Planning for the big one

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zendog
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Planning for the big one

#1

Post: # 46707Unread post zendog
Thu May 13, 2021 9:13 pm

I received some Big Marley seeds in the MMMM ths year, which is supposed to be one of those giant tomatoes you grow to win the break the world record or at least win the county fair. It turns out we have a county fair coming up.

So now I want to grow "the big one", the winner of all giantness, the biggest tomato in the county.

I started my seeds and have planted one myself and given away 5 to other gardeners in my area. So there should be a lot of Big Marley tomatoes tipping the scales at the fair.

I assume I pinch off all blossoms and focus on getting the plant big and strong until a certain number of days away from the fair, then select a few, hopefully megablooms, to let get all the goodness of the big plant and let those form the tomato or tomatoes that I hope to enter. So the question is how many days from bloom to fair entry for one of these jumbos. Anyone have a secret formula - maybe 42 days, maybe 52 days or ....?

Please help. My honor is at stake.

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MissS
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Re: Planning for the big one

#2

Post: # 46716Unread post MissS
Fri May 14, 2021 4:04 am

Most of the growers of large veggies that I know don't shoot for a specific date of maturity but rather the largest fruit in the world. These they then take to a registered scale and also photograph. Many times these fruits will also make it to the county fair just because the dates are compatible. Large tomatoes normally take a little longer to ripen than your regular tomatoes, so you most likely would like to give them a week or two more time than when your main crop ripens. So when do you usually get your first tomatoes? From there, give you plant a week or two head start. If it's not ripe in time, I don't see why you couldn't take a huge green tomato to the fair unless their is some rule on color.
~ Patti ~

zendog
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Re: Planning for the big one

#3

Post: # 46775Unread post zendog
Fri May 14, 2021 8:04 pm

Thanks [mention]MissS[/mention]. Do you or anyone else have a good guess for timing a big tomato from flower to ripening? I'll admit I've never really paid attention to exactly how long it takes. And while I know I can't be exact and I should probably pick a megabloom if I'm trying for a big tomato instead of worrying about the exact timing, I was thinking I should maybe look to pick one or a few to baby along somewhere around 45 days out. Does that make sense?

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Rockoe10
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Re: Planning for the big one

#4

Post: # 46776Unread post Rockoe10
Fri May 14, 2021 8:20 pm

For reference, I planted my large beefsteak tomatoes out mid May. I got flowers on it right away and I pulled them off. The next set of flowers showed up the first week of June. I picked the fruit that those flowers produced the second week of August, and they were still green. The largest tomato was 1lb12oz.

So, you're looking at two months-ish at least
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Rob, ZONE 6A with 170 days between frost dates, Western Pennsylvania

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MissS
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Re: Planning for the big one

#5

Post: # 46781Unread post MissS
Fri May 14, 2021 8:52 pm

I would most definitely choose a fused bloom and I would pollinate several of them. As they start to mature you will have a better idea of which one is growing the fastest and then you can decide which fruits to cull. One egg in your basket is never a good idea.

Many of the big tomato growers post in their diaries here: http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Default.asp While I know that we do have some growers of large tomatoes here, who knows when the will log in again to help you. I used this site a lot when I grew giant pumpkins.
~ Patti ~

zendog
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Re: Planning for the big one

#6

Post: # 51497Unread post zendog
Sat Jul 31, 2021 2:16 pm

Well Big Marley didn't turn out to be that big - I'm pretty sure I confused seedlings and actually gave it away so was growing sometihng else thinking it was going to be huge. It is actually a medium sized heart... oh well.

But the good news is I have a 1884 Pink that was from a fused bloom and looks to be at least a couple pounds, so I'll have something to enter if I can just keep it alive until the fair which is August 18th. The fruit is currently just starting to blush, so I'm a bit worried it won't make it if left on the bush or brought inside to room temps?

So does anyone have any idea how long a large heirloom tomato that is just blushing will keep in the fridge? And if I take it out on August 18th will it finish ripening or just go to mush? Any help or insight is greatly appreciated!

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Rockoe10
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Re: Planning for the big one

#7

Post: # 51516Unread post Rockoe10
Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:38 pm

Ooof, the shelf life of a tomato is heavily dependent on the variety and its "health" when it's stored.

I wouldn't expect perfection after a week.
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Tormato
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Re: Planning for the big one

#8

Post: # 51578Unread post Tormato
Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:57 pm

Word is (and there's little word since world record attempters are kind of a secretive bunch) that BIg Marley has been sort of a bust.

Domingo still seems to be the best one to grow for giant size.

zendog
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Re: Planning for the big one

#9

Post: # 51593Unread post zendog
Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:47 pm

The mater in question with its little friend. A few ounces under 2 pounds, so not huge but possibly competitive in a weak field here in suburbia.
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Shule
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Re: Planning for the big one

#10

Post: # 51677Unread post Shule
Tue Aug 03, 2021 3:31 am

In addition to Domingo, next time you might try Church, Terhune, Big Zac F1, Neves Azorean Red, Delicious, Bill Bean, Omar's Lebanese, and who knows what else. I'd recommend giving your tomatoes extra potassium, which should help increase fruit size, heat-tolerance, and make it ripen a bit sooner. Extra phosphorus might help, too for earlier ripening. Copper is supposed to help fruits absorb more water (but don't use too much). Many fruits get a lot bigger if watered a lot, too. Mycorrizae is supposed to help fruit size for some crops, too; I'm not sure if it works, let alone with tomatoes (but I tried it once).

Judicious pruning, and thinning the fruits may help, too, according to some.

Our county fair is in early August. I've been thinking for a long time now that they should switch it to September, though. That's when the biggest crops really seem to come out. Early August is still before the heat usually drops.
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

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