My Roma tomato plants

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MrTom

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79". I have two rows of seven plants all spaced at about 36". In other years I get around 48" of plant height. I have no idea what created these giants but the tomatoes are unreal huge too. Some of these plants have tomatoes set at five feet up. I have no idea how I'll get the picking done when they ripen as the 14 plants make an absolute wall of green. I've never seen Romas grow like this and the fruits are definely shaped like Romas, just three times as large as they normally get. My ten Rutgers are growing normally in a bed only feet away from these so I'm at a loss as to what got into these plants. Sure getting some attention of the walkers in the park though.

sG4A2kG.jpg
 
Did you add decomposed leaves to the soil where the tomatoes are growing? My peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes always liked it when I did that, the more the better.
 
I compost all of my fall lawn clippings and leaves run thru the mower and use in the garden. The same tomatoes last year, planted within ten feet of where these are only got to about 46-48 inches. The top 20" of growth has occurred in the last five days or so.
 
79". I have two rows of seven plants all spaced at about 36". In other years I get around 48" of plant height. I have no idea what created these giants but the tomatoes are unreal huge too. Some of these plants have tomatoes set at five feet up. I have no idea how I'll get the picking done when they ripen as the 14 plants make an absolute wall of green. I've never seen Romas grow like this and the fruits are definely shaped like Romas, just three times as large as they normally get. My ten Rutgers are growing normally in a bed only feet away from these so I'm at a loss as to what got into these plants. Sure getting some attention of the walkers in the park though.

sG4A2kG.jpg
How close do you live to the nuclear power plant, lol. That's awesome!
This is the first year I didn't plant any vegitables in my yard. The Mrs and I are just traveling alot (empty nesters) so I just threw flower seeds in the planters. Just amazing what's popping up.KIMG0820.JPG
 
Just whipped up a small batch of refrigerator pickles this morning. Gotta wait a couple days before chowing on them. When the cukes and peppers are really producing I'll keep a 5 quart ice cream pail full of these pickles in the fridge all summer and fall. love the things.

9FZedIf.jpg
 
Just whipped up a small batch of refrigerator pickles this morning. Gotta wait a couple days before chowing on them. When the cukes and peppers are really producing I'll keep a 5 quart ice cream pail full of these pickles in the fridge all summer and fall. love the things.

9FZedIf.jpg
My grandmother, mother, and all of us kids made those. We come from a Pennsylvania Dutch background, way back.

1/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp celery seed
Cukes sliced as thin as possible
Yellow onion sliced as thin as possible

Edit to recipe:

Double the brine ingredients as necessary for amount of cukes on hand.

Never tried green peppers, but I think I will the next time I make them.

I have used thinly sliced carrots done on a mandoline.
 
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My recipe is a bit different given my German, Irish, and English pedigree. Mutt in other words.

9 cups of thinly sliced cukes
1 sweet yellow onion thinly sliced and broken into rings
1green pepper sliced thin
1 cup of cider vinegar
2 cups of sugar
2 tbsp. salt
1 tsp celery seed

Mix it all up in a plastic or glass bowl with a cover and store in fridge. Allow a couple days before digging in.
 
Try it with red onion. We use no water when we make "Cukes&Onions" and always cider or rice vinegar.

The trick they use in Asian countries is "weep the cuke slices" first in either salt, sugar or a combination of both. When the slices bend easily squeeze them in handfuls to remove the extra liquid. Then mix up with the remainder of your ingredients. They are ready to eat in no time.

Notice how some of the slices are bent in this pic. They will bend like this in about 10-20min of weeping.
3jwHfCh.jpg
 
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My fresh cukes I do just like yours with the weeping and I use nothing but cider vinegar....only Gedney's. I'll switch between red and yellow onions....which ever trips my trigger at the time.

I have some red peppers of the tabasco variety ripe right now that are about 8" long so I'll have to do some thin slices like you've done in your cukes to add some heat.

I tried new onion plants this year. A new variety to the market. Patterson is the variety and I am not sorry I planted these critters. Right now all are baseball sized with a few approaching softball size and they are SWEEEEET. They are developed to mature earlier and store for much longer periods of time. I'm looking at about 50 pounds of them if I dig them today but the stems are still straight up and the bulbs getting larger every day. No bent or brown stems at all.
 
My fresh cukes I do just like yours with the weeping and I use nothing but cider vinegar....only Gedney's. I'll switch between red and yellow onions....which ever trips my trigger at the time.

I have some red peppers of the tabasco variety ripe right now that are about 8" long so I'll have to do some thin slices like you've done in your cukes to add some heat.

I tried new onion plants this year. A new variety to the market. Patterson is the variety and I am not sorry I planted these critters. Right now all are baseball sized with a few approaching softball size and they are SWEEEEET. They are developed to mature earlier and store for much longer periods of time. I'm looking at about 50 pounds of them if I dig them today but the stems are still straight up and the bulbs getting larger every day. No bent or brown stems at all.
Mr. Tom

How long do your sweet onions keep in storage?
 
Try it with red onion. We use no water when we make "Cukes&Onions" and always cider or rice vinegar.

The trick they use in Asian countries is "weep the cuke slices" first in either salt, sugar or a combination of both. When the slices bend easily squeeze them in handfuls to remove the extra liquid. Then mix up with the remainder of your ingredients. They are ready to eat in no time.

Notice how some of the slices are bent in this pic. They will bend like this in about 10-20min of weeping.
3jwHfCh.jpg
What is your ratio of salt to sugar to vinegar? I was born with a sugar addiction, so I try to limit my intake, but these cukes are one of my favorite foods to eat.
 
79". I have two rows of seven plants all spaced at about 36". In other years I get around 48" of plant height. I have no idea what created these giants but the tomatoes are unreal huge too. Some of these plants have tomatoes set at five feet up. I have no idea how I'll get the picking done when they ripen as the 14 plants make an absolute wall of green. I've never seen Romas grow like this and the fruits are definely shaped like Romas, just three times as large as they normally get. My ten Rutgers are growing normally in a bed only feet away from these so I'm at a loss as to what got into these plants. Sure getting some attention of the walkers in the park though.

sG4A2kG.jpg
Save the seeds from one of the largest tomatoes and plant them next year.
 
I'll do that Ed. Do you want some?

I was looking thru the forest of plants this morning and some of these tomatoes, while looking like a Roma, are way larger than any Roma I have had in the past. When I stop and think about it I may have put the pot stakes in along a few of these to help keep track of which are which and I think some of these are a Roma variant. Now I'm curious and have to go back and crawl around a bit. I know the Rutgers I planted as a standard tomato is Rutgers Select and we're already dining on those.
 
What is your ratio of salt to sugar to vinegar? I was born with a sugar addiction, so I try to limit my intake, but these cukes are one of my favorite foods to eat.

That is completely upto you. Using straight vinegar they keep fairly well regardless of how much salt or sugar is added. Not that it matters cuz cucumber salad around here is eaten up rather quickly. I dont make mine sweet. I use just enough sugar to take the bite off the vinegar or none at all. Depends on the vinegar. Rice vinegar is 4.5% for an example and white balsamic is often higher but its naturally sweeter than cider or rice vinegar.

The weeping removes excess moister from the cukes and vinegar takes its place more quickly. Just google Korean, Japanese or Chinese cucumber salad for some ideas. The ones with a little soy sauce and sesame oil can be really good. You can add that a little before serving for those that dont care for it.
 
Mr. Tom

How long do your sweet onions keep in storage?

Fresh onions? I dig my onions and hang them by the tops on a rod in the garage and leave them there until cold threatens to freeze them. When I bring them in I keep them in an onion sack in a dark, cool closet until we need a couple in the kitchen and then only bring up a couple at a time. When they come in from the garage I remove the tops and any dried, loose skins. We'll have onions well into the winter if not the spring.


That is completely upto you. Using straight vinegar they keep fairly well regardless of how much salt or sugar is added. Not that it matters cuz cucumber salad around here is eaten up rather quickly. I dont make mine sweet. I use just enough sugar to take the bite off the vinegar or none at all. Depends on the vinegar. Rice vinegar is 4.5% for an example and white balsamic is often higher but its naturally sweeter than cider or rice vinegar.

The weeping removes excess moister from the cukes and vinegar takes its place more quickly. Just google Korean, Japanese or Chinese cucumber salad for some ideas. The ones with a little soy sauce and sesame oil can be really good. You can add that a little before serving for those that dont care for it.

My refrigerator pickles have some salt but not that much given the volume as a whole. Wilting calls for salt, but I give my wilted veggies a couple of good cold water rinsings to remove most of that. And my recipe makes a semi-sweet pickle.
 
Here is one of the misfit Romas. Right now this one is about the second largest I have found.

UiDOpNc.jpg


I brought one slightly larger in today that was ripe and buried under all the plants. I set it on the meat scale and it weighed just under 13 ounces. Normal Romas will top out at about 4-5 ounces. The one I cut up for taco topping for dinner had maybe 10-12 seeds in it and hardly any seed cavities.....two with the dozen seeds between them. Good tasting tomato though.
 
Here is one of the misfit Romas. Right now this one is about the second largest I have found.

UiDOpNc.jpg


I brought one slightly larger in today that was ripe and buried under all the plants. I set it on the meat scale and it weighed just under 13 ounces. Normal Romas will top out at about 4-5 ounces. The one I cut up for taco topping for dinner had maybe 10-12 seeds in it and hardly any seed cavities.....two with the dozen seeds between them. Good tasting tomato though.

Tomatoes look good Tom :lewis: Your plant got Hit with a Blight, or Wilt (Verticillium, or Fusarium) I had a hell of a time with that stuff this year, This was an EXTRAORDINARILY Wet Spring Here. I waited to long to treat, ALL of my Tomato plants got hit with a Blight. Next year i will be treating my plants in the Spring with Bonide Copper Fungacide BEFORE they have a Chance to get Blight/Wilt/Etc, Once they get it, you can’t get rid of it (The Ole saying “An ounce of prevention“ Rings True here!) All You can do is treat in hopes of keeping it at Bay. Mine are Doing fine now, gonna have LOTS of Tomatoes
 
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Tomato plants need to breathe and will brown out in the understory if they get too close to each other and the way these plants have shot up they are definitely too close, but I had no idea that they'd grow like this. Its never happened before to this extent. They're over 7 1/2 feet now but seen to have stopped going up. The picture was taken on the shade side of the mess too which also will help to brown out leaves, but there's no wilt or blight in these plants.

I've been hit with blight before and do a couple things now to stop it. The most effective is to treat the soil in the fall when the plants have been pulled and the ground is bare. I till in the fall so I wait until after its been tilled and use both the copper product you mention and sulpher powder. I apply these fairly heavy. In the spring after I've done the first tilling I treat the ground again, wait a week and re-till just before planting. Most blights get in the soil from affected plants and is murder to control there unless you treat the soil. Since tilling can spread the fungus from the blight that's in the soil one has to treat the whole bed. I do this treatment religiously every year, fall and spring, and have both products on hand should I see things start during the growing season, but the ground treatment has been all that's needed now for maybe ten years.
 
We had a great onion crop this year in Tulsa. squash is producing well. cucumbers are to feed the neighbors. bell peppers are coming on late. But doing well. tomatoes are not producing. With five plants we have gotten three tomatoes year to date.... Same for the neighbors. So sad
 
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