Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 103 Entries. Tuesday, August 4 View Page Hi my name is Bryan, I'm from Australia. This year will be my first year growing giant tomatoes. These are the seeds I'm growing gifted from Phillip (pipster), thank you. I hope I get something big this year.   Tuesday, August 4 View Page Correction it is 5.11 Daho, not 5.13. Also, Big Mac is an accidental cross between 1.28 kg Brag and 6.83 Boudyo or big Zac which produced very large tomatoes. Along with the given from Phillip, I'm also growing a growing a Greek heirloom which produced 3.3 pounder and Big Zac f1.   Friday, August 7 View Page This is my test germination station. There's a heat mat under the table and the top of a propagater above to keep the humidity. Hopefully I can get 100% germination from this.   Tuesday, August 11 View Page Some seedlings popped up. Pretty lanky though...   Sunday, August 16 View Page Here's the trace element fertiliser.   Sunday, August 16 View Page And the back   Monday, August 17 View Page Added some Sulfur to the ground to lower the Ph. Trying to get it to around 5.5. Also put some of that trace mineral stuff, coffee grounds and some eggshells in the soil. Also got some sulfate of potash.   Monday, August 17 View Page My asparagus are huge. This is their second year. For some reason the spears came up in winter.   Monday, August 17 View Page Size compared to my thumb. They're about 1.1 inches thick on calipers.   Wednesday, August 19 View Page This year's line up: Big Zac Delicious (maybe) 5.11? Daho 5.03 Lyons 4.60 unknown Unknown Giant 5.75 Porkchop (if seeds come through) 3 lb Greek variety from a from a friend Line up may change... 4.905 Leadbeatter 8.41 Maccoy offspring   Wednesday, August 19 View Page Change of plans on the line up: 2x 5.11 Daho 2x 8.41 Maccoy offspring 2x 5.75 Porkchop (if they make it) 2x 4.905Leadbeatter 1x Big Zac 1x 5.03 Lyons Planting 2 backup in case the domingos don't come.   Wednesday, August 19 View Page Got the cups ready today. Gonna be sowing them on 22nd August (my bday!!! Yay) on the heat mat propagation thingy shown earlier in my diary. Also got tonnes of eggshells which are going to be buried deep down.   Thursday, August 20 View Page Gonna get two cubic metres (I think..) of topsoil mixed with compost for my birthday. Using it to raise up the current soil level to improve drainage which also makes the soil warmer. Not sure what to do with it so much soil....   Saturday, August 22 View Page 9 hours of work between 2 people today, preparing my present. This pic was the lawn before   Saturday, August 22 View Page Then....   Saturday, August 22 View Page Amendments...   Saturday, August 22 View Page Finally..   Saturday, August 22 View Page The new garden bed is positioned in a very good area. Gets about 10 hours a day of morning and afternoon sun. It is shaded by the house during the scorching evening sun.   Saturday, August 22 View Page Didn't get time for the seeds yesterday so I sowed them today. They're going to be staying in a mini greenhouse(actually a reptile enclosure). Because of the last minute garden bed, there's going to be another change up on the line up and planting 18 giants in total. The old garden bed will be for eating tomatoes.   Sunday, August 30 View Page Having some germination problems... White cobweb mold was growing everywhere on the surface of the soil. Seeds are still alve though :)   Friday, September 4 View Page Can't believe I screwed up the seeds. 1 of 16 germinated... Only a 5.03 Lyons survived. Started some more today in ziplock bags this time.   Friday, September 4 View Page Here's the pic   Monday, September 7 View Page Moved the seeds to soil cuz Steve told me to :)   Monday, September 7 View Page Yummm   Sunday, September 13 View Page The redo seeds are germinating. Nothing much going on around here.   Monday, September 14 View Page Holy "Smokes"! Came home today only to see the seedlings burnt. Hopefully I can save them...   Saturday, September 19 View Page Got myself some canna Rhizotonic I found at the hydroponic store. $45 for 250 mL. Hopefully it gives huge root growth.   Monday, September 21 View Page Shocked with the horrible results with germination. Changed the whole setup and Getting better results so far. So far got 2x 4.905 Leadbeatter, 2x Big Zac, 1x 2.0 McCauley(8.41), 1x 3.0 Bill, 1x Delicous, 1x 5.75 Porkchop, 8 plants in total. 8 more should pop up very soon: 2x 5.75, 1x 1.28 kg McCauley, 1x Delicous, 1x 2.0 McCauley, 1x Brutus Magnum, 1x Big Zac, 1x 5.11 Daho. I spoilt all my 5.03 Lyons and 4.60, sorry Phillip. Also a couple of seedlings died the from the seed suffocating the cotyledons when they germinated. If this happens either carefully cut it off ( I didn't have very good luck with this) or cover the seedling about half to quarter inch of soil and gently firm and wet it down. When seedling comes up the shell should come off :)   Saturday, September 26 View Page Two 5.75 Porkchops, 1.28 kg McCauley and a Delicous popped up today. Seedlings aren't purple or yellow anymore eversince I switched to coir.   Tuesday, September 29 View Page This stuff is weird. Grows against the wood used to make the raised bed. Only grows where I added compost. Some fungi of some sort?   Tuesday, September 29 View Page Washed it up. Looks like roots. Smells funky too!   Saturday, October 10 View Page Patch renovation   Saturday, October 10 View Page Inside.... Still missing a few stakes. Perepared planting holes with five in one fertiliser composed of blood and bone, poultry manure, sheep manure, kelp and seaweed, mushroom compost and zeolite. Will transplant around next week   Sunday, October 11 View Page Hardening the ones that have developed 2 true leaves. I like to get them in the ground when they're small.   Monday, October 12 View Page Yup... This pathetic little battery operated fan can be used as a tomato pollinator. Add some blu tack or putty at the end shaped as shown and remove the fan blades. The spinning action shakes the flower and pollinates it. Used it last year and had good results, and most importantly, works on megablooms.   Thursday, October 15 View Page Bunch of seedlings. There's also a whole lot more, mostly for friends. Remember the seedlings that failed to germinate? Well they didn't. I dumped the soil in the backyard garden and 10 germinated. A few may be eating tomatoes though but I'm very pleased with the accidental germination.   Friday, October 16 View Page Popped by the market today and saw some tomato plants. Surprised to see a plant with an at least 6x megabloom. Ended up not buying it.   Saturday, October 17 View Page Mater patch, transplanted 15, 2x 4.905 Leadbeatter, 3x 5.75 Porkchop, 1x 3.0, 1x 2.0 McCauley, 1x 1.28kg McCauley, 1x 5.11 Daho, 2x Big Zac, 1x Big Beryl, 1x Delicous and 2x Unknown potato leaf (turned out not to be Brutus magnum). The 5.75s had massive root systems.   Saturday, October 17 View Page Lookin good.   Tuesday, October 20 View Page Bad news. Looks like someone or something trashed some tomato plants. 1.28 kg McCauley was ripped out along with 5-6 seedlings still in cups.   Saturday, October 24 View Page Very flat tomato   Saturday, October 24 View Page Under   Friday, October 30 View Page Mater patch update. Beginning to take off. I'll put a whole bunch of pics below   Friday, October 30 View Page Full view   Friday, October 30 View Page Row 1.   Friday, October 30 View Page Row 2   Friday, October 30 View Page Row 3   Friday, October 30 View Page 2.0 McCauley(8.41 Maccoy)   Friday, October 30 View Page Big Beryl   Friday, October 30 View Page 1.28kg Maccauley   Friday, October 30 View Page 5.11 or 5.12? 5.1? something Daho   Friday, October 30 View Page 3.0 Bill. Its leaves are kinda furry   Friday, October 30 View Page 4.905 Leadbeatter   Friday, October 30 View Page Domingo (5.75 Porkchop)   Friday, October 30 View Page Big Zac   Friday, October 30 View Page 1.28kg McCauley   Friday, October 30 View Page Delicious   Friday, October 30 View Page 4.905 Leadbeatter   Friday, October 30 View Page 4.905 Leadbeatter   Thursday, November 5 View Page It's been wet and humid for the past few days. Maters grow real quick in this weather but are very prone to diseases. Should be dry on the weekend.   Monday, November 16 View Page Tallest plants are about 28cm high (11 inches). Domingos and Big Zacs are throwing out some megabloom buds.   Monday, November 16 View Page Brag(1.28kg McCauley) plant A. Potato type leaves look really good.   Monday, November 16 View Page This is the top of Leadbeatter's Lunker(4.905 L.) It seems to be only putting out regular blooms on both plants. Will have to wait and see what kind of tomatoes this one puts out.   Monday, November 16 View Page Big Zac. The origin of this seed was off a website called Burrendong Gardens. I highly doubt that this is a F1 but possibly stabilised as both the Big Zacs are identical. It's the most vigorous of all plants   Monday, November 16 View Page Also foliar fed the maters today with rhizoctonic and seaweed solution. I usually do this early morning or after sunset as the nutrients are more efficiently absorbed from my understanding. When spraying after sunset, I make that the soil is dry so that there is very little humidity lowering the risk of diseases as I also spray underneath the leaves.   Thursday, November 19 View Page Megablooms should be opening within the next two week   Friday, November 20 View Page Very pleased with the mater patch. Plenty of developing megablooms coming along. Hopefully it isn't too wet the next few weeks so I can set some. I'll put a pic of the Domingo's bloom when it's open; they're frickin big!   Saturday, November 21 View Page Foliar fed them again today with seasol (seaweed solution), rhizoctonic and PK 13/14. This will be the same for next week but after that no more PK 13/14.   Friday, November 27 View Page 2 Megablooms on one cluster. The next truss up also has 2 megas. This is on the 1.28kg McCauley (Brag)   Saturday, November 28 View Page A couple of blooms beginning to open, a lot still developing. Tallest mater is about 23 inches high. My plans at first was to prune all the suckers once the first fruit has set ,however, I cut off all the suckers except the one directly below the cluster today (this pic was taken before pruning). This is because the suckers have grown pretty large (6-7 inches) and leaving them to fruit set would mean 10-12+inch suckers being prunedh along with the very vigorous one directly below the first cluster, therefore stressing the plants a lot. I plan on single stemming most plants. Also, yesterday I fed with PK 13/14 and seasol(through the ground) and side dressed them. Other than that, temperatures have been changing drastically, from 33C down to 17C in one night (60F difference). I think they've acclimated to this weather and its sudden changes as they did not suffer any shock.   Tuesday, December 1 View Page Bagged all unopened blossoms and pollinated one on the Leadbeatter's Lunker yesterday   Wednesday, December 2 View Page Bloom on Big Zac A   Wednesday, December 2 View Page Big Beryl. Biggest mega that has opened so far   Wednesday, December 2 View Page 4.905 Leadbeatter.   Friday, December 4 View Page Pollinated a whole bunch of flowers today. Leadbeatter's Lunker(4.905 L.) B set its first megabloom. Took 6 days to pollinate (opened for 5 days) so DAP 1 today.   Friday, December 4 View Page Big Beryl   Friday, December 4 View Page Brag (1.28kg McCauley) B. This picture was taken yesterday. This is the plant with 2 megas on the same truss. The bottom flower seems to have 1 un-fused stigma.   Friday, December 4 View Page Delicious. I really like this one   Friday, December 4 View Page Big Zac (2.0 McCauley)(8.41 McCoy). This one also looks real good.   Friday, December 4 View Page One of the big Domingo blooms I was talking about, however, doesn't look very impressive in this picture. Only half of the blooms in this megabloom have opened so far so it looks really messed up   Sunday, December 6 View Page Backyard shot. Full of bonsai   Sunday, December 6 View Page Backyard shot. Full of bonsai   Sunday, December 6 View Page Another shot   Sunday, December 6 View Page More.   Sunday, December 6 View Page Elm bonsai forest.   Sunday, December 6 View Page Oops. The photos are sideways and upside down. Also found a tonne of leaf mould so I sprayed them with 1 tbs of Baking Soda and 1 tbs in a gallon of water (US tablespoon). Doesn't kill it but have hopefully prevents or slows down growth and spread.   Sunday, December 6 View Page This one's for you Porkchop (zoom in on the label).   Monday, December 14 View Page Crappy shot of the garden.   Monday, December 14 View Page Domingo (5.75 Porkchop 2014) B, DAP 4. Looks to be five fused together. Getting very worried about the light brown developing on it. Hopefully it blotches don't darken or expand in size. This plant was topped when the tomato was set.   Thursday, December 17 View Page It's beginning to get very hot. Yesterday was 37C, today will be 37C, tomorrow forecasted to be 41C! I rigged up some shade cloth, there a quite a few nice blooms growing.   Thursday, December 17 View Page Here's the 3+ Bizos, the same as what I first called 3.0 Bill or 3.3 Bill. I'm letting this plant grow normally as its clusters are huge. Also testing a secret pruning technique on this plant.   Thursday, December 17 View Page Big Beryl... Topped a few days ago   Thursday, December 17 View Page Here's the mater on the Big Beryl. It's got a really nice lengthy stem to it. I also don't expect this one to get too large as it isn't a giant variety.   Thursday, December 17 View Page Another shot of it...forgot to mention its on DAP 3.   Thursday, December 17 View Page Big Zac (5.1? Daho) DAP 3.   Thursday, December 17 View Page And finally... One that is growing real fast. Domingo (5.75 Porkchop 2014) 10-1/4"CC on DAP 8. The brown marks earlier turned out to be scratches. It looks to be 2 seperate tomatoes however both parts aren't wiggling.   Thursday, December 17 View Page Shot from behind. The tomato is growing in a very awkward position, rubbing on the lead branch. Once it gets heavier, gravity will weigh it down separating contact with the leaf branch so it won't be much of a problem anymore. I really prefer long stems like the one on Big Beryl.   Sunday, December 20 View Page Domingo (5.75 Porckchop 2014) B DAP 11, 13-1/4"CC. They grow real fast when nights are cool.   Saturday, December 26 View Page Delicious are really nice looking plants. It's got a 4 fused that set on today.   Saturday, December 26 View Page Big Zac (2 McCauley) DAP 8.   Saturday, December 26 View Page Domingo (5.75 Porkchop 2014) B. DAP 17, 17-3/8"CC. Hoping 5lbs when it finishes.   Saturday, December 26 View Page Big Beryl DAP 12, 11"CC. Beginning to show its stripes.   Tuesday, December 29 View Page 20"CC on DAP 20. Gained 3/4" yesterday and gained a full inch today. I noticed that most of the growing occurs at night...hope it lasts at least another 20 days. Also, the position of this mater is getting worse... Its in contact with 3 different stems including the stem holding itself. Around 27" would be 5lbs for this one as its a Domingo and because its shape is very crappy. I've got a double fused Domingo going on plant C about 5ft up high on the plant which is also growing very fast. All the other plants don't have anything promising