Hello from Northern Utah

[joseph]

I've just joined the board, so I'm writing a short introduction...

I'm a small market grower in Northern Utah. I've been gardening since I was old enough to walk.

This year I planted about 450 tomato plants. The distribution of varieties was about as follows:

36 Bush celebrity
36 season starter
6 sungold cherry (My customer's favorite)
6 sweet 100
a few other assorted cherry tomatoes
a couple brandywine (late bearing)
a half dozen roma (early)
6 Russian oxheart (late bearing)
6 siberian (~1.5" fruits, late bearing)
2 yellow zebra
2 brandywine
a few odds and ends
My main crop was DX52-12, a canning variety that was developed by the local agricultural university specifically for this area. I believe it was derived mostly from Moscow types.

I live in a high desert and it is common to not have rain during June, July, and August, so bugs and fungus diseases rarely if ever bother my tomatoes. I irrigate once a week via sprinkler.

My garden was frost free this year for about 90 days. My biggest problem is getting ripe tomatoes before frost. This year I had only picked about 1 bushel of tomatoes before the first frost... Luckily it was a light enough frost that only the tomatoes and leaves on the top 4" of the plant froze. The rest survived and produced my most abundant crop ever. While in theory we have a long enough growing season, our nights are typically chilly due to the clear skies that create so much radiative cooling at night.

I don't know that I have much to offer regarding tomato breeding or growing, but I hope to read the forum and pick up some ideas for growing tomatoes better than I have been. If I were to make a goal regarding tomato growing, it would be to be able to take an abundant crop of tomatoes to market six weeks earlier than I have been. (I get a few tomatoes starting the last week of July, but I don't get enough to satisfy my customers until the first week of September.)

[darthslater]

Welcome to the site Joseprh, dont be afraid to post some pics!!

Darth

[peppereater]

Hey Joseph!
I've read posts of yours at Homegrown Goodness, glad to see you here.

[stratcat]

Good to see you made it, Joseph.

[joseph]

So here is a photo of my main tomato patch this year. It was taken on July 17th, about 7 weeks after transplanting them into the garden. I had two other small patches (about 100 plants, and about 20 plants) that I don't have photos of.



This was my first big harvest this year on September 22nd:



This is what variety DX52-12 looked like in the field between the time of first frost and harvest:

[stepheninky]

Hey welcome,

I am sure there are some more knowledgeable than myself here that can help as well, if you start from seed you can start plants indoors under cheap florescent shop lights, that should give you an extra 6-8 weeks, There is a method called Bulk seed planting that Craig Lehoullier uses for example in a 50 flat cell you can start up to 50 seeds per cell so up to 2500 seed in one flat. (though you can still do less per cell to meet your needs) That way you only need space and lights to cover the one tray, so the cost are pretty low. Once true leaves form transplant them into cups or 3-4" pots. This way you can place them outside in the day time and then easily move them into a garage or other space at night. As long as temps are over 50F you should be fine. This also counts as hardening them off, once last frost danger passes plant in ground or containers as normal.

If you want to try and beat people to market you can grow some varieties that are early like early glee, Martina, 4th of July, stupice and I am sure there are quite a few more suggestions that people will have .

I started this post then had a power outage so had not seen the picks yet those look like some nice maters

[joseph]

My brother grows transplants for me in his glorious greenhouse. Every year I get a few cherry tomatoes that volunteer from seed and produce a few (sungold) tomatoes just before frost, but I wouldn't expect to direct seed a slicing tomato and get a harvest.

Last year I planted 4th of July tomato (from transplants just after last frost). It started producing towards the end of August. (I can't plant tomatoes out until about June 1st.) Roma tends to be my earliest tomato. If it wasn't for blossom end rot I might grow more of them.

This year I got clever and saved seeds from the tomato plants that produced earliest for me. We'll see how they do next year.

Last fall I asked a fellow that sells hundreds of tomato varieties to send me seeds of his earliest plants... He sent a small "Anna Siberian" and a "Russian oxheart". The only tomato I grew that was later was Brandywine. Ha! I wonder if "earliest" depends on things other than genetics: If what is early in Arkansas might not be early in Utah or with my soil/climate?

I'll ask a few more people this year for recommendations and/or seeds of their earliest plants and see if I can find something that is earlier. I've got plenty of room.

I'm the only one at my local farmer's market that had tomatoes to sell this year so I'm not worried about beating the competition. It would be nice to have a longer season though. If I had lots of tomatoes starting in mid-July instead of the first of September it would bring a lot more people to the market. Any suggestions on getting earlier harvests? Preferably at a low enough cost to pay for the extra materials and labor.

I may move my garden to a south-facing field next year (instead of the mostly level field it has been in the last two years). I bet that would help a lot.

[ozarklady]

Hi Joseph,
Welcome to the forum.
I know folks are suppose to look at day lengths, but I never do.

I start them in February, plant them outside in April and pick until December. So, with starting them and all, I get 6 weeks off!

No I was not the one who sent tomato seeds to Joseph. I think I sent him, some perennial onions.

[Penny]

Welcome, Joseph. ;D

[rintintin]

Welcome Joseph. While no two climates are the same, you might consider laying a thick layer of straw mulch over your growing area after the growing season. While it will not stop the soil from freezing, it will limit how deep the freezing gets, thereby allowing an earlier thaw in the spring. In the spring, 2 to 4 weeks before your brother starts your plants, rake the straw off of your rows, and cover them with clear plastic. This will allow the daytime sun to soak through, while helping to hold in the warmth @ night. This might get you into the ground several weeks earlier than otherwise possible.

Also, using floating row covers will help your plants retain warmth in the early season. Putting 1 or 2 liter soda bottles filled with water between plants will collect warmth during sunny days, and slowly release that warmth all night long. Each degree of warmth you can provide early on will speed up growth.

Good luck on next years crop!

[leftylogan]

Welcome Joseph.

[jcm05]

Welcome aboard joseph. Sounds like tough growing conditions with that short season.

[frdmfrc]

Welcome!

[GunnarSK]

Welcome Joseph!

I guess what grows ok in Michigan will also work for you, so you can look at the lists of Oneoftheearls, Klorenz or Darthslater, I can also send the list of early commercial varieties available
here in Poland with its cool northern climate.