I love tomatoes. Both sides of my family had farms and my grandfather was one of ths first organic growers. As an adult when I would talk to frantic European tranvelers who would ask in a panic "What is the matter with the produce in your stores? It tastes like colored sawdust!". Then I would think about how my relatives often lived in poverty in order to produce quality food and herbs that other people often took for granted.
Excellent interview! So much information. Two things, I loved Craig’s knowledge and useful perspective and Kevin, you are an effective interviewer. Ask the question and allow the person to answer without interruption. This was so calm for my chaotic brain, I listened to this 3x in the last 24 hours. I’ve followed Epic for years, and had no idea about this podcast. Subscribing now!
I decided to grow 2 new varieties this year called Goliath bush tomato and red centiflor tomato, the last time i grew tomatoes was with the san marzano, funny though before I started growing toms i used to hate them but after I started growing them realized i do actually like toms but only the organic ones i grow 😂, however this past summer was brutal and i am still relatively new to growing crops in the desert, so this mans words of wisdom on toms were well needed thanks guys much appreciated 👍
I feed extra vegetables and fruit to my chickens. It supplements their diet, which means the chickens eat less poultry feed, which means I save money because I don’t have to purchase so much poultry feed. And I eat the eggs.
I so appreciate this! I have enjoyed growing the dwarf tomato project! When teaching people how to grow their own food, the seniors who can’t grow traditionally because of physical limitations, can grow.dwarf tomatoes and especially microdwarfs in containers and have success.
Really awesome episode! I'm a casual indoor grower and it was nice to hear your observations about having to water and fertilize much more frequently when growing in containers. I've been scratching my head about just how frequently I need to water my indoor soil tomatoes figuring that I was doing it wrong. Thank you for confirming that I'm not insane (or at least that this isn't proof of my insanity).
I am really excited to try new varieties this year. Thank you for this video. I learned so much, especially about payinh close attention to the weather.
32:40 I use large saucers underneath my grow bags to reduce watering needs. In general I like at least 7 gallon grow bags for tomatoes, though 10 gallon is my default, but I tend to add something else along with the tomato like lettuce or basil. Don't let that be a discourage if you can only grow in smaller containers. Some older people and handicaps can't handle carrying too heavy containers. With good soil, fertilizer and watering even 3 gallons container can grow decent tomatoes, particularly dwarf and smaller variety. 42:00 Don't take chances trying to front run the frost date. Wait until it's warm and safe enough, or have a greenhouse. It is just not worth it to risk leaving tomato and pepper plants out overnight if it's going to be 36-40*F, even if it's not cold enough to kill the plant it may slow their growth rate. This also means you don't need to start your seedlings too early. The seedlings grow faster when it's warm enough. Being more patient and not bringing them outside too early will actually get you to harvest the fruits earlier. 52:00 The thing I learned about tomato flavor is that it is subjective (just like beer), it is usually something you don't expect, and look don't correlate to flavor. Your favorite tasting tomato will be one that you did not expected.
As an Indian watching American gardening videos, I always wonder why no one talks about using Trichoderma sp, Verticillum sp & other Bio-control for insects & fungi. It is very prevalent here. I'm assuming it is because they work a lot better in the tropics. They work wonders in controlling unwanted guests, especially in the summer.
In my case, I was extremely decifient in vitamin D so I went outside and hoed my back yard daily and now, three years later, I have a nice garden. There was no plan, just a doctor's recommendation to get outside.
I overproduce every year but i don't mind if the overproduction goes back to the ground. Many times i find some nice volunteer plants the next year and i just let them grow without any care. Sometimes very nice extra harvest without any effort, sometimes i don't even harvest.
This was a very educational video for me. Grateful for the information. I grow in containers in NW Florida. This was so helpful considering I grow mostly heirlooms and am trying the Brandyfred dwarf and also the Purple Tomato from Norfolk Healthy Produce this year. I’d like to hear both of your opinions on that purple tomato. Great video.
i have a very hard climate in sw colordo 6000 ft elevation zone 6a less than ten miles from 5b. hot days short spring cool ground temps lows in the 40s till july and in late august. is there any dwarf varietys tht will do reasonably well here. roma has done the best
Feed the way-to-big squash to the chickens. There's no such thing as over-production when there are hungry people in our country. It was a weird season last year - my tomatoes were ripening in October and I live in Idaho. Your videos are awesome and this one is no exception. I would like to know why seeds have become so expensive. $6.99 for 10 seeds. That just seems ridiculous and then you pay postage on top of it.
