HALF MOON BAY, CA TOMATO TRIAL - 2007
The goal of this project was to identify tomato varieties that produced well close to the ocean in Half Moon Bay’s cool, damp, summer climate using common home gardener growing techniques. The four most successful cultivars were: Black Krim, Jaune Flamme, Jetsetter, and Taxi. It was noted that all of the tomatoes had thicker skin than the same tomato grown in a warmer climate. Also, even most of the “unsuccessful” tomato cultivars produced small, thick skinned, but very intensely flavored fruit. We grew one row of eight tomatoes using a clear plastic mulch to add warmth to the soil. Four of the plants were covered with a floating row cover secured over the trellis. Those four covered with the floating row cover grew more rapidly, set more and earlier fruit, and suffered fewer aphid and blight problems than the four uncovered tomatoes.
Seedlings and their care: Very tiny tomato seedlings, eleven cultivars (two of each kind), were purchased from Love Apple Farm on April 7, 2007. Two four-inch plants, Silitz and Jetsetter, were purchased at Lumberman’s in Santa Cruz on April 7, 2007. The twenty-four plants were potted in 1-gallon black, plastic nursery pots on April 14th. We used a commercial potting mix and amended the mix with tomato fertilizer. The pots were placed on a south-facing, terraced bed in San Mateo, CA. The plants were watered as needed, approximately every other day. A half dose of Fish Emulsion and Maxi Crop were given to the plants about once a week. They grew rapidly and even set blossoms before being transplanted to Half Moon Bay (HMB). We think it is important to pot-up seedling as soon as possible thus enabling the plant to grow large before transplanting. It is also important to give the plants strong daylight and nighttime protection if necessary.
Protecting from Gophers: Before planting at HMB, we constructed 32 Gopher Cages, one for each of our tomatoes. We used a roll of 1/2” X 1/2” galvanized wire mesh 4’ wide by 100’ long. We cut the wire into 2’ wide strips and wound it around a 5 gallon paint bucket as a frame and secured the wire cylinder with three black electric ties. We formed a basket by stepping on the wire to fold the bottom of the basket flat.
Preparation of the Plot: Our trial plot was located at 201 Kelly Ave, Half Moon Bay, CA, at Andreotti Family Farms’ Ocean View Golf Driving Range. Our plot was approximately 24’ X 24’. We used 4 rows running north/south with 5’ between rows and 3’ in-row spacing. One of the staff from the farm rototilled the site which was previously sod. The West and South side were protected from wind, but not shaded much, by 8’ tall hedges.
The Soil Farm of Half Moon Bay delivered four cubic yards of well-aged mushroom compost on May 9th. We spread the compost, sprinkled on fertilizer, and forked the amendments into the top 6” of soil. We dug 18” deep holes and sunk the gopher baskets into the ground. We pounded in four 10’ T-bars per row, attached the 4’ X 7’ cement reinforcing wire as a trellis for the tomatoes. On May 17th we planted the tomatoes into the gopher cages, raked the bed flat and watered the plants in. From time to time we used poly twine to tie the tomato vines to the wire trellis. Poly twine will hold without slipping with only one tie (a knot is not necessary). On May 30th we attached a clear plastic windbreak on the north side of the plot, then weeded, watered, recorded, and tied up the tomatoes as they grew.
What worked and what didn't: While we did many things right, we were challenged on other fronts. We aggravated the clay soil problem by amending all the soil in the gopher baskets thus creating a “flower pot” effect making watering difficult. On August 27th we installed two drip lines per row a few inches away from the baskets and a timer, it worked quite well. Other problems were aphids, gophers, and some early and late blight. Regarding aphid, it would probably have been wise to use light row cover for protection from aphid. Plants to feed beneficial & predatory insects could have been added to the plot for aphid protection; for instance, yarrow, anise hyssop, dill, wild buckwheat (Eriogonum ssp.), and cosmos and many others. We did not use fungicide to protect our plants from early and late blight, perhaps sulfur dust would have helped. We should have pruned some of the excess growth to improve air circulation and have been more diligent tying the vines to the trellis.
Despite problems, which surely limited production, our tomatoes did well and produced. We picked tomatoes and participated in the San Mateo/San Francisco Counties Master Gardeners’ Tomato Tasting at the HMB Farmer’s Market in September. It was wonderful to talk with local gardeners about tomato growing and tasting. A few months later the San Francisco Chronicle wrote an article about our trial which generated phone calls to our MG HelpLine.
Results: The four successful tomato cultivars:
1. BLACK KRIM. 75 days*. Indeterminate. Large sprawling vines. On September 15th I picked four 3 ½” fruits, four 2” fruits, and 4 marble size. This tomato is a slightly flattened, maroon tomato with deep green shoulders. Beautiful green gel around the seeds. This tomato produced more fruit and better flavored fruit than a Black Krim that I grew in San Mateo, albeit, with thicker skin. Wonderfully intense flavor, with a saltiness added by Mother Nature.
2. JAUNE FLAMME. 70 to 80 days*. Indeterminate. Tall wispy vines. One of these two plants produced sixty-one fruits for the SM/SF MGs Tomato Tasting at HMB Farmer’s Market on September 15th. Despite a vigorous aphid attack, this cultivar was quite productive over an extended period in HMB. Clusters of deep orange fruit the size and shape of a small apricot. Very flavorful fruit, sweet as a strawberry.
3. JETSETTER. 64 days*.Indeterminate. F1 Hybrid disease resistant: VFFNTA. This vigorous, healthy, plant with floppy branches which become brittle at the end of the season yielded a of 2 ½” fruits with a rich tomato taste. Well balanced flavor.
4. TAXI. 65 to 70 days*. Determinate. Tiny, ugly, productive bush. One of these small plants produced thirty-four fruits from cherry size to 1 ½” size. Taxi is bright yellow, smooth, meaty, mild and acid free.
These days to maturity are typical in a warmer climate. In Half Moon Bay the tomatoes didn’t ripen until the warmer days of September, at 100 to 120 days. This time period is approximately 35% to 50% longer than the seed packet days to maturity.
Special Thanks for the support of Half Moon Bay businesses who supported this research project:
Andreotti Family Farms
Rice Trucking & Soil Farm
Tomato bed preparation
Home School
Carol's tomatoes
Speaking with gardeners
Submitted by Project Leader: Carol O’Donnell,Master Gardener
San Mateo & San Francisco Counties