I don't get it...

I assume Phil is referring to all your copyright info. Bit intimidating don't you think since it is after all just a pic of a tomato plant in a pot. ;)

Though it is a very nice looking tomato plant. Big for a Red Robin.

Dave

Ah, I get it. Sarcasm. Very original. Very witty. Yawn.

Dave - thanks for your reply. I agree that the plants seem big for Red Robin. I have the original seed packet, and the plant height stated on the packet is approximately the height these plants still attain. The packet photo seems to show the same plants as well. Maybe incorrect seed originally? If so then what variety could it possibly be?

The copyright info is standard boilerplate I now use at my discretion on all my posts that have my photos. This is due solely to the lazy-arss jerk owner of a two-bit seed company that stole my bean seed photos for use in his online seed catalog, then denied it and even had the nerve to counterclaim that the photos belonged to him and I had stolen them. It was to his dismay that I am a very prudent record keeper. I also have an acquaintance who happens to be an excellent attorney who took on this case just for kicks - she takes much delight in grinding losers into a fine legal powder. All it cost me was a dinner at a fancy restaurant.

What was truly pathetic about the whole incident was that if that clown had simply asked my permission to use the photos I would have approved as long as I received credit for those photos placed in their image title attributes.

Here's the deal: I post stuff that I think might be of interest to some of my fellow gardeners on GW. If what I state in my posts bothers anyone, you know my GW nick so simply stay away from my threads and we can all be happy, rather than take the time to post silly, inane comments that do not pertain to the original subject matter. To the rest of the folks: Thanks for stopping by, thanks for posting, thanks for taking the time to click on the photo to read my comments, and please feel free to contact me anytime if you have any comments or questions regarding the original subject matter of the thread.

Good Day and Happy Gardening!
-Tom

It is a very nice pic of Red Robin. It looks very happy!

I understand about photos being stolen. It happened to me, and I was not happy with it at all especially since it was my business photos being used on another commercial site.
All that being said, and I truly mean this nicely, no one has control over what anyone posts to their thread unless it is a violation of of the forum rules. Over the years I've had all kind of things posted on threads I've started. That's the nature of conversation. I have always found your name, Soilent Green, humorous, and would assume you would like to joke around. Of course sometimes what people find humorous varies. I've posted to threads what I thought be funny and heard the proverbial birds chirping.
Remy

Here are some follow-up pics taken June 16. Click on images to see larger with comments.

Photo of developing fruit clusters. The largest ones in the pic are 3/4 inch diameter. The fruits on this variety get to around 1 1/4 inch diameter so they have a ways to go yet. I thought I started these plants early enough to get to eat a ripe tomato in June (an accomplishment in Minnesota). It appears that I will miss my target again - but I am getting closer!

The following photo shows my simple, clean support method. If more support is needed I simply insert more sticks into the pot. No tying of any kind is necessary. This is a 6 gallon pot containing six plants. They are now at or near their maximum height of around 16 - 18 inches and are heavily into blooming and fruit set. For scale the exposed portion of the sticks are 20 inches in height.

I had three of these containers but someone offered me $25 for one and I could not pass it up. ;-)

He took the one with the most tomatoes on. :-(

Barring any calamity, I will post one more time with a photo showing ripe tomato clusters.

Happy Gardening!
-Tom

Nice setup with the sticks, I've done similar with babmboo. This is my first year growing any dwarfs (Totem and Tiny Tim), and I can't help but notice how similar your Red Robin looks to my Tiny Tim (which is OP). I would guess if it is any other variety, it might be that. They both have the distinctive leaves of Red Currant.

NorthernMater - like the handle, thanks for the comments. This year I wanted to try something different so I bought Totem, but never got the seed started - ran out of space and time. Will try that one next year. I never heard of Tiny Tim so I will look into that one for next year as well. I tried Micro Tom one year and, while a very interesting, incredibly tiny plant (bonsai 'mater?), it was not that impressive a variety and had very poor tasting fruit IMO.

This year I did start seed from a packet from Livingston Seed called "Container Tomato" of all things. Plants not nearly as healthy as Red Robin, but they seem to be perking up after getting some warm humid days and a healthy shot of fertilizer. Will see what they do but so far I am not impressed.

I still have the original seed packet that states "Red Robin" but there certainly is the possibility that the incorrect seed was in the packet.

I have searched quite a bit on the Red Robin issue and have not seen any definitive information stating one way or the other regarding whether hybrid or OP. If anyone can steer me to some definitive information online I would appreciate it. It's not a big deal, I just like to know what I am growing and I do not like to unintentionally misinform others and add to the confusion.

BTW I got into container gardening as an experiment because many people I know do containers and struggle with the concept and have lots of problems with their plants. I wanted to know why. What I have found: container plants need LOTS of attention, LOTS of water, big pots, rich soil with minimal peat (wicks out the soil moisture very quickly), and lots of sun but protection from the hottest, brightest part of the sunny days. Follow those details properly and I am convinced anyone can be successful. I have found container plants to be much more labor intensive than gardening using regular, old-fashioned garden plots (my main gardening method). But I do not consider that to be a negative because I like growing and caring for plants. I think the main problem is some folks either do not take the time or have the time to properly care for their container plants. I know for a fact some have gotten into container gardening thinking it is easier than regular gardening - I do not find that to be the case.

Two major benefits - weeds are not an issue; because of the isolation I have much fewer disease and insect threats or issues with container plants than with plants in the regular gardens.

Take Care,
-Tom

From a fellow Minnesotan: I'm trying five toms in containers--specifically white 12 gal grow bags with handles�the residue from my main planting in the garden. My mix is 1/2 peat and 1/2 rich homemade compost, plus perlite, bone meal,and some osmocote plus. I'll be interested in seeing whether your remark about 'minimal peat' bears itself out in this case. I hope I haven't doomed them!
Gary

Hello,

The photo's are very lovely. But I have to say that I guess you came off a bit high strung with the copyright comment. IMO

But I hope to see more of your pictures. They really are lovely plants.

I had an accident with my Champion Hybrid. I accidentally took off too much :(

Happy Gardening All,
-Kristina K.

Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Farm Wife

Flexing in a tomato forum.... I love the interwebs.

Thanks all for taking the time to comment.

Gary - nice to hear from a fellow Minnesotan! My comment about the peat is just my opinion based on my observations and experiments. For each opinion one will find 10 people that disagree with it. Do your thing, judge how well it works, change course next season if need be. Sounds like you know what you are doing - you made an excellent soil mix. Just be sure to check the soil once per day at minimum. Stick your finger in it in two or three locations - do not bother using any moisture meter gizmos. If the soil is dry one inch down, then water the pot. I wish you good luck and a successful gardening season.

Against my better judgment, I will bite and go off-topic briefly. Yeah, the disclaimer comes off as a bit obnoxious - my apologies. I have lightened it up a bit on recently posted threads with photos. I am not a professional photographer by any means, and most of my photos are of no value other than the visual information contained in them, but that does not give anyone the right to steal and use my (or for that matter anyone's) photos for their gain. I simply want to remind people of that fact. Also, your photos may have more value than you think. I have sold the rights to 4 photos so far (one made it into a regional low-circulation food mag). I donated one photo of their choice that was used in a local festival brochure - and guess what - they properly credited the photo to me which is all I want for the most part. I will never make a ton of money selling photos but any extra monetary gain allows me to buy some gardening stuff that I would not justify purchasing by using money from the regular budget. That is reason enough for me to want to protect any rights I may have to my intellectual property. Just because you are not a pro at something does not mean you can't protect what is yours. Remember, everything you do has potential value. If it doesn't then you shouldn't be doing it IMHO.

I absolutely have a sense of humor but I still do not like sarcastic posts disguised as a weak effort at being funny. They are off-topic which is against forum rules, are usually meant to be spiteful to the intended victim, are of zero value to anyone, and keep a lot of decent, albeit a bit sensitive, fellow gardeners from ever posting in forums out of fear of ridicule. I have no patience for it.

Take Care,
-Tom

You've got to be kidding! I clicked on your link and hardly think you have to worry about someone "stealing" your precious photos.

Try that on the Cooking forum and see where it gets you. ;)

I think a lot of people on this forum were just offended by the assumption that someone is going to take your pictures and claim them as there own. Just because it has happened in the past doesn't mean you need to treat people as though they are thieves.

Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Farm Wife

Tom,
Hi, not sure if you were referring to me. I am bit of a troll on some other forums but generally, I am well behaved here because I find something fundamentally respectable about deriving pleasure from obtaining sustenance from the land (i.e. gardening). Plus I respect my elders and recreational trolling seems to be more the sport of the X-Box generation so I don't mean to deeply offend anyone. I completely understand you wanting credit for your intellectual property so the disclaimer makes sense. It is just that you seemed to start flexing when someone took a lighthearted jab at you. Your story about your lawyer friend that "likes grinding losers into fine legal powder" came off as a bit of puffery if not a veiled threat. It comes across as something akin to this: I have powerful friends so you can't mess with me or my tomato photos. This I find a little silly and high-schoolish in a white collar sorta way, hence my little poke.
Here is a graphical synopsis of the discussion:

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and then:

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KMKacan and nordfyr315, I was not directing anything negative at either of you. My apologies if I made that impression. I was simply trying to clarify my position - apparently I didn't succeed too well and people still took offence. I knew I would regret going off-topic.

KMKacan - Nice blog. It's got to be hard to find the time to keep at it. Hope your basil perks up. I must say I am jealous of those two ripe tomatoes - what I wouldn't give to have tomatoes like that right now on my plants.

nordfyr315, I had to laugh out loud at teh interwebs shot and the stills. I guess I deserve the ribbing. :-)

natal, I agree with you that my photos are not professional by any means. As mentioned previously, some WERE stolen for commercial purposes from someone who apparently lurked on GW for just that reason. That is what caused this whole disappointing discussion in the first place. I do appreciate you taking the time to look at my photos, though.

Well, its been a hoot but the rainy days have passed and my backache has eased so it is time for me to get back to work. Interesting forum - very lively. People do take their maters seriously. I am no tomato expert so I am finding lots of good, helpful information from many knowledgeable people. I appreciate it. :-)

My thanks for the emails regarding the original subject matter of the thread. I appreciate the comments, and I hope I have been of some assistance. To those who requested, the seed is in the mail.

Happy Gardening!
-Tom

I've grown RR many times. Escpecially as a winter house plant in a sunny bay window. Yes sir, it's a Red Robin!