Thank you. Here in Florida 9b, I'm also trying some Fall tomatoes. According to Farmers Almanac, Our frost dates are January 3rd to the 30th. My starts are doing well (indoors) and I'll put them out after hurricane Idalia passes by. I look forward to progress reports on your late tomatoes.
I hope that you will be successful with your tomatoes. I was curious what part of Louisiana do you live. When was the last time that you got any rain??
Nice video, thank you. Your garden is gorgeous with great variety. Here's what I know. The days to harvest on the package is an oversimplification. What matters is something called Growing Degree Days, GDD. Sometimes Growing Degree Hours or heat units. Same idea, different names. This is more accurate and it's what farmers use to predict crop and pest growth. Plants need light, of course, but grow in response to heat. We all know that plants grow more in August than in April and it's because of the warmth. Below a certain temp they don't grow at all and above a certain temp they don't grow any faster. For tomatoes the range is 50-92F. 50F is called the base temp. It's different for each crop. To calculate, you get the daily measured average temp minus the base temp. So if your low is 70 and your high is 90 it's (70+90)/2 - 50 = 30 units. That's for one day and they get added up each day. Tomatoes need roughly 1300 units minimum-it varies by type. So for those temps we're looking at roughly 45 days from setting out in the garden. 1300/30=~45. Again, a rough estimate-cherry toms take less than beefsteaks. This is important because this time of year we get the maximum units per day so we get the most growth, more than when we start the plants in the cool Spring. The plants will grow faster and set fruit in fewer calendar days than those we planted early in the year. If a frost threatens we can cover the plant or harvest the fruit to ripen indoors if a hard freeze is expected. This is also where microclimates factor in. You put those pots by that brick wall. That will raise the nighttime low by a couple of degrees. Covering them at night when appropriate helps. It's not a lot but it does add up. Another consideration is sometimes a frost is followed by decently warm weather so if you can protect it for a few nights, there's plenty of good growing weather on the other side. We get a frost around mid October but can be in shirtsleeves on Halloween. I found this when I was looking at planting corn later in the season due to having another crop in that space. I'm up in Z5b/6a and didn't plant my corn until mid-July and got a perfect harvest. It was an absolute game changer for my fall garden and succession planting. Most folks up here are pretty much done by August and I'm just getting started for Fall. There are better explanations online and handy calculators by zip code for more information. If you start seeds early enough you can absolutely have warm weather veg later in the season. The Weather Channel has average temps under 'monthly' to help you plan. Sorry for the long post, but you did ask... ;-)
Great comments! I personally haven't heard this explanation of heat units but I'm open as any gardener should be. Thanks for the detailed description and is something I've got to better understand. Thanks again!!
I'm with you, I try fall tomatoes every year! In the city, 9b backyard microclimate. Determinants and large red cherry are my favs. Thx for the info and happy growing ☘️ also ❤ Cleggs!!!
The heat killed my tomatoes even though carefully watered them. The ones that got a little bit of afternoon shade held on until we got hot gusty winds. I finally gave up and took cuttings. I’ll replant once they root and it cools off. I was able to grow more tomatoes than I could use in other parts of the country in the past. So I was dismayed when it got so hot here that they just gave up. Your garden videos are a good help though. Glad to hear that my cuttings/new plants might not be such a bad idea.
You are absolutely right!! Tomatoes have been stunted even more than ever with this brutal heat! New plants are the way to go if you pick a short-season type.
Yes, a good part of my backyard is raised beds. It's a lot of hard work but fun and satisfying to grow whatever I want and keep it organic. My wife thinks it is too much but that is okay.
Thank you. Here in Florida 9b, I'm also trying some Fall tomatoes. According to Farmers Almanac, Our frost dates are January 3rd to the 30th. My starts are doing well (indoors) and I'll put them out after hurricane Idalia passes by. I look forward to progress reports on your late tomatoes.
I'll sure post some updates. I'm jealous of frost dates being in January though!!! Thanks for checking out the video!!
I hope that you will be successful with your tomatoes. I was curious what part of Louisiana do you live. When was the last time that you got any rain??
I got rain last night. First in weeks. I'm in the southeast part of East Baton Rouge Parish. When are you located and have you recieved any rain?
Nice video, thank you. Your garden is gorgeous with great variety.
Here's what I know. The days to harvest on the package is an oversimplification. What matters is something called Growing Degree Days, GDD. Sometimes Growing Degree Hours or heat units. Same idea, different names. This is more accurate and it's what farmers use to predict crop and pest growth.
Plants need light, of course, but grow in response to heat. We all know that plants grow more in August than in April and it's because of the warmth. Below a certain temp they don't grow at all and above a certain temp they don't grow any faster. For tomatoes the range is 50-92F. 50F is called the base temp. It's different for each crop.
To calculate, you get the daily measured average temp minus the base temp. So if your low is 70 and your high is 90 it's (70+90)/2 - 50 = 30 units. That's for one day and they get added up each day. Tomatoes need roughly 1300 units minimum-it varies by type. So for those temps we're looking at roughly 45 days from setting out in the garden. 1300/30=~45. Again, a rough estimate-cherry toms take less than beefsteaks.
This is important because this time of year we get the maximum units per day so we get the most growth, more than when we start the plants in the cool Spring. The plants will grow faster and set fruit in fewer calendar days than those we planted early in the year. If a frost threatens we can cover the plant or harvest the fruit to ripen indoors if a hard freeze is expected.
This is also where microclimates factor in. You put those pots by that brick wall. That will raise the nighttime low by a couple of degrees. Covering them at night when appropriate helps. It's not a lot but it does add up.
Another consideration is sometimes a frost is followed by decently warm weather so if you can protect it for a few nights, there's plenty of good growing weather on the other side. We get a frost around mid October but can be in shirtsleeves on Halloween.
I found this when I was looking at planting corn later in the season due to having another crop in that space. I'm up in Z5b/6a and didn't plant my corn until mid-July and got a perfect harvest. It was an absolute game changer for my fall garden and succession planting. Most folks up here are pretty much done by August and I'm just getting started for Fall.
There are better explanations online and handy calculators by zip code for more information. If you start seeds early enough you can absolutely have warm weather veg later in the season. The Weather Channel has average temps under 'monthly' to help you plan.
Sorry for the long post, but you did ask... ;-)
Great comments! I personally haven't heard this explanation of heat units but I'm open as any gardener should be. Thanks for the detailed description and is something I've got to better understand. Thanks again!!
So awesome
Thanks, hopefully, I'll have some tomatoes in no time!!
I'm with you, I try fall tomatoes every year! In the city, 9b backyard microclimate. Determinants and large red cherry are my favs. Thx for the info and happy growing ☘️ also ❤ Cleggs!!!
Sounds great! I'm looking forward to getting some tomatoes in before the first frost and I know you are too!!! Thanks for commenting and Garden On!!
The heat killed my tomatoes even though carefully watered them. The ones that got a little bit of afternoon shade held on until we got hot gusty winds. I finally gave up and took cuttings. I’ll replant once they root and it cools off. I was able to grow more tomatoes than I could use in other parts of the country in the past. So I was dismayed when it got so hot here that they just gave up. Your garden videos are a good help though. Glad to hear that my cuttings/new plants might not be such a bad idea.
Oh, no!
You are absolutely right!! Tomatoes have been stunted even more than ever with this brutal heat! New plants are the way to go if you pick a short-season type.
You have a nice setup. Looks like most of your back yard is raised beds!
Yes, a good part of my backyard is raised beds. It's a lot of hard work but fun and satisfying to grow whatever I want and keep it organic. My wife thinks it is too much but that is okay.