Read our affiliate disclosure here.

Tomato Masters July 2013 Winner

Since 2010, Tomato Dirt has garnered 4.6+ million views, making it the web’s leading online source for growing tomatoes in the home garden. Award-winning writer and Tomato Dirt owner Kathy Widenhouse has helped thousands of home gardeners grow healthier tomatoes. Be one of them when you get Tomato Dirt’s Growing Guide here.

Congratulations to Tomato Masters July 2013 Winner … (drumroll, please!)

John Tienter of Troy, Missouri!

John nabbed this month’s award with a beautiful Brandywine, which clocked in at a whopping 40.0 ounces. That’s 2 pounds, 8 ounces – two and a half pounds and a half of luscious tomato flavor.

Just one little ounce allowed John to best runner up Lou Vermillion and his 39 ounce (2 pound, 7 ounce) Better Boy, grown along the Texas Gulf Coast.

How he did it

Here is what John shared with us:

“This year is the first full growing season in my new raised beds. At the end of the 2012 growing season, I finished the new beds and filled them with a mixture of compost, compost from a local garden center, cow manure, mushroom compost, chicken compost, worm compost, and peat moss. I also use Sea-90 (agricultural minerals), kelp meal, and Tomato-tone to fertilize my plants.

But I think the biggest difference this year was using compost tea. I spray it on plants early in the morning. I prepare the compost tea using a Boogie Brew Water Filter that removes chlorine and chloramines from the water going into my drip system. The compost tea combines liquid kelp, fish fertilizer, and worm castings into the filtered water. Of course, the soil contains the natural diversity of my own compost. Brandywine is a great tasting tomato but I also grow Goliath tomatoes, Goliath Bush tomatoes, Jet Star tomatoes, and Super Sonic tomatoes. They are all good as well.”

Thanks for the terrific tips, John! That’s awesome info we can all use.

More about the Brandywine tomato

This potato leaf beefsteak tomato is noted for its mouthwatering flavor and is almost singlehandedly responsible for heirloom tomatoes’ return to widespread popularity. Its fruit is pink and considered to be slow-maturing (80-100 days.) Normally the Brandywine weighs in between 12 ounces and 2 pounds, but John’s tomato surpassed that. Its variations include Brandywine Red Tomato, Brandywine Yellow Tomato, and Brandywine Purple Tomato among others.

(Get Brandywine seeds here.)

A special thank you to our Tomato Masters July 2013 contestants

Thank you for your enthusiasm! We appreciate the time and effort you take to share your tomato successes with us and with other Tomato Dirt-ers. It is tremendous fun to see your photos and read about your tomatoes when you enter the competition. We look forward to seeing your next entries and being inspired. YOU make this competition a success.

Enter our next Tomato Masters competition!

Click here for the details on how to enter Tomato Masters. And may your tomato win!

More on Tomato Masters

Tomato Masters August 2013 winner ...

Tomato Masters August 2013 runner up ...

Tomato Masters June 2013 winner ...

Tomato Masters: gardeners compete for tomato bragging rights ...

Return from Tomato Masters July 2013 Winner to Tomato Dirt home

As an Amazon Associate and Rakuten Advertising affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

---

SHARE THIS PAGE: