Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 22 Entries. Saturday, June 14 View Page Here was my lineup for 2013: 1884 (3.375 Kirschenmann 2003) King Kong (Shlomin 2012) Leadbeatter's Lunker (4.905 Leadbeatter 2012) Italo (__ Meisner 2005)(5.78 Italo 2005) Big Zac (2.962 DT 2012) MegaMarv (5.51 Meisner 2011) Church (3.208 DT 2012) Chilo della Garfagnana (3.375 Koshykar 2012) Michael's Portuguese Monster (2.610 DT 2012) Big Zac (5.64 Timm 2010) Domingo (4.55 Wahl 2012) Delicious (7.33 Hunt 2010) Big Zac (3.486 DT 2012) Peter Glazebrook's Special (Johnson 2012) Big Zac (5.32 Lyons 2011) Thunder Creek (3.313 Chambers 2004) Big Zac, Epsteins PL (Johnson 2012) Big Zac (5.50 Johnston/Butler 2012) Delicious (5.41 Landry 2011) Burgess (4.188 Chambers 2006) So last year I attempted to lay vines along the ground and bury them, much as is commonly done with pumpkin vines. Stems grew very thick. There was massive production of suckers and vines, with a good number of megablooms on nearly every plant. But it was a record hot summer and I could not get any megablooms to set fruit until September. Plus I became too busy (and a bit discouraged...) to keep up with pruning and thinning. I got nothing over 2 lbs. for the effort, but did save some good seeds. Actually I did get just one tomato over 2 lbs., but not in the giant tomato bed. It developed with no help on one of 1,600 plants of 880 varieties slated for production: Polish Giant Beefsteak (2.222 DT 2013). Beat out all Delicious, MegaMarv, Big Zac (OP), etc. Needless to say, I'm keeping my eye on this variety. Saturday, June 14 View Page This year I prepped the 7'X33' giant tomato bed with about 6" of additional organic matter. I put in 24 plants in 2 rows, spaced about 3' apart. Here is the lineup: Delicious (6.51 Meisner 2011) Big Zac (4.57 MacCoy 2013)(5.07 Boudyo 2010) Domingo (4.55 Wahl 2008) Big Zac (3.486 DT 2008) Church (3.208 DT 2008) MegaMarv (4.23 Wahl 2008) Brutus Magnum (2.006 DT 2012) Delicious (4.78 Lorson 2008) Michael's Portuguese Monster (2.610 DT 2008) Rebecca Sebastian's Bull Bag (2.200 DT 2010) Russian (2.319 DT 2010) Big Zac (3.75 Catapano 2007) Big Zac (5.50 Johnston/Butler 2012) MegaMarv (2.678 DT 2012) Omar's Lebanese (1.724 DT 2010) Big Zac (_ Johnson 2013)(7.18 Harp 2010) Belmonte (1.824 DT 2010) Leadbeatter's Lunker (4.905 Leadbeatter 2012) Rhode Island Giant (1.934 DT 2013) Church (1.662 DT 2010)(4.48 Perry 2010) Polish Giant Beefsteak (2.222 DT 2013) Epstein's Potato Leaf (_ Johnson 2012)(derived from Big Zac) Sumo (1.782 DT 2012) Chilo della Garfagnana (3.375 Koshykar 2008) These will be grown in the more traditional, upright manner. I don't anticipate having the time to devote to burying stems. Kinda sad, I guess, but this is why I'm not growing any giant pumpkins this year - just too time consuming. And I've scaled back on tomato production too, "only" about 900 plants of 501 varieties. Picture is from transplanting day, May 22nd. Saturday, June 14 View Page First tomato of the season to set fruit, beating out 500 other varieties... MegaMarv (2.678 DT 2012) March 25 - seed sown in 1-gallon pot March 30 - seedling emerged May 22 - transplanted into giant tomato bed May 24 - megabloom (a tightly fused triple) opened and pollinated June 01 - fruit set and beginning to grow June 08 - this picture taken Now growing well, but nothing too impressive yet. It has already been so hot that no other megablooms have taken - in fact not a single other blossom has set fruit, despite many efforts at manual pollination. Good news is that so far it has not been as hot as last year. Soon I will put shade cloth over the entire bed. Monday, July 21 View Page Most impressive young fruit to date, Michael's Portuguese Monster (2.610 DT 2012). Counted 8 dried stigmas; scars show possibly as many as 14 fused ovaries and growing fast! More pics at: http://delectationoftomatoes.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/promising-tomatoes-a-14x/ Wednesday, July 30 View Page At 17 days after fruit set, this Michael's Portuguese Monster weighs an estimated 1.46 lbs. and continues to grow at an impressive rate. It is 3.5 times as large as my personal best was at 17 days along in 2012. That Big Zac grew to 3.486 lbs., but it grew in September, October and into November when the weather was cooler. It's too early to get overly excited, but this one's just about keeping up with the formula for growing an 8 pound tomato! Wednesday, July 30 View Page I've developed a first draft of a growth rate formula for growing an 8 pound tomato. This Michael's Portuguese Monster tomato is just about keeping up!! In my experience, big tomatoes pack on most of their weight between day 16-36. For this projection, that means a steady weight gain of close to 0.2 lb. per day for three weeks straight. Now at 18 days along, we're just entering that crucial, pack-on-the-weight phase. Let's see how it performs! Daily updates and occasional pictures will be posted at: http://delectationoftomatoes.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/how-big-will-that-tomato-get/ Saturday, August 2 View Page Several tomatoes are showing impressive growth, some are likely to top 2 lbs., yet none compare with this Michael's Portuguese Monster. It's trying desperately to keep up with the 8-pound-tomato growth rate formula and is still hanging in there, lagging a day or so behind. Estimated weight, at 21 days after fruit set, is 2.11 lb. - by far larger than anything I've had at this stage! Thursday, August 14 View Page Picked five tomatoes over two pounds in the last three days. Largest was: Bezrazmernyi (2.534 DT 2014)(1.698 DT 2012) This is ������������ in the Cyrillic alphabet (hoping this renders properly...) and translates to "Dimensionless" Seeds came from Andrey Baranovski of Belarus. A very large fruited variety with real potential for contributing to the giant tomato gene pool. Other four: MegaMarv (2.086 DT 2014)(4.23 Wahl 2012) MegaMarv (2.346 DT 2014)(4.23 Wahl 2012) Epstein's Potato Leaf (2.106 DT 2014) Epstein's Potato Leaf (2.198 DT 2014) My biggest measures to 3.55 lbs. today but has slowed down significantly and is on track to hit 4.5 lbs. or so. Thursday, August 21 View Page We figured out a way to indirectly weigh my giant tomato while it's still on the vine! Using a water displacement method, we fully immersed the tomato in a bucket brim full of water, then weighed how much water was displaced. Since ripe tomatoes have a specific gravity of approximately 0.95, the calculation was pretty straightforward, and it comes up with a 4.07 lb. Michael's Portuguese Monster. This is somewhat lighter then my latest measurements with calipers, which yields a prediction of 4.37 lbs. But this discrepancy is quite expected, given all the lumps and crevices and knobs. This is not a perfect weight estimate since the stem and such got in the way, but is probably more accurate than other methods. So my confidence is distinctly higher that finally, in my 5th year of trying to grow giant tomatoes, I may finally crack the 4 lb. barrier! Will be officially weighed within 5 days. Friday, August 22 View Page Now that my monster Michael's Portuguese Monster is fully ripe, applying a DAF (Density Adjustment Factor) of 0.95 rather than 0.90 yields an estimated weight of 4.66 lbs. when applied to latest diameter measurements with calipers. This estimate is at least 1/2 pound heavier than reality, however, since this tomato has a LOT of lobing and crevices which cannot be accounted for by the weight estimate formula. Still has a decent shot of breaking 4 lbs. Scheduled for official weighing and certification on August 25th, 9 a.m. at the Utah Division of Weights and Measure - the agencies that certifies scales for commercial use. Sunday, August 24 View Page I've been tracking this Michael's Portuguese Monster specimen from the beginning. Just a few hours away from harvest and taking it in for official weighing. Current state record is 3.486 lbs. I think there is an excellent chance of beating that. My prediction, and I hope it's not too much wishful thinking, is: 4.012 lbs. More discussion and pics at: http://delectationoftomatoes.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/how-big-will-that-tomato-get/ Monday, August 25 View Page Michael's Portuguese Monster (3.754 DT 2014)(2.610 DT 2012) Full coverage at: http://delectationoftomatoes.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/how-big-will-that-tomato-get/ 1/4 lb. below prediction. Relative density (compared to water) was 0.900 - well below average for ripe tomatoes. Very delicious tomato - we ate it right away! Sunday, August 31 View Page Here is a picture of Vincenzo Domingo with three very large "Domingo" tomatoes on a single truss. Note the copyright. Maria is Vincenzo's daughter and gave me explicit permission to post this picture. Here's a brief history of this variety: An heirloom variety from Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Italy. In 2007, Vincenzo Domingo entered a 3.9 (?) lb. specimen in the Newsday Great Long Island Tomato Challenge and won first place. He obtained seeds from his brother, Sebastiano, who lived in Sicily, Italy, where this variety has been grown for many years. Large (to 4.55 lbs., Hezekiah Wahl in 2012), fluted, hefty looking red tomatoes." This variety has been very impressive this year. One specimen weighed in at 2.734 lbs. on a vine that was loaded with several other large tomatoes. I have another in the backyard high tunnel, alone on it's vine, that now measures to just over 3.5 lbs. with at least one more week of growing to go. Could be my biggest tomato ever! Thursday, September 4 View Page I've got a Domingo (4.55 Wahl 2012) that is still going strong at day 41 after fruit set with no hint of ripening! Measures to 3.95 lbs. with minimal lobing, so weight estimation formula should be fairly accurate. Average weight gains have been around 0.12 lbs. per day with at least 1 week left, so it should reach at least 4.5 lbs. But I don't think it will touch Porkchop's (Steve Marley's behemoth "The Real MacCoy" which looks much larger but with a very similar geometry. In any case, this will likely be my #1 entry for the local weigh-off on September 27th; will probably have to refrigerate it for a couple of weeks. Wednesday, September 10 View Page New Utah state record: Big Zac (3.756 DT 2014)(2.602 DT 2012)(5.35 Lyons 2010) Just barely - by 0.002 lb.! Wednesday, September 10 View Page The other side. Notes show it emerged from a 6X megabloom, though only 4 segments grew well. I have never had a big tomato last so long on the vine during the summer months: July 12 to September 9, 59 days. Plant was in the shadiest spot of the high tunnel which was shielded with shade cloth. This tomato was low on a plant with heavy foliage, in the middle of the north row, so received very little direct sunlight. No publicity for this one, since a bigger one is on the vine and still growing! The large Domingo tomato flashed color on September 8th. Projected final weight and lineage designation: Domingo (4.493? DT 2014)(4.55 Wahl 2012) Taped CC's put this Domingo at a projected final weight of 5.274 lbs., but this is unrealistic because of bumps and crevices and because others of this variety have weighed in substantially on the light side due to hollow seed locules and a paucity of seeds. I can still hope for cracking 5 lbs. though? Tuesday, September 16 View Page Time to get my Domingo tomato weighed tomorrow. My standard formula, based on three perpendicular diameters measured with calipers, puts it at 5.206 lbs. Formula based on three taped circumferences puts it at 5.746 lbs. But this 3CC's formula nearly always overestimates really big specimens. Porkchop's specimen required a massive downward adjustment from a projected 7.589 lbs. (based on taped CC's) to match actual weight of 5.75 lbs. - an unprecedented Adjustment Factor of 0.758. Since this is the same variety, from the same seed source, with very similar geometry (Y:X ratio = 0.844 vs. 0.859; Z:X ratio = 0.808 vs. 0.807), it seems reasonable to apply this same adjustment factor to taped CC's. So: 5.746 X 0.758 = 4.355 lbs. estimated final harvested weight. I've never even seen a four pound tomato before, so these measurements, formulas and adjustments are all I have to go on to determine whether it's worth getting some local publicity for my biggest ones. More pics etc. at: http://delectationoftomatoes.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/new-utah-state-record-largest-tomato/ Wednesday, September 17 View Page Domingo (4.647 DT 2014)(4.55 Wahl 2012) This variety was introduced to North America from Sicily, Italy by Vincenzo, Domingo. It has been grown in his family for several generations. In 2014, Vincenzo grew four tomatoes on a single truss (cluster); total weight? MORE THAN 20 POUNDS!! Domingo has already set several state records and is a prime candidate for cross breeding with Big Zac, Delicious, etc. - some of this is already in progress... Wednesday, September 17 View Page The blossom end - very knobby, indicating MANY fused ovaries. More about this will be posted at: http://delectationoftomatoes.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/new-utah-state-record-largest-tomato/ Tuesday, November 4 View Page For the fourth time in 2014, a new Utah State Record! Big Zac (4.670 DT 2014)(3.75 Catapano 2007) 3.75 Catapano seeds came from Frank Catapano via Russ Landry. The 3.75 is an offspring of 4.59 Lyons 2006 and is a sibling of the 3.9 Catapano from which the vast majority of giant Big Zac specimens have descended over the past 6 years. Certified and witnessed, but apparently GPC rules will not allow this specimen to be recognized. GPC's Virtual Early Tomato Weigh off Rules, Revision date February 10th 2013 state: "�h The GPC will accept entries up until September 30th of each year. �h The GPC will accept a maximum of three (3) entries per grower per year. Any other entries must be entered at a regular GPC sanctioned weigh off." September 30th, really? In most years, October is the best month, weather-wise, for growing big tomatoes around here. Someone please tell me where there is a regular GPC sanctioned weigh off site within the next two weeks and within 5,000 miles of Utah - and how I could afford to travel there? So this state record specimen apparently will not get listed. Would it get the same treatment if it were a world record?? It's not like I could force the tomato to ripen five weeks early to meet the September 30th deadline! Whatever. At least it's documented here. More pics etc. at: http://delectationoftomatoes.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/new-utah-state-record-largest-tomato/ Wednesday, November 5 View Page GPC form for Big Zac (4.670 DT 2014)(3.75 Catapano 2007) Wednesday, November 5 View Page Certificate showing circumference measurements as well.