Growing Creole Tomatoes (1 Viewer)

[Zack Lee]

yes, the biggest problem for us is that we get the boom and have a counter full of tomatoes and then it is over like that. I did not plant enough to worry with staggering the planting but I think I will start earlier next year and do so. I have had mine in large pots for about 1.5 months but they just went in the ground.

 

[Zardnok]

Dr. Hanna of the LSU AgCenter is one of the worlds leading experts on growing tomatoes. Anyone interested in learning more should try to check out one of his presentations at the Red River Research Station or around the state. He does one every four months or so and they are all incredibly well attended by both commercial and private growers. If anyone is interested and unable to attend, I might be able to get a copy of some of his power point presentations for you or you can call Dr. Hanna and set up an appointment to meet with him and get a tour of his greenhouses. You can also check in with your local LSU AgCenter Parish extension office as each has an agent specializing in horticulture and agriculture, as well as a ton of free pamphlets about growing tomatoes and other garden crops.

Luckily for me, Dr. Hanna has frequent computer problems, so whenever I fix something for him, he gives me a 20 lb box from his greenhouses. They also sell the tomatoes at the Red River Research Station in south Bossier City for $12 for a 5 lb box with frequent sales of $10 a box. Some of the boxes have a "6" written on the side which are 6 lb boxes, so check for those if you want extras.

 

[Zack Lee]

that is cool. I only make it to north La. about once a year and it might be hard to time it unless by pure chance (now if it is in peach season it would be worth it to come over to Ruston as well). I checked the site and don't see anything coming up. If you hear of him heading south or if you do get the Power Points, I would be very interested in getting a heads up. Good info thanks!

 

[Zardnok]

I will see Dr. Hanna next week and ask him if he has anything coming up down South. When you do make it up North your one time, let me know and I will arrange a meeting and tour of the green houses for you. He is a super friendly man and loves chatting tomatoes, from watering schedules and fertilizer to gene splicing and hybrid creations.

 

[Goatman Saint]

Too bad he's not coming to California.

 

[The Nomad]

We have over 50 tomato plants most are in one dedicated raised bed, just tomatoes, garlic, shallots, leeks and marigold. As for creoles, they just don't taste the same as the ones we grew in St Bernard, so consequently I've grown less and less of them. About half of what we grow are sun gold which are cherry tomatoes which produce from now(ate the first one on 5/23) until October. IMO, pretty close to the creole taste that I'm looking for and I can eat them every day for months.
Doing a little experimenting with 14 varieties this year to see who makes the cut here in Slidell.
FWIW, we make out own compost year round.
Soil is a mix of peat humus, cow manure, compost, chicken scat, rock dust, pickling lime, azomite, vermiculite and microrisa(sp). Wifey is the soil student, I'm just the muscle.

 

[WhatDat]

Last year I had tomato plants take over my backyard. They had grown out of the raised
beds and spread out over everything. The most beautiful, healthiest looking tomato plants I have ever seen. Not a leaf miner trail on them, full of flowers and fruit. Unfortunately, they were also full of stink bugs. Out of all of those tomatoes, I ate two. The stink bugs got the rest. This year, I planted one bush type cherry tomato and that was all I was going to plant. I was done with tomatoes. Well, they started popping up all over the beds on their own and, so far, no stink bugs.

Before I had planted them last year, I placed a couple Comfrey leaves under the plant, then used Comfrey compost tea. That stuff is stinky black gold for tomato plants. Here's a link for how to grow it and use it.

Growing and Using Comfrey for Gardeners including Comfrey Liquid Fertiliser or Tea

Here's a picture of the beginning of the tomato takeover of my backyard...
(In this bed were two creole and two glamour plants)

 

[Zack Lee]

However, it's been argued that over the last 10 years or so that the creole tomatoes have been engineered to be more attractive in appearance.

it is funny that we were posting about this because on America's Test Kitchen on Saturday they were talking about tomatoes and taste. I knew that tomatoes from far away like California were picked way too early so that they would be firm enough to pack on top of one another but they said they have also been engineered to have thicker walls for the same purpose. Thicker walls means less room for the jelly which is where the flavor is (anyone who drinks the juice from the bottom of the bowl can attest, uh, if anyone did that :embarr

also, my mother planted earlier than I and she has a bunch of Celebrities coming in and they are fantastic. Next year, the bulk of my plants will be those. Supporting docs from LSUag.

LSUag tomato taste testing this year

A field tour was held at the Burden Center in July to highlight the Homeowner Tomato Variety Test. A taste test of the top four varieties and two standard (Celebrity and Better Boy) varieties was conducted. Thirty-two individuals participated in the taste test. The varieties were ranked best taste, second-best taste and third-best taste. The top variety was given 3 points, the second given 2 points and the third given 1 point. The total number of points was used to determine the best-tasting tomato variety.

The results of the taste test conducted at the Burden Field day appear below:


Celebrity was selected the best-tasting tomato by the participants on the taste test with Ultrasonic placing second and Better Boy ranked third.

 

[Semper]

I'd love to grow them up here in Wisconsin, but not sure if they would survive.