http://www.settfest.com The annual South East Texas Tomato Festival (SETTFest) is a gathering of tomato growers and friends who want to celebrate, grow, and sample Heirloom tomatoes. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:42:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 2009 was a rough year for growing tomatoes in S.E. Texas. Temperatures were cold for longer than expected, and then the blast furnace kicked on from April nonstop through July. It's a wonder many of us got tomatoes at all! That said, we still had quite a turnout at SETTFest ... http://www.settfest.com/2010/01/2009-a-rough-year-looking-forward-to-2010/ I've been making a lot of oven roasted sauce lately. It's an easy way to turn your excess tomato harvest into a tasty, rich sauce to enjoy throughout the year. I originally got the idea from critterologist on Dave's Garden, who wrote an informative and detailed article about ... http://www.settfest.com/2009/06/oven-roasted-tomato-sauce/ The 3rd annual South East Texas Tomato Festival (SETTFest) returned to the historic Washington on the Brazos state park on June 13th, 2009. We had our best turnout yet, with familiar faces, new folks, and unexpected guests. We had a great time, had everything set up early, so we could ... http://www.settfest.com/2009/06/settfest-2009-best-year-ever/ Tomato Growing Timeline Spring Crop Start seeds: December 25th - January 15th Transplant: Feb 21st - March 18th (protect from late frosts if necessary) Fruit set: April 1st - May 15th Usual peak harvest: May 15th - July 10th Fall Crop Start seeds: June 1st - July 1st Rooting cuttings: June 15th - July 25th Transplant: July 21st - ... http://www.settfest.com/2009/02/se-texas-tomato-growing-calendars/ Tomato seeds are surrounded by a gel which contains a germination inhibitor. I like to clean my tomato seeds by processing them with Oxiclean washing powder. Not only does it remove this germination inhibitor, and any bits of tomato that might be sticking to the seeds, but it may also ... http://www.settfest.com/2009/01/saving-seeds/ [gallery link="file"] The Right Soil When they first germinate, tomato seeds are vulnerable to any bacterial or fungal spores which might be present in your growing medium. If shortly after they germinate, your tomato seedlings die, especially with a dark ring just below the soil line, this is damping off. This can be ... http://www.settfest.com/2009/01/starting-from-seed-2/ A frequent question we get is what varieties do well in Texas? To my mind, this is not a question that can be answered easily by simply providing a list. We have found that timely planting is every bit as important as variety selection, and a common mistake new tomato ... http://www.settfest.com/2009/01/recommended-tomato-varieties/ Seed Sources There are several reputable sources for tomato seeds, but three we particularly like based on their selection and service are Tomato Growers Supply, Victory Seeds, and Seed Savers Exchange. All of these companies are convenient to order from online, germination rates are good, crossed seeds are infrequent, and ... http://www.settfest.com/2009/01/where-to-buy-recommended-vendors/ There are any number of ways to support tomato plants. Some work better than others, depending on the size of the plants. While we do grow a few dwarf and determinate tomato varieties, the vast majority of the tomato varieties we grow are indeterminate, producing 5-10' tall plants. The cone-shaped ... http://www.settfest.com/2009/01/support-your-plants/ Diseases The most common and problematic diseases of tomato plants in Central and South Texas are fungal foliage (rather than systemic) diseases such as Early Blight and Septoria Leaf Spot. We also occasionally see some minor Bacterial Spot/Speck, but have not found that these usually prevent the possibility of obtaining ... http://www.settfest.com/2009/01/pests-and-diseases/