Bizarre, Bizarre, Bizarre... October Tomatoes.. WTF?

[bvar22]

The Summer of 2011 was BRUTAL here in West/Central Arkansas (Ouachita Mountains).
We are on the Eastern Edge of the Extreme Drought Area centered over Texas/Oklahoma.

Spring started out normal enough.
In fact, Spring 2011 was exceptional,
and the harvest of Spring Crops was generous,
especially the Strawberries, Onions, Garlic, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Asparagus.
...but especially the Strawberries.


We put out 22 Tomato Plants of different varieties,
and the young plants did very well... healthy, green, and lush.
Then, in late May, it was like someone threw a switch.

We went from a normal, mild Spring immediately to Record Breaking HEAT/DROUGHT
that was continuous until September.
The daily temperature exceeded the 95F mark where tomato flowers will produce fruit.
We NEVER passed through that area of Just Right normal for June, and good tomatoes.

We kept our plants well irrigated, and they appeared green and healthy with plenty of flowers,
but it was simply too hot to produce tomatoes. Out of 22 otherwise health plants, we brought in maybe 12 edible tomatoes,
and those were ugly... cracked & tough skins.

In normal years, we are forced to pull our tomato plants due to several varieties of blight
which become overwhelming by Mid-July (common for this area), but that didn't happen this year.
We had and have very little blight (see note at end), so we continued to water and care for our non-producing plants.
They have grown bushy and tall... most over 7 feet.


The HEAT dropped back to normal ranges about three weeks ago, and GUESS WHAT?
Tomatoes.. lots and LOTS of young Tomatoes.


We are now praying for a mild Fall, extended Indian Summer, and a late frost.
If so, we will have a Tomato October Fest!
We are glad to see the young tomatoes,
but it is STILL Bizarre.
We hope & pray that Summer 2011 is NOT the New Normal.
It was BRUTAL.
That kind of HEAT takes the FUN out of everything,
and makes the simplest chore a Herculean Task.

Note on Blight/Fungal Diseases:
Due to the high humidity, our tomatoes are usually overcome with Blight & Fungal problems by Mid-July.
In the past we have attempted to Nurse them along, but have found that tomatoes from a sick plant don't taste very good.
So we had decided as SOP to pull plants that show signs of blight,
and would have done so this year too if Blight/Disease had appeared, but we had little trouble.
So, as bizarre as it seemed to us, we kept tending our plants into September, months later than normal.

This is NOT and endorsement,
but we DID start using a product this Summer called "Serenade".

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/serenade-disease-control.html

There could have been other factors, like HEAT and lack of rain,
and our transition to Soaker Hoses instead of top watering,
that reduced the problems, but we feel that the use of this product was chiefly responsible
for keeping our plants disease free through September.

[roguevalley]

1. what a remarkably beautiful garden you have. I am green with

envy. :-)

[brer cat]

2. Same here with our tomatoes

Our north Georgia summer wasn't as hot as yours for much hotter than usual. We harvested a large basket of tomatoes this week and the vines are covered with green ones from tiny to full size. Unfortunately our low for this coming weekend is predicted to be 32. I will probably throw some floating row cover or landscaping fabric over the tomatoes to see if some will live over it. Next year I am going to shade the tomatoes if it is this hot again. We avoided the blight this year without any treatment...think it was the low humidity and hot temps. May be digging out my recipe for green tomato relish.

[Renew Deal]

3. We've had a 2nd spring on LI as well.

I don't know enough about growing fruit and veggies, but I know how the trees and flowers have been. Right after the hurricane passed trees and flowers around here came to life. There's a lot of new growth on bushes as well. Flowering trees didn't re-flower. That would be crazy, but I was surprised by the growth.

The summer wasn't overly hot, but it was wet. That may have something to do with it.

I don't know much about growing tomatoes, but I know that tomatoes in Santorini Greece are world famous for their flavor. Santorini is hot, dry, and volcanic. Who knows, you might really have some great tomatoes growing. :9

[enough]

4. Same here in my garden in SE PA.

24 tomato plants all producing very well still at the end of September. They stopped dead for about three weeks in the middle of the summer, but are now back in business, with no end in sight. I have never had this kind of crop at this time of year. Also, they started producing LOTS of ripe tomatoes around the fifth of July. Usually I might get a few tomatoes in mid July, but not a flood like that.

Definitely a strange tomato summer.

But don't get me started about the potatoes, which were strange in the opposite direction.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Same in NW Arkansas. I counted 18 green tomatoes on one plant last night.

[mod mom]

6. Lucky you. Ours fried when we were gone 8 days in beginning August & never recovered.

I still have some grape but others I've already pulled from the ground. Now my peppers are still growing. I also have tons of basil.

:hi: Our wood fire pizzas are using pesto as a base right now.

[Jamastiene]

7. I hope you do continue to have a mild Autumn.

It would be nice to see you get to harvest and preserve a lot of those tomatoes and eat the rest. I love tomatoes. :D

[Jamastiene]

8. P.S.

You could also have fried green tomatoes even if they don't ripen all the way.

[KurtNYC]

9. the Romas are flowing here in the Hudson Valley

Got more in the last 2 weeks than August, more on the way.

[grasswire]

10. good year for tomatoes in PNW -- last year was a bust

Because our weather is changing tomorrow, I'll be out in the morning picking lots of green tomatoes -- some to ripen on the counter, many to freeze to make enchilada sauce. I already have about ten quarts of mixed green tomatoes/tomatillos in the freezer. I like to "provision" in the fall. I have quarts of blackberries in the freezer, too, and raspberries. Yesterday I made applesauce for the freezer -- oh what a fragrance it made in the kitchen.