Metric GDD:

Degrees are above 10degC. The following are converted GDD values:

Ultra early: 610 GDD
Extra early: 720 GDD
Early: 835 GDD
Standard season: 945 GDD

Sprouting Temperature: 21 to 32 degC
Hardening Temperature: 16 to 21 degC

Envelope Dimensions:

Determinant plants: 0.75m wide by 1m tall
Indeterminant plants: 0.45m wide by 6m tall
(they don't really _have_ to be that tall, my gramma used 5 foot climbing
fence (1.5m). I don't remember how they were built, just how tall these
plants got (taller than I was at the time.)

Terry

On 8/1/07, jaber_1934 <jaber@...> wrote:
>
> Installment Number Three
>
>
> It should have been noted in the second article that before
> planting
> your new plants out that they should be fertilized every 10 to 14 days
> with a mild fish fertilizer about one third strength. This should
> continue through the hardening off process. For the hardening off
> process you should lower the temperature from these 70° to 90°
> spouting temperature to a hardening off temperature of 60° to 70°.
> This can help prevent 'leggy' tomatoes.
>
> Now lets see what your requirements are. Do you have a lot of room
> or
> do you want an early harvest or a continual harvest over a longer
> time. Do you want (OP) open pollinated or hybrid , plants that self
> pollinate (parthenocarpic) or that need insects to pollinate,
> determinate or indeterminate, and then there are those that will just
> let loose of the tomato when its ripe. And do want to save seeds from
> your favorites?
>
> Alright, how much room do you have for your tomatoes? If you have
> a
> lot of room, you might think of growing mostly determinant tomatoes as
> they spread horizontally instead of vertically. If your room is
> rather restricted, you might want to use pots and grow them that way.
> Determinant tomatoes, usually spread 2 ½ feet wide by two to 3 feet
> tall. Indeterminate tomatoes are usually 18 inches wide by up to 20
> feet tall. It is advisable to provide something for tomato plants to
> climb. If you're growing tomatoes in a greenhouse you can place a poll
> on both ends of a row of tomatoes, and place a metal bar across the
> top. From this metal bar, you can dangle a fiber string that has a
> neutral pH that is strong enough to hold several pounds of tomatoes.
> You can train tomatoes to climb by gently starting the tomato up the
> desired path. It should also be noted that you should allow a maximum
> of two main stems on a tomato plant. Also it might be noted here that
> a convenient way to pollinate the blossoms is to gently strike the bar
> to get the plants to shake. The gentle shaking of the flowers will
> pollinate most of them. It might be noted here that determinant
> plants will usually ripen all of their fruit within a three week to a
> month period of time. Indeterminate plants will continue to grow
> until they get nipped by frost. They will continue to produce
> tomatoes, the entire time. Okay, now you know the difference between
> determinant and indeterminate. Just remember that with the
> indeterminate plants, when they get nipped by Frost, you can pull them
> from the ground and hang them upside down and some of your tomatoes
> will continue to ripen.
>
> Now we need to determine what your growing season is and what your
> needs are in the way of types of tomatoes that you want to harvest.
>
> Those tomatoes that ripen the earliest are called ultra early
> tomatoes. All tomatoes ripen with the accumulation of heat units
> expressed as growing degree days (GDD). These are figured by the
> following computation. For tomatoes, the computation is based on 50°F
> per day average. Why 50°F? Tomatoes do not grow at a temperature
> less than 50° F. To figure this you take the minimum degrees per day,
> and the maximum degrees per day add them together and divide by two
> and subtract 50 from that. Now you continue to add these numbers that
> you have together until you come up with about 1100 heat units. Let us
> set up an example: Monday low temperature 48°, high temperature 60°,
> combine the two, you have 108°. Now divide by two and you have 54°,
> now subtract 50° from that which gives you 4°. So for Monday, you
> have a total of 4° GDD. Now on Tuesday, you have a low temperature of
> 60°, and a high temperature of 75°, add those together and you have
> 115° divided by two gives you 57°, -50° and you have 7° to add to the
> 4° from Monday giving a total of 11°. All right, so now you know how
> to calculate the total AHU, (Accumulated Heat Units.) It might be of
> interest to note here that I will be referring to the accumulated heat
> units in some future posts.
>
> The following is a list of the various classes of tomatoes.
>
> Ultra early requires approximately 1100 units.
> Extra early requires approximately 1300 units.
> Early requires approximately 1500 units.
> Standard season tomatoes, require 1700 or better units.
>
> Cherry tomatoes are a unique and special tomato. The plants come
> in
> most all sizes, many different flavors from sweet to tart, from juicy
> to meaty, fruity to tomatoey. You're bound to find one that suits
> your taste.
>
> Sauce and slicing tomatoes. Sauce varieties are very low in juice
> and
> hi in pulp. These are sure to draw the favor of the cook in the
> house. They have a lower percentage of water, therefore, it is easier
> to cook them down. It might also be interesting to note that these
> same qualities make them ideal candidates for drying. Some of these
> varieties are early maturing and productive, yet the yields may vary
> according to your individual micro-climate. Slicing tomatoes are
> tomatoes in the class of the beefsteak, where one slice is enough to
> cover a hamburger. There are several varieties of these on the market.
>
> Italian sauce tomatoes. These are characterized by their
> shape. It
> is normally elongated and have a greater proportion of meaty flesh and
> lessor in juice amounts.
>
> Heirloom tomatoes: Do you remember when your grandmother used to
> bring in tomatoes, fresh from the Garden? They were always a treat to
> look forward to. The flavor was so rich and the odor was something
> else. Many seed companies offer some good heirloom types. They are
> truly a joy when it comes to eating. If you save seeds, these can be
> passed on to your children.
>
> You might wonder what is parthenocarpic? If you translate that
> literally it means virgin fruit. Flowers on these plants are self
> pollinating. Those that self pollinate will not have seeds. Later
> fruit that is pollinated by the insects will have seeds.
>
> Let's get into the trimming of tomatoes. You should never allow
> more
> than two main stem's. Also, always remember that the plants need to
> breathe, therefore removing some of the foliage can be beneficial. I
> read somewhere that trimming off all of the leaves except the top
> three would increase your crop, but I think that is a little harsh.
> You should always remember that fruit is created on every third leaf
> joint. (usually).
>
> Now it is time to start our seed saving section.
>
> Seeds should be saved from ripe tomatoes only. Overly ripe tomatoes
> can spoil in the process of saving its seeds. The seeds should be
> squeezed out into individual cups for each breed. If you have several
> breeds that you want to save at the same time, it might be good idea
> to label a cups. Make a mush out of the pulp around the seeds in the
> cups. Now add water, and let it ferment overnight. You may want to
> do this in a well ventilated area as it is quite odiferous. Now skim
> the scum off the top of the cup and add freshwater. You should do
> this until there is no scum forming. The viable seeds will settle to
> the bottom of the cup with the seeds that are not viable floating.
> Those that float you may discard now. Place the remaining on
> newspapers or paper towels, and spread them one layer thick and allow
> them to sun dry. When they are dry you may either cut the towels into
> little squares and store them in jars that are labeled or you may want
> to rub the seeds gently to get them free of the towel or newspaper.
> They should be stored in airtight containers, with tight seals at a
> temperature of 15 to 20°C or 60 to 68°F. You might want to include
> packets of silicate gel (these can be gotten from pharmacies) to help
> absorb any moisture that may be left in the jars. Your seeds should
> keep from four to six years.
>
> That should do it for this issue on tomatoes.
>
> Jaber
>
>
>
> WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO GET TO MARS IN THIS LIFE TIME.
> The nine life support systems (as defined by NASA) are:
> Air Supply - Food production and delivery - Waste management, - Water
> supply - Temperature control - Electricity - Transportation -Communications
> - Recreation
> I include: Radiation Protection. - Information
> storage/retrieval/processing - Ability to construct necessary additions
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


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