). The new ones are catching up, though.

Update as of August 22, 2009:

The tomato plants planted on April 11 are now as tall as me (that's me trying to take the picture of myself and the tomato plants, so I only got the tops). On August 15, I picked 73 tomatoes from the 6 plants I planted. There were 29 tomatoes from the first bush, 31 tomatoes from the second bush, and 13 tomatoes from the third bush.

I wish I had built the cages with heavier wire and larger holes. My cages have wire holes that are too small to get the tomatoes out. I can reach in and grab a tomato, but I cannot get it out. So I pick the tomato I want, and then let it drop to the ground. Then I get it out by lifting up the bottom of the cage, much like getting a candy bar out of a vending machine.

To pollinate the blossoms, I began using an electric toothbrush (purchased at a dollar store). I put the back of the toothbrush against the back of the blossom to simulate a bee's vibration. It is the vibration that pollinates tomato plants; not the bee getting pollen from one blossom to another.


Update as of October 22, 2009:

For a week or so I put blankets and a tarp over each tomato plant on the nights the forecast was for close to freezing. Then October 22 I picked all the tomatoes: red and green and in-between, and took down the cages and pulled up the plastic so the ground can be tilled and prepared for Spring. I arranged the tomatoes in order of ripeness after washing them. Then I wrapped each one in a paper towel, with the greenest ones on the bottom and the ripest on top.