1. was most likely fungus gnats, a common problem for indoor plants. It is the many larvae in the soil that do the real damage. Kill them by adding Bt to the water and take great care to avoid OVER-watering as they thrive in soil kept too wet.

2. mildews and many other problems from growing indoors can be prevented by increasing air circulation with a small fan running in the area.

3. 99% of cherry tomatoes are also indeterminates and huge at that.

4. As to varieties, I don't know that there is a BEST for those conditions. Most any variety will perform about the same although the production levels on many are normally higher than Brandywine has. Consider Indian Stripe to replace the Cherokee Purple and Black Krim and maybe Blondkopfchen fro a yellow cherry.

Dave

Is anyone interested in starting tomato seeds for me (Toronto and area)? I will swap some cool heirloom and European variety seeds for this service OR pay.

Kosta D: Tips & Tricks like Epson Salt and Egg Shells are very welcomed and recognized!

When growing in containers on a balcony, a lot of "organic" methods won't work well because you won't have the ecosystem in your soil to maximize organic methods. Container gardening, especially in an environment like an enclosed balcony, is almost closer to hydroponics than to in-ground gardening. You won't be able to use a lot of the advice people give to gardeners that assume in-earth gardening. For example, eggshells are almost useless in that environment, because there aren't enough organisms to break them down and make the minerals bioavailable to plants.

If you want to use organic substances like that, I suggest you start a worm composting bin. The worms will turn your kitchen vegetable waste and things like eggshells (grind them up fine first) into compost that converts the nutrients into forms your plants can actually use. There's a vermicomposting forum on here somewhere where you can get help with that. And, yes, you can keep a worm bin indoors. Mine, which is small, is indoors because it's too cold for the composting worm species here in the winter and can get too hot in the summer, so I just keep the bin inside all the time. There are no odors, no escaping worms, etc. as long as the worms are happy and conditions in the bin are good.

FYI, you will probably still have to use some liquid fertilizers, but the vermicompost will be beneficial in many ways.

Agreed, Dan. Although I actually think it can be useful in container plants that are actually deficient in Mg, particularly seedlings. IMO. For example, in container plants depleted by overwatering.

I'm skeptical when people recommend it as a surefire formula for success for in-ground plants, though. Sure, there are some cases where there is an actual soil deficiency that might be solved with Epsom salts, but, as you say, that's not common. And just adding it for no reason could theoretically cause or worsen BER (blossom end rot), as when there is excessive Mg, it competes for uptake with calcium.

For in-ground growing, it's always best unless you're a super experienced gardener/farmer who can easily pinpoint nutrient issues visually, to get a soil test done by a lab when adding anything but a relatively balanced and/or low-nutrient-density fertilizer. Adding something that adds a concentrated dose of one or two elements (like Epsom salts), at any rate, runs a high chance of creating issues.

Just to underscore the text by gorbelly, adding high doses of magnesium can seriously interfere with absorption of calcium. which will cause of BER. If you don't know that your soil is Mg deficient, adding epsom salt can cause more harm than good. Epsom salt is one of many "magic potions" that gardeners love to apply to their plants, for no reason at all, really. I assume they utter an appropriate spell when they do so.