As a professional in the field of growing veggie crops, I absolutely despise gardening tips on RUclips. But this guy. Listen to what he says. Absolutely 100% knowledgeable
Personally I look for 'consistency' throughout the gardening communities and while I don't always agree with everyone I listen to, I must say that I just listened to 'Gardener Scott' basically say most of the same things this RUclipsr is saying. I have one or two others whose opinions I trust and I would not be surprised that they are in agreement with these two gardeners as well.
@@drewblack749 You'll forgive me but what is the 'Round-up Mentality'? I always look to see how many of those who have been homesteading or gardening for years agree on a topic that I am in the midst of researching so I also know what the people who have been successfully doing this for a while think about it...
@@Elizabeths_kitchen_garden order seeds online? Excuse me if there is something I'm not aware of. I heard about a website called rareseeds.com recently that has a lot of unique varieties
So true about tomatoes and water needs. Last year I was in the hospital for the month of Aug. and the deep watering needed was not provided! I had 14 plants with gorgeous tomatoes on them except for the blossom end rot. When Mother Nature provides little moisture, water deep, water well!
I’m so happy I watched this it explained why I had blossom end rot last year for the first time. I had watched and read a bunch of gardeners who talked about the benefits of Epsom salts and decided to try using it when I planted my tomatoes. Now I know why that was a mistake and will go back to planting like I always have. Thank you!
I've just recently started a garden with little experience, so watching your videos (and others) has helped me immensely. My neighbor also helps me as he is a garden guy and has been for years. I have a very small garden this year because I wasn't sure this was what I wanted to do so did small this time. Next year however, I plan on doing several raised beds with several different kinds of tomatoes. Gonna turn the backyard into a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables 😋. Hope you and others like you keep making these very helpful videos because people like me need the help.
Good for you. I did raised beds for several years but recently the no till gardening has been a success. Less weed pressure and better soil building being the advantages. Good luck!!
be sure to use heirloom seeds!.. that way you can harvest new seeds for the next year..!! also, let a few tomatos drop on the ground.. after a few years you will have tomatos popping up all over.. I call this - reduction gardening.. I pull out what I do not need.. Last year I pulled out 35 tomato plants from the ground that just popped up!.. I always leave one plant just for nature... I do not prune it much and just let it do its thing.. Heirlooms will reward you year after year!...
kansascity online I am a KC native!! Reduction gardening-I love that. Very much in line with the no till method-reduce work while gaining harvest. Awesome. Thanks for the heirloom seed tip, as well.
A…a. cornucopia…?! I looked it up “ a symbol of plenty consisting of a goat’s horn overflowing with flowers, fruit and corn” a lovely word and the corn will be needed.
I didn’t take the quiz but I did learn a lot. Trying to grow more tomatoes this year. I have three in the garden bed. And I plan on two in containers. All started from seeds. Thank you for sharing your knowledge 😉
I was very impressed that I got 6 out of the 7 questions right. And I attribute that to watching as many of your videos as possible! I saw one of your early tomato videos this past year, when I moved to a property with a yard. I had a garden years ago, but had been in a 1 BR apartment for 9 years. Your videos have been my main 'go to' as I get back into veggie gardening. I've also been learning about companion planting because I want to avoid pesticides as I grow veggies for my family. So you book was perfect timing and is my reference source as I continue to plan my garden. Thanks for all your great videos!
My absolute favorite garden zen master. Great info and packs a lot of learning into compact time saving videos. I hate watching people spend half the video digging a hole or something. Bless their efforts and they mean well, but I am usually seeking answers to a question or just reassuring myself that I didn't forget an important step.
I used to love SUN-GOLD tomatoes until I discovered SUN-SUGAR. I did two years of Blind A- B testing done with friends, family and coworkers the SUN-SUGAR was/is the overwhelming preferred tomato. Year after year it’s my most requested tomato variety at harvest time. Add one to your beds next year And discover one of the sweetest-low acid-great tomato flavor varieties on the planet!
I find this series on tomatoes extremely helpful. True or false on more sweet tomatoes, my score is about 50/50. And I thought I can rely on common sense!! Our temperatures here in South Africa differs a lot from yours, bur it's easy to adjust a little bit... basic principals will always be the same. Thanks for this program, from a 77 year old lady!! (I regularly put your health-issues in our Lord's hands...)
I just wanted to say thank you so much!!! With the school closure I had more time to spend at home this year and finally got my planter boxes built. I have wanted them for 5 years now. My tomato plants have never looked so good. I am so excited to taste them.
The description for Black Kremm tomatoes tells you it has a "hint of salt" flavor to the fruit. It does! My daughter and I love them. I am trying the Kellogg Breakfast for the first time this year. Thanks!
This year I have 4 varieties of tomatoes growing in large pots. They are doing very well. I also planted 4 different varieties of dwarf tomatoes...and I over seeded because I wasn't sure how many would come up. Well, I'm pretty sure they all did, Lol! Am in the process of separating them from each other (which they tolerate very well) and have the little seedlings in smaller pots to get their roots strong. I can't wait to see how they do over the next 3 months. Thanks Brian for all your help and encouragement!
I am already making my lists and plans for next Spring. I have a few of questions. 1. Can you successfully grow two tomato plants in a 17 gallon container? If so, do they have to be the same because of cross pollination. 2. Do you refertilize during the growing season. 3. How do you start your tomato seeds? Do you have a video? 4. Is there a way to determine if a tomato is determinate or indeterminate if the seed description does not indicate.
Thank you, new to gardening and this helped! We're going into fall now and plan on planting tomatoes after the winter. Top tip for me is 50% water, we have a similar climate, December - February is hot as hell and most days not even the sea breeze makes a difference. For the rest of the year we can go from winter to summer in 5 minutes on any given day. But nights seldom drop to single digits, getting ready to plant winter crops. Already learned so much from you.
I missed the one about withholding water. I figured they would split, but I have typically lived in warmer climates. Got a greenhouse now in a high desert setting (New Mexico) and growing some yellow tomatoes. They're very tasty.
Kathleen Stahl 5/24/22 I have been watching u for a while but this is the first time for a comment. I surprised myself...I got 5/6 correct. I flunked #6. I also learn something from u every video!!! UR the TRUE GARDEN GURU🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 thx
Missed one. Weather is high temps here so I put up a row cover to help shade them a bit. They get filtered sun overhead through the pergola. I put the filter up because of temps in the 90's... they are producing flowers and look green and perky. So far so good. I got my Neptune's Harvest Tomato & Veg this past week and fertilized everything on Tomato Tuesday. I told my neighbor it was liquid gold. LOL.😆
Weird question (weird in that it doesn’t remotely affect me but I’m still super curious), is it the heat of the soil or the heat of the fruit that starts the ripening? Outside of a greenhouse I can think of some ways to manually heat up both individually but I wouldn’t want to screw up either if it was, say, ambient temp of the entirety of its environment. Thanks B, as always you’re a fountain of knowledge.
Great to see your videos. Been growing in Sunset Western Garden Book zone 14 for 35 years. Currently, I am watering my tomatoes for 10 minutes 3 times a day. Today it was 104F. I was surprised to hear you say "cut back on watering" but then I remembered you are coastal climate. If I did that, my tomatoes would crack. Love your videos, always something to learn. Been retired for 12 months so now my garden is getting larger with food crops.And shrinking from lawn :)
You need to put your wisdom on a tshirt as it captures exactly why I grow 35 different foods: "The worst homegrown tomato is better than the best store bought tomato." So true. No wonder the US eats like crap-- food doesn't taste the way it used to! (Or should) Okay, getting off my soap box now. Love your channel, btw!!
I got 2 wrong answers... I am a new gardener this year but the more videos I watch the more I learn. I have a few little tomatoes starting on my plants so I must be doing something right. Thank you for all you do. May the Lord bless you and yours.
Hi. First, thank you for the thorough explanation. I have one more for you: how about adding ocean sand around the base of the tomato? Not the store bought sand but the actual real ocean sand from the beach? (I know I’m about a year late but if you get to this thanks in advance)
I really appreciate you telling us what verities are sweet. I like tomatoes but just like you I'm not a fan of the red ones unless it's in a burger or just mixed with something. I will look for the yellow and orange tomatoes from now on. Thank you for this video!🥰🙏
When I went to school to become a Master Gardener, I was blown away with how much each instructor knew. Brian, how did you learn so much and how long have you been a gardener? For one time would you give us a quick tour of the front and back gardens ?
110 degrees in the shade here this week, tomatoes are starting to ripen, they are shaded50% now and still setting as per your advice. Your advice has been better than fertalizer for my new garden. Thanks. And that's no chicken manure.
I'm 5 miles away from AZ mine are doing great in 100+ my husky cherry red and lemon boy love it for some god dam reason with only 3 hr of shade and some how I'm over waterd them I water them 1 time a day I just got back from a 2 day vacation and the ground might need water in the morning lol like wtf there In 1 planter its 2 feet by 3 feet and hes 6 cucumbers why just why
@@billfeeser2372 I'm in Sac Valley - Folsom. It's been hotter than hell this week. My tomatoes are in containers and I've been double watering them this week and added more mulch. The fruit is ripening almost before my eyes!
@@sheritacox774 Yes, I am watering 1 hr every 12 hours now with this heat. I did put up an old bamboo fence section on each run of tomatoes to give them western shade in the pm that has kept them setting fruit and the bottom ones are ripening just fine. Don't you just love Brian's videos? I've learned so much this year - thing's my Dad could have taught me - he was a farmer early and a gardener later in his life, but I didn't have any interest in it then. Thank God for Brian, no?
Thanks for an informative video! Missed two, the one with Epsom salts and the basil question. Oh well, it’s great learning new tomato tips. A lot of tomato seedlings came up this year, after I put down compost. In addition to the six plants from HD, I planted about a dozen volunteers, lol. It will be interesting to see how they turn out and I’ll keep watching your videos!
Heat can also result in tasteless tomatoes. We had an unusually hot summer, with multiple days over 90 'F (32'C) per week, and even my best-tasting cultivars (Brandywine, Aunt Ruby's G Green, Paul Robeson, Black Krim, Black Cherry, Cherokee Purple, etc.) that were growing and ripening during this time had almost no flavour. I first thought it was just the extra water, but when I cut the water it made only a very small difference. I read up about it and found a couple of sources from similar climates that said excessive heat reduces tomato flavour. The same plants produced more flavourful fruit once the heat subsided, which indicates it was the heat. Has anyone else experienced this during prolonged hot weather?
You added Celsius, you’re a sweetheart ☺️🙏 it’s the only thing I’m metric on lol. I got 4/5 ...basil lol, oh well still planting them like you say and I just love the smell of it let alone taste
South-Central WI weather just starting to warm up. Plants are growing. Early signs of fruit. Stumbled on the "Not watering" question. Not lacking water here. Had fun listening to the quiz. Using all your planting (Neptune's Harvest), fertilizing (Neptune's Harvest Tom/Veg fertilizer - it smells), pruning. Fingers crossed!
I just made pot soil for my cucumbers, tomatoes, pole beans & bell peppers using miracle grow garden soil, coco coir, perlite, mulched grass clippings left under mower deck for months litly watered with 4 parts water 1 part hydrogen peroxide. Has work out beautifully.
I live in Texas, it’s very hot in July, Aug, Sept. at that point the plants stop producing and I just shade them and water them to keep them alive. Once it starts cooling off again - 80-90 degrees, I use a epsom salt foliar feed and it does get them going again for another round of fruiting before the first freeze.
Thanks for this, I got 4 out of 6. Ha ha. :) I have tomatoes growing ATM (our dry season in North QLD Aus). Cherry that come up by themselves and I have to pull out LOTS of self sprouted seedlings as they take ove!! Also Gross Lise, Tropic, Wapsapinicon Peach and Blueberry. This is my first year doing anything else than the Cherry variety, so I hope they all produce lots so I can share with my family, friends and neighbours. Thanks for your videos, keep them coming.
I'm not a fan of sweet tomatoes, especially the cherries...I go for a more savory salty tomato flavor. I often find it in the dark shouldered varieties. Thank you for the tips!
Just found this video a year later. My first year to truly grow tomatoes - and have been so excited to see them putting on fruit. In Oklahoma, our heat just "kills" tomato production in July/August, so we have built a high tunnel for the tomatoes and plan to add shade cloth to see if we can keep the temps manageable. This will likely affect the sweetness of the fruit, though, since the sun will be "shaded" right???
Question ... how often should calcium be added to the soil to prevent or at least curb bottom rot on the tomatoes? We have a bad problem with that every time we plant them?
Thanks for the tip. We are on water meter here in South London. I occasionally have Epsom salt bath. I then bucket the cool bath water on my container grown vegetables. I will try it in a sprayer. I have ripe plum tomatoes in July!! We had had a dry warm spring and so far a dry very warm summer. So my tomatoes are outside but I might put them in my greenhouse if the temperature starts to cool.
Brian, hope you or someone in the gardening community can answer a question... we had a really bad storm this week and all the top 1 to 1.5 ft of tomatoes plants we taken off by wind, most of the rest of plant is doing well, do I need to cut the stems back, that were left or will they regrow leaves and hopefully fruit? Thanks for any advice.
Very interesting Brian. In theory, reduced watering would only really work for bush varieties with all fruit ripening together I imagine? With vine you might help the ripening fruit but at the same time, hinder the growth further up the vine? Temps is a really interesting subject. I am in UK and am experiencing high temps at the moment, I have one small greenhouse where yesterday the temp maxed at 50c!! I have another larger greenhouse with shading and fan cooling which maxed at 35c. And then I have a few varieties in open air raised beds. Will be interesting to see how things compare.
I live in southern New England. I haven’t had or grown a sweet tomato in at least 10yrs! I now only buy cherry tomatoes for my salads if any. I remember tomatoes in the 1970s. Delicious! I may try growing again but I hate to waste the money.
Haha, my problem is too hot. Plants look great but flowers dry and fall, even when I attempt to hand pollinate. Placed some shade fabric today and I hope that helps.
I got two wrong. Thanks for this video and every video you post. I’m really learning a lot. Here’s to hoping that I concur my problem of blossom end rot. Cross your fingers. Thanks again for all your great tips.
Hi Brian...Your presentation and helpfulness is always great. I always love your tomato videos and receive something everytime I watch them. I was just wondering what happened to the aspirin question ??? Have you read the book "Grow for Flavor" by James Wong, the botanist ?
Awesome informative video, thank you! Question, I just started a container garden in my Patio and I never realized how little sun my patio gets (3 hrs or less per day). I am surrounded by very large trees. Does this mean my tomato plants won't produce at all? I'm in Atlanta GA (zone 8) and it gets to about 85 to 90 degrees here. I did start the plants indoors under a Full Spectrum Led Grow Light. Again, thanks for your help!
From the Central Valley, CA and the temps have been bad this year. In April, 102*. Mid May, 106* to 110* in 4 days. Right now, it’s 102* will be up to 107* by Sunday! So I’m expecting sweet tomatoes, lol. Would a thin white sheet do to cover & shade during that time? It’s a small raised garden, but 1 Beefsteak has 40 tomatoes on it so far. Only have 4 plants. I’m so excited! You have inspired me so much, thank you.😊
Wow! 4 plants? I also have 4 plants right now, and I fertilize with NH tomato and veg every other week. I live in the high desert, and our temps are in the 90's and it is dry. Wish I had 50 tomatoes on the vine! 😊
Robin Kishbaugh I’m actually in shock, the tomatoes are quite large too. I water the roots every other evening during this high heat, helps them to be ready for the next day. I haven’t gardened in a few years. Especially during the CA drought. I focused on keeping my trees alive. Have grapes, blackberries, pluots, & 2 orange trees. It’s always so great to grow veggies though, I’ve missed it. Two of the tomatoes are Early Girls, the other 2 are the Beefsteaks. I grew up in the high desert, sure do miss it, but I know what it’s like to have that dry heat. Prefer it to humidity! I planted at the end of March, so got a good start, mixed the soil with cow manure & peat moss (it absorbs more water). Enjoy your tomatoes!
@@robinkishbaugh8149 I also live in the high desert. Mine are just starting to set (pea size) and I use Jack's (the vegetable kind, low nitrogen) (water soluble) giving them their two week dose tomorrow morning🍅love🍅💚🤞🤞🤞Hurry up monsoons...🍅s need U!!!
Great video! I always enjoyed a good true and false test in school back in the day. The multiple choice including none of the above use to drive me crazy though.
Hi Brian! Though I've been feeding my tomato plants Neptune's Harvest, one of them has developed blossom end rot on all her tomatoes. What kind of calcium should I buy to remedy this? Thanks!!! Never mind - just watched your pests and diseases video and will go out and buy some gypsum. Love your videos!!!
Love the info on coastal California! I’m a mile inland from the ocean in the far north. Rarely do we hit 70 degrees in the summer. Never heard of dry farming. Thank you!
My understanding is that calcium deficiency is the cause of blossom end rot. Here's a guess on why putting in sugar may help: Normally the plant has to release sugar to get mineral ions back from the mycorrhizae. If you feed the myco's sugar then the tomato can retain more sugar. I put myco's into my hydroponic reservoir and then sugar. I see bubbles at the top which suggests that the bacteria etc are flourishing.
I grew basil everywhere this year and it's helped keep cabbage loopers off my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Except I might not be able to have basil for pesto this year. 😂😭
Here in central Florida we get 95+ temps for weeks at a time, not days and even when it 'cools' down its still 90-93. We are talking heat indexes over 100. What would you recommend to do to keep the flowers from falling off.? Are there varieties they are best suited better for that environment? Our temps don’t really start to drop until mid-October
my score 3+3 50%. With temperatures from Oct onwards around 35-40C right through to March. it's difficult to grow tomatoes. But I have recently discovered an organic fertiliser that helps alleviate heat and frost stress. Doing great this year. Plus with fruit fly prevalence I have to bag my trusses. And your tip with the old toothbrush has helped for setting fruit. Too hot for bees.
When is the best time to harvest tomatoes? For example, should red tomatoes be picked when they are fully red or is it better to pick them when they are pink and let them ripen indoors? Thanks.
Thought my score would have been great but it wasn’t so great🤨I do learn a lot every time I watch one of your videos. Thank you so much for that. I am curious about the plants you have in the background. I see pink flowers and bright green almost like a fern? Curious about your companion planting. Have you done a video on that? Thanks again Jeanne Boll
My tomatoes look better than ever this year, fruiting like crazy, disease free, healthy and tall. Butttt the first few I tried were borderline mealy/mushy. We've had so much rain that they have received too much water. Now what? I'm tempted to withhold water and pull the mulch away to at least reverse course. Should I do something more aggressive though? Pick the green ones to encourage new growth, e.t.c? Thank you in advance!
I plant tomatoes deep as you suggest. I also 'plant' a l plastic jug with small holes in the bottom not next to the but near the tomato for deep watering. I also water lightly at the ground level. Am I over watering?
I'm a new subscriber and beginner Gardner. This is a great channel! Do you have any videos on how to water tomatoes or plants? I find that I can't quite tell if I'm overwatering or underwatering as both look similar!
I hope to use some of these tips. But the way things are going I am never going to try any of my tomatoes. Deer came by one night and topped off most of my plants. And they have come by two other times and have eaten 3 dozen green tomatoes - one really big one that was about to start turning red. I put up a cheap and poorly contrived plastic fence up but that did not keep the from coming back and eating the tomatoes. Going to string up some bird netting this weekend to completely enclose them to see if that works. Tried foliar feeding with Neptunes Harvest fish fertilizer but I think that washed off when it rained. Any other ideas are welcome.
Living in the Deep South where it is 100 plus most of the summer, I got all the questions right except for decreasing the water to 50%. I haven't grown tomatoes anywhere else other than the Deep South and I would not ever decrease the water 50 percent which would kill them. I'm going to default on that question and say I got them all right. Very good video though
I have to disagree with your first comment. In season , store-bought tomatoes in my area are delicious, but my garden grown tomatoes are flavorless . I grow cherry tomatoes, heirloom , determinant and indeterminate varieties. I apply fertilizer to both the soil and foliage , my plants get 8 hours of full sun per day . Daily summer temperatures where I live are often above 90 degrees, with some days in the triple digits . Could it be that my climate is too hot for tomatoes?
Only missed one. Thanks for doing this. An aside, split watermelon is the same watering issue isn't it? I've gardened for several years and I learn new things all the time
I live in California near the coast. I am just wondering how to give the tomatoes the correct amount of water? I know you said bring down to 50%.Every day? Every other? Should I let them completely dry or water when almost dry?
I got it!! APERO CHERRY TOMATO!! Looks like they grow in clusters like grapes! "Exceptional flavor and foliar disease resistance. This high-yielding cross between a grape and cherry produces 15-20gm oval fruits with very sweet, rich flavor. High resistance to fusarium wilt, nematodes, tobacco mosaic virus; intermediate resistance to leaf mold."
![GEEK TIMË [OFFICIAL AUDIO]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ry-6RvkH880/mqdefault.jpg)
As a professional in the field of growing veggie crops, I absolutely despise gardening tips on RUclips. But this guy. Listen to what he says. Absolutely 100% knowledgeable
Check out the “no till farmer Jesse “. His podcast is full of fascinating experiences of the market gardener.
Personally I look for 'consistency' throughout the gardening communities and while I don't always agree with everyone I listen to, I must say that I just listened to 'Gardener Scott' basically say most of the same things this RUclipsr is saying. I have one or two others whose opinions I trust and I would not be surprised that they are in agreement with these two gardeners as well.
Ms. Byrd That is an interesting basis. I was thinking, though, that consistency got us The Round-up mentality???
@@drewblack749 You'll forgive me but what is the 'Round-up Mentality'? I always look to see how many of those who have been homesteading or gardening for years agree on a topic that I am in the midst of researching so I also know what the people who have been successfully doing this for a while think about it...
Thanks Mike!
Wow...Master Gardener with 30 years experience including writing and garden TV...and I learn something every time I watch you... thank you!
Wow that's great! I appreciate that.
I wish I can get the yellow variety here in my country Kenya.is there a way I can get the yellow variety?
@@Elizabeths_kitchen_garden order seeds online? Excuse me if there is something I'm not aware of. I heard about a website called rareseeds.com recently that has a lot of unique varieties
@@Elizabeths_kitchen_garden the yellow ones aren't a great texture. I find them kind of mushy in texture.
@@kayess6039 I just wanted to try another variety apart from the red ones we grow here. Which is the best variety?
So true about tomatoes and water needs. Last year I was in the hospital for the month of Aug. and the deep watering needed was not provided! I had 14 plants with gorgeous tomatoes on them except for the blossom end rot. When Mother Nature provides little moisture, water deep, water well!
I’m so happy I watched this it explained why I had blossom end rot last year for the first time. I had watched and read a bunch of gardeners who talked about the benefits of Epsom salts and decided to try using it when I planted my tomatoes. Now I know why that was a mistake and will go back to planting like I always have. Thank you!
I've just recently started a garden with little experience, so watching your videos (and others) has helped me immensely. My neighbor also helps me as he is a garden guy and has been for years.
I have a very small garden this year because I wasn't sure this was what I wanted to do so did small this time. Next year however, I plan on doing several raised beds with several different kinds of tomatoes. Gonna turn the backyard into a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables 😋. Hope you and others like you keep making these very helpful videos because people like me need the help.
Good for you. I did raised beds for several years but recently the no till gardening has been a success. Less weed pressure and better soil building being the advantages. Good luck!!
be sure to use heirloom seeds!.. that way you can harvest new seeds for the next year..!! also, let a few tomatos drop on the ground.. after a few years you will have tomatos popping up all over.. I call this - reduction gardening.. I pull out what I do not need.. Last year I pulled out 35 tomato plants from the ground that just popped up!.. I always leave one plant just for nature... I do not prune it much and just let it do its thing.. Heirlooms will reward you year after year!...
kansascity online I am a KC native!! Reduction gardening-I love that. Very much in line with the no till method-reduce work while gaining harvest. Awesome. Thanks for the heirloom seed tip, as well.
@@drewblack749 Hey KC dominates!! woohoo.. how bout them chiefs.....
A…a. cornucopia…?! I looked it up “ a symbol of plenty consisting of a goat’s horn overflowing with flowers, fruit and corn” a lovely word and the corn will be needed.
Hoselink looks amazing! I am constantly winding and unwinding my garden hose. This would definitely be a game changer for this grandma gardener!!
I didn’t take the quiz but I did learn a lot. Trying to grow more tomatoes this year. I have three in the garden bed. And I plan on two in containers. All started from seeds. Thank you for sharing your knowledge 😉
I was very impressed that I got 6 out of the 7 questions right. And I attribute that to watching as many of your videos as possible!
I saw one of your early tomato videos this past year, when I moved to a property with a yard. I had a garden years ago, but had been in a 1 BR apartment for 9 years.
Your videos have been my main 'go to' as I get back into veggie gardening.
I've also been learning about companion planting because I want to avoid pesticides as I grow veggies for my family. So you book was perfect timing and is my reference source as I continue to plan my garden.
Thanks for all your great videos!
My absolute favorite garden zen master. Great info and packs a lot of learning into compact time saving videos. I hate watching people spend half the video digging a hole or something. Bless their efforts and they mean well, but I am usually seeking answers to a question or just reassuring myself that I didn't forget an important step.
I used to love SUN-GOLD tomatoes until I discovered SUN-SUGAR. I did two years of Blind A- B testing done with friends, family and coworkers the SUN-SUGAR was/is the overwhelming preferred tomato. Year after year it’s my most requested tomato variety at harvest time. Add one to your beds next year And discover one of the sweetest-low acid-great tomato flavor varieties on the planet!
How often do you water your sungold? I'm starting to grow mine and haven't quite figured out the exact watering for it yet
You are just toooo cute!!!
Love the humor. Love the teaching quiz. Keep it coming Brian 👍
Glad to see you all better. No headaches or the ankle. ❤️🥰🤗
I find this series on tomatoes extremely helpful. True or false on more sweet tomatoes, my score is about 50/50. And I thought I can rely on common sense!! Our temperatures here in South Africa differs a lot from yours, bur it's easy to adjust a little bit... basic principals will always be the same. Thanks for this program, from a 77 year old lady!! (I regularly put your health-issues in our Lord's hands...)
Thank you 😊
I just wanted to say thank you so much!!! With the school closure I had more time to spend at home this year and finally got my planter boxes built. I have wanted them for 5 years now. My tomato plants have never looked so good. I am so excited to taste them.
Did you end up with a favorite?
The description for Black Kremm tomatoes tells you it has a "hint of salt" flavor to the fruit. It does! My daughter and I love them. I am trying the Kellogg Breakfast for the first time this year. Thanks!
This year I have 4 varieties of tomatoes growing in large pots. They are doing very well. I also planted 4 different varieties of dwarf tomatoes...and I over seeded because I wasn't sure how many would come up. Well, I'm pretty sure they all did, Lol! Am in the process of separating them from each other (which they tolerate very well) and have the little seedlings in smaller pots to get their roots strong. I can't wait to see how they do over the next 3 months. Thanks Brian for all your help and encouragement!
I am already making my lists and plans for next Spring. I have a few of questions.
1. Can you successfully grow two tomato plants in a 17 gallon container? If so, do they have to be the same because of cross pollination.
2. Do you refertilize during the growing season.
3. How do you start your tomato seeds? Do you have a video?
4. Is there a way to determine if a tomato is determinate or indeterminate if the seed description does not indicate.
Just found your videos, which have quickly become my favourite for gardening. Absolutely Incredible information!
Thank you... and welcome!
Why couldn't Tomatoes 101 have been a class in high-school. Then I might have made it to honor roll. LOL Aced it! Finally a passing grade.
Thank you, new to gardening and this helped! We're going into fall now and plan on planting tomatoes after the winter. Top tip for me is 50% water, we have a similar climate, December - February is hot as hell and most days not even the sea breeze makes a difference. For the rest of the year we can go from winter to summer in 5 minutes on any given day. But nights seldom drop to single digits, getting ready to plant winter crops. Already learned so much from you.
SO glad I found your videos. I always learn something from you. I can’t possibly thank you enough for your help & advice.
I missed the one about withholding water. I figured they would split, but I have typically lived in warmer climates. Got a greenhouse now in a high desert setting (New Mexico) and growing some yellow tomatoes. They're very tasty.
Kathleen Stahl 5/24/22
I have been watching u for a while but this is the first time for a comment. I surprised myself...I got 5/6 correct. I flunked #6. I also learn something from u every video!!! UR the TRUE GARDEN GURU🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 thx
I have learned so much from this channel. I am 75 thought I have gleaned a lott of information from this video. Neve to old to learn. Thank you.
Missed one. Weather is high temps here so I put up a row cover to help shade them a bit. They get filtered sun overhead through the pergola. I put the filter up because of temps in the 90's... they are producing flowers and look green and perky. So far so good.
I got my Neptune's Harvest Tomato & Veg this past week and fertilized everything on Tomato Tuesday. I told my neighbor it was liquid gold. LOL.😆
Weird question (weird in that it doesn’t remotely affect me but I’m still super curious), is it the heat of the soil or the heat of the fruit that starts the ripening? Outside of a greenhouse I can think of some ways to manually heat up both individually but I wouldn’t want to screw up either if it was, say, ambient temp of the entirety of its environment.
Thanks B, as always you’re a fountain of knowledge.
Great to see your videos. Been growing in Sunset Western Garden Book zone 14 for 35 years. Currently, I am watering my tomatoes for 10 minutes 3 times a day. Today it was 104F. I was surprised to hear you say "cut back on watering" but then I remembered you are coastal climate. If I did that, my tomatoes would crack. Love your videos, always something to learn. Been retired for 12 months so now my garden is getting larger with food crops.And shrinking from lawn :)
You need to put your wisdom on a tshirt as it captures exactly why I grow 35 different foods: "The worst homegrown tomato is better than the best store bought tomato." So true. No wonder the US eats like crap-- food doesn't taste the way it used to! (Or should) Okay, getting off my soap box now. Love your channel, btw!!
I got 2 wrong answers... I am a new gardener this year but the more videos I watch the more I learn. I have a few little tomatoes starting on my plants so I must be doing something right. Thank you for all you do. May the Lord bless you and yours.
Hi. First, thank you for the thorough explanation. I have one more for you: how about adding ocean sand around the base of the tomato? Not the store bought sand but the actual real ocean sand from the beach? (I know I’m about a year late but if you get to this thanks in advance)
I really appreciate you telling us what verities are sweet. I like tomatoes but just like you I'm not a fan of the red ones unless it's in a burger or just mixed with something. I will look for the yellow and orange tomatoes from now on. Thank you for this video!🥰🙏
Oh man! wish I had known this BEFORE I sowed and planted my tomatoes! But I will know for next year. THANK YOU...Again!
When I went to school to become a Master Gardener, I was blown away with how much each instructor knew.
Brian, how did you learn so much and how long have you been a gardener? For one time would you give us a quick tour of the front and back gardens ?
110 degrees in the shade here this week, tomatoes are starting to ripen, they are shaded50% now and still setting as per your advice. Your advice has been better than fertalizer for my new garden. Thanks. And that's no chicken manure.
110? You must be in Arizona! I learned to shade my veggies except corn.
I'm 5 miles away from AZ mine are doing great in 100+ my husky cherry red and lemon boy love it for some god dam reason with only 3 hr of shade and some how I'm over waterd them I water them 1 time a day I just got back from a 2 day vacation and the ground might need water in the morning lol like wtf there In 1 planter its 2 feet by 3 feet and hes 6 cucumbers why just why
@@blackbones15 nope, about 2.5 hrs N of Sacramento. Growing Big Boy, Early Girl, and Sun Sweet.
@@billfeeser2372 I'm in Sac Valley - Folsom. It's been hotter than hell this week. My tomatoes are in containers and I've been double watering them this week and added more mulch. The fruit is ripening almost before my eyes!
@@sheritacox774 Yes, I am watering 1 hr every 12 hours now with this heat. I did put up an old bamboo fence section on each run of tomatoes to give them western shade in the pm that has kept them setting fruit and the bottom ones are ripening just fine. Don't you just love Brian's videos? I've learned so much this year - thing's my Dad could have taught me - he was a farmer early and a gardener later in his life, but I didn't have any interest in it then. Thank God for Brian, no?
My organically grown tomatoes have spoilt me, so now I never buy them. I would rather go without than have flavourless thick skinned ones.
Wow I learned so much from this video. I liked the true and false format - it engages your audience and imprints the answer!
Thanks for an informative video! Missed two, the one with Epsom salts and the basil question. Oh well, it’s great learning new tomato tips. A lot of tomato seedlings came up this year, after I put down compost. In addition to the six plants from HD, I planted about a dozen volunteers, lol. It will be interesting to see how they turn out and I’ll keep watching your videos!
Heat can also result in tasteless tomatoes. We had an unusually hot summer, with multiple days over 90 'F (32'C) per week, and even my best-tasting cultivars (Brandywine, Aunt Ruby's G Green, Paul Robeson, Black Krim, Black Cherry, Cherokee Purple, etc.) that were growing and ripening during this time had almost no flavour. I first thought it was just the extra water, but when I cut the water it made only a very small difference. I read up about it and found a couple of sources from similar climates that said excessive heat reduces tomato flavour. The same plants produced more flavourful fruit once the heat subsided, which indicates it was the heat.
Has anyone else experienced this during prolonged hot weather?
You added Celsius, you’re a sweetheart ☺️🙏 it’s the only thing I’m metric on lol. I got 4/5 ...basil lol, oh well still planting them like you say and I just love the smell of it let alone taste
South-Central WI weather just starting to warm up. Plants are growing. Early signs of fruit. Stumbled on the "Not watering" question. Not lacking water here. Had fun listening to the quiz. Using all your planting (Neptune's Harvest), fertilizing (Neptune's Harvest Tom/Veg fertilizer - it smells), pruning. Fingers crossed!
I just made pot soil for my cucumbers, tomatoes, pole beans & bell peppers using miracle grow garden soil, coco coir, perlite, mulched grass clippings left under mower deck for months litly watered with 4 parts water 1 part hydrogen peroxide. Has work out beautifully.
I don't grow tomatoes for sweetness, I grow them for saltiness. Great video as always.
I live in Texas, it’s very hot in July, Aug, Sept. at that point the plants stop producing and I just shade them and water them to keep them alive. Once it starts cooling off again - 80-90 degrees, I use a epsom salt foliar feed and it does get them going again for another round of fruiting before the first freeze.
Thanks for this, I got 4 out of 6. Ha ha. :) I have tomatoes growing ATM (our dry season in North QLD Aus). Cherry that come up by themselves and I have to pull out LOTS of self sprouted seedlings as they take ove!! Also Gross Lise, Tropic, Wapsapinicon Peach and Blueberry. This is my first year doing anything else than the Cherry variety, so I hope they all produce lots so I can share with my family, friends and neighbours. Thanks for your videos, keep them coming.
I'm not a fan of sweet tomatoes, especially the cherries...I go for a more savory salty tomato flavor. I often find it in the dark shouldered varieties. Thank you for the tips!
Just found this video a year later. My first year to truly grow tomatoes - and have been so excited to see them putting on fruit. In Oklahoma, our heat just "kills" tomato production in July/August, so we have built a high tunnel for the tomatoes and plan to add shade cloth to see if we can keep the temps manageable. This will likely affect the sweetness of the fruit, though, since the sun will be "shaded" right???
Did the high tunnel help you?
Question ... how often should calcium be added to the soil to prevent or at least curb bottom rot on the tomatoes? We have a bad problem with that every time we plant them?
Thanks for the tip. We are on water meter here in South London. I occasionally have Epsom salt bath. I then bucket the cool bath water on my container grown vegetables. I will try it in a sprayer. I have ripe plum tomatoes in July!! We had had a dry warm spring and so far a dry very warm summer. So my tomatoes are outside but I might put them in my greenhouse if the temperature starts to cool.
Brian, hope you or someone in the gardening community can answer a question... we had a really bad storm this week and all the top 1 to 1.5 ft of tomatoes plants we taken off by wind, most of the rest of plant is doing well, do I need to cut the stems back, that were left or will they regrow leaves and hopefully fruit? Thanks for any advice.
Very interesting Brian. In theory, reduced watering would only really work for bush varieties with all fruit ripening together I imagine? With vine you might help the ripening fruit but at the same time, hinder the growth further up the vine?
Temps is a really interesting subject. I am in UK and am experiencing high temps at the moment, I have one small greenhouse where yesterday the temp maxed at 50c!! I have another larger greenhouse with shading and fan cooling which maxed at 35c. And then I have a few varieties in open air raised beds. Will be interesting to see how things compare.
Guess you found out
Thank you again, Brian! I needed a refresher and reassurance! 3 Thumbs up!!!
looking forward to reading the composting book.
I live in southern New England. I haven’t had or grown a sweet tomato in at least 10yrs! I now only buy cherry tomatoes for my salads if any. I remember tomatoes in the 1970s. Delicious! I may try growing again but I hate to waste the money.
Haha, my problem is too hot. Plants look great but flowers dry and fall, even when I attempt to hand pollinate. Placed some shade fabric today and I hope that helps.
More valuable info for my tomatoe care arsenal! Much appreciated for this 1st year container gardener in a small space. 😊
I got two wrong. Thanks for this video and every video you post. I’m really learning a lot. Here’s to hoping that I concur my problem of blossom end rot. Cross your fingers. Thanks again for all your great tips.
Hi Brian...Your presentation and helpfulness is always great. I always love your tomato videos and receive something everytime I watch them. I was just wondering what happened to the aspirin question ??? Have you read the book "Grow for Flavor" by James Wong, the botanist ?
Thank you, I live on Vancouver Island and now have something to try and ripen all these tomatoes. Weird year the seasons off by a month it feels like.
Thanks a lot watching you from Nairobi ,Kenya and have learnt a lot from you.
Awesome informative video, thank you! Question, I just started a container garden in my Patio and I never realized how little sun my patio gets (3 hrs or less per day). I am surrounded by very large trees. Does this mean my tomato plants won't produce at all? I'm in Atlanta GA (zone 8) and it gets to about 85 to 90 degrees here. I did start the plants indoors under a Full Spectrum Led Grow Light.
Again, thanks for your help!
I'm having tomato issues this year so of course I'm binge-watching @Next Level Gardening like it's a Netflix series. :p
From the Central Valley, CA and the temps have been bad this year. In April, 102*. Mid May, 106* to 110* in 4 days. Right now, it’s 102* will be up to 107* by Sunday! So I’m expecting sweet tomatoes, lol. Would a thin white sheet do to cover & shade during that time? It’s a small raised garden, but 1 Beefsteak has 40 tomatoes on it so far. Only have 4 plants. I’m so excited! You have inspired me so much, thank you.😊
Wow! 4 plants? I also have 4 plants right now, and I fertilize with NH tomato and veg every other week. I live in the high desert, and our temps are in the 90's and it is dry. Wish I had 50 tomatoes on the vine! 😊
Robin Kishbaugh I’m actually in shock, the tomatoes are quite large too. I water the roots every other evening during this high heat, helps them to be ready for the next day. I haven’t gardened in a few years. Especially during the CA drought. I focused on keeping my trees alive. Have grapes, blackberries, pluots, & 2 orange trees. It’s always so great to grow veggies though, I’ve missed it. Two of the tomatoes are Early Girls, the other 2 are the Beefsteaks. I grew up in the high desert, sure do miss it, but I know what it’s like to have that dry heat. Prefer it to humidity! I planted at the end of March, so got a good start, mixed the soil with cow manure & peat moss (it absorbs more water). Enjoy your tomatoes!
@@robinkishbaugh8149 I also live in the high desert. Mine are just starting to set (pea size) and I use Jack's (the vegetable kind, low nitrogen) (water soluble) giving them their two week dose tomorrow morning🍅love🍅💚🤞🤞🤞Hurry up monsoons...🍅s need U!!!
100% on the score. weather here is hit and miss, so we have to go with the flow in the UK.
Great tips, as always! Blossom-end rot is my nemesis. I err on the side of more/regular watering and that usually works :) I got 4 on the quiz.
Great video! I always enjoyed a good true and false test in school back in the day. The multiple choice including none of the above use to drive me crazy though.
Hi Brian! Though I've been feeding my tomato plants Neptune's Harvest, one of them has developed blossom end rot on all her tomatoes. What kind of calcium should I buy to remedy this? Thanks!!! Never mind - just watched your pests and diseases video and will go out and buy some gypsum. Love your videos!!!
Love the info on coastal California! I’m a mile inland from the ocean in the far north. Rarely do we hit 70 degrees in the summer. Never heard of dry farming. Thank you!
My understanding is that calcium deficiency is the cause of blossom end rot. Here's a guess on why putting in sugar may help: Normally the plant has to release sugar to get mineral ions back from the mycorrhizae. If you feed the myco's sugar then the tomato can retain more sugar. I put myco's into my hydroponic reservoir and then sugar. I see bubbles at the top which suggests that the bacteria etc are flourishing.
Interesting 🙂
I grew basil everywhere this year and it's helped keep cabbage loopers off my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Except I might not be able to have basil for pesto this year. 😂😭
Great tip! Basil!! Thanks!!
I discovered a few days ago that Japanese Beetles LOVE basil. I hate those buggers. They attack in bunches and can skeletonize a plant in no time
I did poorly on the test, but sure learned alot. A whopper big thank you...again🥰.
Do you have any advice on how to increase the acidity of a tomato? I just can't get enough!! Thanks for your help!
Is it heat making them sweet, or is the heat simply aiding in the ripening process which would make them sweet anyway? Thoughts?
Only missed one question about the Epsom salt which I don't use. Loved the video and a big thank you.
Here in central Florida we get 95+ temps for weeks at a time, not days and even when it 'cools' down its still 90-93. We are talking heat indexes over 100. What would you recommend to do to keep the flowers from falling off.? Are there varieties they are best suited better for that environment? Our temps don’t really start to drop until mid-October
my score 3+3 50%. With temperatures from Oct onwards around 35-40C right through to March. it's difficult to grow tomatoes. But I have recently discovered an organic fertiliser that helps alleviate heat and frost stress. Doing great this year. Plus with fruit fly prevalence I have to bag my trusses. And your tip with the old toothbrush has helped for setting fruit. Too hot for bees.
Fortunately in the Sacramento area, “not hot enough” (for tomatoes) isn’t a phrase we’re familiar with. :D
Thanks for the broadcast! My issue is tough skin on cherry tomatoes what's with that? Thank you!
100% yippee. What are your thoughts on tomatoes having thick skin? How can this be prevented primarily cherry tomatoes. ❤️ thanks
Yeah, mine too. Hard to digest. But oh! The flavor!!
Thanks Brian, I'm enjoying all of your videos!
BRIAN.. what do you suggest for tomatoes when you have 100°weather in May? I'm in the San Joaquin Valley
When is the best time to harvest tomatoes? For example, should red tomatoes be picked when they are fully red or is it better to pick them when they are pink and let them ripen indoors? Thanks.
Thought my score would have been great but it wasn’t so great🤨I do learn a lot every time I watch one of your videos. Thank you so much for that. I am curious about the plants you have in the background. I see pink flowers and bright green almost like a fern? Curious about your companion planting. Have you done a video on that? Thanks again Jeanne Boll
My tomatoes look better than ever this year, fruiting like crazy, disease free, healthy and tall. Butttt the first few I tried were borderline mealy/mushy. We've had so much rain that they have received too much water. Now what? I'm tempted to withhold water and pull the mulch away to at least reverse course. Should I do something more aggressive though? Pick the green ones to encourage new growth, e.t.c? Thank you in advance!
I plant tomatoes deep as you suggest. I also 'plant' a l plastic jug with small holes in the bottom not next to the but near the tomato for deep watering. I also water lightly at the ground level. Am I over watering?
Can we have a video about sugar and using less fertilizer? I'm intrigued!!!
When I know more I may experiment with that.
I’m growing cherry tomatoes in a 10 gallon container. Can I plant basil there too or is the container too small?
Only missed one, yay! Would've missed more if I hadnt been watching your videos though. Thanx--
I'm a new subscriber and beginner Gardner. This is a great channel! Do you have any videos on how to water tomatoes or plants? I find that I can't quite tell if I'm overwatering or underwatering as both look similar!
Thx for the update: where do you buy your seeds?
Well I got 4 correct so not bad for newer to this. But definitely always appreciate your help!
I got the third one wrong, always learn something from the best, thank you for another wonderful video! 😀
Thank you so much for your fantastic information.
I hope to use some of these tips. But the way things are going I am never going to try any of my tomatoes. Deer came by one night and topped off most of my plants. And they have come by two other times and have eaten 3 dozen green tomatoes - one really big one that was about to start turning red. I put up a cheap and poorly contrived plastic fence up but that did not keep the from coming back and eating the tomatoes. Going to string up some bird netting this weekend to completely enclose them to see if that works. Tried foliar feeding with Neptunes Harvest fish fertilizer but I think that washed off when it rained. Any other ideas are welcome.
Living in the Deep South where it is 100 plus most of the summer, I got all the questions right except for decreasing the water to 50%. I haven't grown tomatoes anywhere else other than the Deep South and I would not ever decrease the water 50 percent which would kill them. I'm going to default on that question and say I got them all right. Very good video though
I have to disagree with your first comment. In season , store-bought tomatoes in my area are delicious, but my garden grown tomatoes are flavorless . I grow cherry tomatoes, heirloom , determinant and indeterminate varieties. I apply fertilizer to both the soil and foliage , my plants get 8 hours of full sun per day . Daily summer temperatures where I live are often above 90 degrees, with some days in the triple digits . Could it be that my climate is too hot for tomatoes?
Missed 1 THANK YOU , FOR ALL YOU DO !
I had always second guessed the benefits vs the problems that come with using epsom salts. I will def try it as a foliar feed
Only missed one. Thanks for doing this. An aside, split watermelon is the same watering issue isn't it?
I've gardened for several years and I learn new things all the time
I live in California near the coast. I am just wondering how to give the tomatoes the correct amount of water? I know you said bring down to 50%.Every day? Every other? Should I let them completely dry or water when almost dry?
Thanks for the well explained tips you always do such a good job at doing.
Please tell me what you recommended for sweet cherry tomatoes, sungold and ___? I couldn't quite understand what you said. Thank you in advance!
I got it!! APERO CHERRY TOMATO!! Looks like they grow in clusters like grapes! "Exceptional flavor and foliar disease resistance. This high-yielding cross between a grape and cherry produces 15-20gm oval fruits with very sweet, rich flavor. High resistance to fusarium wilt, nematodes, tobacco mosaic virus; intermediate resistance to leaf mold."
@@carolmccollum9341 Thanks!
Yep quite sensible information, thanks mate.