Winter Tomatoes in Fl. (Plus veggies and garden pics)

[PlainJane]

Wow, love the orchids.
I’ve grown and loved Kellogg’s Breakfast but somehow never grew KBX - until this year. So looking forward to tasting it!

[MsCowpea]

Picked 3 African Queens , all over a pound, Biggest was 21.5 oz. (average about 20 oz). Large tomato but so far AQ tastes just OK , though someone we gave it to loved it. The jury is still out though, there are more to try.

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[PlainJane]

Wow, those are gigantic!

[eyegrotom]

Nice looking maters

[Ginger2778]

Picked 3 African Queens , all over a pound, Biggest was 21.5 oz. (average about 20 oz). Large tomato but so far AQ tastes just OK , though someone we gave it to loved it. The jury is still out though, there are more to try.
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They look beautiful. I've never ever gotten mine so large. Maybe half that size, or less. I love the flavor, sweet and intense in my growing conditions. It amazes me how different growing conditions can change a flavor so much. I wish yours were better.☹

[MsCowpea]

From what I read it is a huge tomato. Ted from Muddy Bucket on TV said he got one over 1 and 3/4 pound (the biggest tomato he had in 4 years ) and the others were over a pound. He loved it. TomatoFest says it should be 1 to 2 pounds so the size seems right. I do love the flavor of Big Zac and even Delicious and the Brandywines for a big tomato but African Queen was easier to grow and much more prolific for such a big tomato. I tried Terhune but with AQ those big tomatoes formed perfectly on the plant with no effort. Maybe with a little less water it will stand out like the KBX and Polish I am getting now.

(Just looked AQ up in Amy Goldman’s book, she introduced it. The one pictured is 2 pounds 5 oz. Says it is excellent w/ well balanced flavor. )

[MsCowpea]

2:45 am. Really cold out, for Florida . Wind is whipping the tomato branches around, toppling a few cages. Feral cat is in his house with heating pad.

[Ginger2778]

From what I read it is a huge tomato. Ted from Muddy Bucket on TV said he got one over 1 and 3/4 pound (the biggest tomato he had in 4 years ) and the others were over a pound. He loved it. TomatoFest says it should be 1 to 2 pounds so the size seems right. I do love the flavor of Big Zac and even Delicious and the Brandywines for a big tomato but African Queen was easier to grow and much more prolific for such a big tomato. I tried Terhune but with AQ those big tomatoes formed perfectly on the plant with no effort. Maybe with a little less water it will stand out like the KBX and Polish I am getting now.

(Just looked AQ up in Amy Goldman’s book, she introduced it. The one pictured is 2 pounds 5 oz. Says it is excellent w/ well balanced flavor. )

I think I'm just not very good at growing big tomatoes.
Did you get any Daniels at the MG sale? It was another pink PL beefsteak, always outstanding.

[MsCowpea]

I didn’t see any Daniels—would have tried it for sure. But I am not usually into big tomatoes—if I have my druthers much prefer cocktail size. I got the Terhune for fun. Just to try once to see how big it got without any special effort. When they used to keep records , the Florida record for a big tomato is a measly 3 pounds and something. Now I realize to get a 3 pound tomato is an amazing feat.

[MsCowpea]

Marsha, I love the Candy Sweet Icicle tomato from MG sale but mine is pink and pretty. But On Brad Gates Wild Boar Farm website CSI is red. He does have a tomato called Streak Lightning that looks more like the one I have. I ordered both of them because I would like to compare. Do you have pink or red? In my pictures it looks sort of orangey pink but in person it looks pink. Thank you for growing this one for the sale-I will plant again.

[Ginger2778]

My CSI are pink, and if I Google Candy Sweet Icicle tomato photo, they pretty much look like mine. The epi is clear with stripes.
I think Streak Lightning isn't Brad's creation. I think Its Blane's.

[MsCowpea]

Is Candy Sweet Icicle originally a Brad Gates Tomato? I will have to wait til next year to see what I get.

https://wildboarfarms.com/product/candy-sweet-icicle/

But the pink one is fantastic, it will be hard to beat.

[Ginger2778]

Is Candy Sweet Icicle originally a Brad Gates Tomato? I will have to wait til next year to see what I get.

https://wildboarfarms.com/product/candy-sweet-icicle/

But the pink one is fantastic, it will be hard to beat.

Yes, that one is Brad's. It lives up to its name, right?Heres the history and color, from Tatiana's wondeful tomatobase.
http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Candy_Sweet_Icicle

[Ginger2778]

According to Tatiana's, Streak Lightning was also developed by Brad, my mistake.

[MsCowpea]

Good, Bad, and Ugly
So many butterflies but impossible to get a pic. Zebras and orange one, Julia?

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Sunscald and other issues.

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Little birds love my tomatoes. That is lyuda’s mom on the right.

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High winds, many broken branches.

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[Nan6b]

Ms. Cowpea, it's a good thing you have those butterflies to cheer you up!

[MsCowpea]

Yup, that is true I could sit down there and watch them a long time , preferably with a cup of coffee!

[PlainJane]

Sorry about the tomato damage. Love the zinnias, Julia and Zebra Longwing!

[Barb_FL]

So it's Lyuda's Mom. I'm growing it too. So many of my plants in the back are toast since high winds for days (30MPH sustained) before gusts, then cold, then rain on Weds/Thurday. My branches/leaves look like cooked spinach. Our night time real feel was to be 29 so I went out and picked all the ripening large ones. That ended up being a good idea.

Surprisingly, the tomato plants on the east side of the house were much less affected.

Now that the damage is done, the wind is pretty much gone. Again, my Kent mango tree lost it's blooms.

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Just an observations, but Brad Gate's large tomatoes are so soft even before they are fully ripe. I really never noticed it before. After the storm, I pulled both PBTD and Black and Brown boar.

[MsCowpea]

. my Kent mango tree lost it's blooms

Now, that really is a catastrophe. We Floridians really look forward to our mangos.