From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Bethlehem CT

Interesting growing method. If I remember correctly Gordon Graham just let his plant grow wild after a storm ripped through his patch. Later that summer his forgotten and neglected plant produced his world record tomato which lasted as the record for many years.https://www.bdb.co.za/shackle/articles/gordon_graham.htm

7/28/2025 5:50:53 AM

Bethlehem CT

The modern era ushered in smaller plants on mega bloooms, hopefully getting one on the first truss that appears. (Tomato growers correct me if this is wrong info., I don't grow giant tomatoes, so I can't speak with certainty on the cultural techniques you guys are using) Who knows? there may still be several really good ways to grow a record that growers haven't even tried. Some giant vegetable categories have way more secrecy than others. I think tomatoes are one of them. Who knows maybe there is way more secrecy in AG pumpkins than I know of? I don't really think so though.....

7/28/2025 5:59:08 AM

Grittyville, WA

Yeah bigmoon there are some (as far as I know) completely un-tried techniques... the glaringly obvious one is to grow a tomato plant like a pumpkin, with buried vines & rooting along those vines. It would probably look a lot like a watermelon plant from a distance. I think the secrecy level is similar. If knowledge is the limiting factor then secrecy might be a problem. This may be a limiting factor for new growers. However, for those who have been in the hobby for more than a few years, I think most of us get to a point where we know at least a half dozen things we ought to be doing different to get better results but we just dont have the time, money, or willpower to implement those changes. I think I could easily list a dozen things I could do better next year but I'll only try those few things that are within my budget and my willpower.

7/28/2025 7:41:28 AM

Grittyville, WA

I don't think there's a modern vs older way of doing things yet. It's all modern, nothing in tomato growing is old enough to be called old.

I'm posting my info because I'm trying to expand the boundaries of what works, its too soon to narrow it down and say that some technique doesn't work.

I'm even thinking that with the right nutrients a grower could do zero pruning and get a great result. Nothing that we think is critical really is, and the things we assume, we may still do a 180 turn, when we understand them deeper.

7/28/2025 7:58:27 AM

Bethlehem CT

I still think that there might be something to your Washington soil and or climate.

7/28/2025 1:48:05 PM

Grittyville, WA

Certainly. If there's any secret thats the secret. There's the Bermuda triangle and the tomato triangle... I'm in the tomato triangle. I'm certainly not in the melon mountains!

[Last edit: 07/28/25 4:42:49 PM]

7/28/2025 4:41:56 PM