Micro tomatoes - eventually food
Happy Holidays!
@sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
A tomato progress report...
These guys are slow and didn’t love my cool house. Or the fact that I first (idiotically) transplanted them into microgreen soil. But they are coming along. And I have my first flower buds!!!
The Little Kitty plants are all the same leaf form with some variation in size. The Carrot Leaf is much more irregular in form and size. I am planning to grow out some of variation. And gifting several to a gardening friend to do the same.
Thank you again for the seed! This has been a fun project!
These are all Carrot Leaf.
Comments (13)
4 years agoSweet! They are fun to grow.
Picolo Gato, aka 'little kitty', is pretty stable at this point. This was probably F-8 in 2018. Always one in a 36 cell tray will leap ahead.
More than most tomato starts, they love being root bound to a point. So keep them in their 4inch pots longer than most.I'll start another 10/10 36 cell tray next week or before the new year. All 8 i'm growing with most of the tray carrot leaf. Carrot leaf is a new cross we are working on. I have 4 that are pretty stable.
I was starting trays for a few years ever 3 months but down to every 4 months.
This is rugosa leaf in various ages. LadyWillian and SirCharles. I seem to always have something in fruit.
I'm sure i've posted this before...but we are working on a micro that will produce larger fruit....
And a new one with a working name 'Shmoo', after the EvaZeisel salt/pepper shakers.
A bit of an unruly plant but i'll start a full tray in the early spring and cull for the smaller seedlings.
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Tomato Food?
Comments (5)I hate to be a wet blanket about it but about the only thing to be said for using Tomato fert on orchids is that used per Richards recommendation (1/4 strength) it will do no harm. I can't think of two more dissimilar types of plants than orchids and tomatoes. Tomatoes are grow monsters that need tons of cheap nitrogen and pottassium and phosphorous, the other trace elements will be assumed to be supplied by the rich loam (topsoil) in which these plants are usually grown. Orchids on the other hand are very light feeders and in nature grow in a low concentration but highly complex mix of major and trace elements. Grown in the home in semi-inorganic mixes puts the burden on the fert to supply all those micro-nutrients and thus if one really wants to do their best by their orchids instead of Tomato fert one will look at Dyna-Gro or one of several ferts intended for hydroponic culture of many things, including tomatoes. The key difference being that the hydroponic formula does not assume a micronutrient rich loam but a nutrient poor inorganic mix. H...See MoreMiracle-Gro Tomato Plant Food 18-18-21
Comments (42)i guess it's my turn for input, For years i've been using a formulation called dutch master one for flower production one for vegetative growth, found these to work very consistently and also are so minimal in tds I tend to run little risk of fert burns etc etc, the one thing it does have is that they're both loaded with macro/micros which of course is due to the fact that the fert was developed for MJ growers. in addition i apply twice weekly from spring - fall via foliar spray, what can i say i don't like having to flush often Second on the topic of bird poo ferts they've already been packaged. most are actually bat guano but there is a sea bird poop one as well most are sold by hydroponic stores and have been gathered in several different locations globally, more interestingly is that these locations are also the geographical basing for most orchids.(could this mean that mexican bat guano = good for mexican chids?) any ways i wont supply a link simply because it's better in these cases to attain the products from local hydro shops then on line, being that it'll save you some where in the ball park of 20$ i will supply product names and link for product info all manufactured by sunleaves it comes in these flavors Mexican Peruvian Jamaican and Indonesian also sea bird i haven't used them yet because i think i'm thwarted by the possible stench Gaston Here is a link that might be useful: check it out...See More'New' Tomato-tone vs 'Old' Tomato-tone - - Myth-Busters Challenge
Comments (105)With regard to Megpi's post, I totally agree on all points made. And it's still obvious to me that microbes, being living organisms, can move over and across the barrier along the top of the growing medium rather than having to "swim" under the barrier. With regard to Bencjedi's post, I grew about 100 Brandywine transplants for the Master Gardeners Plant Sale and kept a dozen or more at home to give to friends. Right now there are 10 of those Brandywine in 6" round pots filled with identical Baccto Professional Potting Mix with the pots stowed in a pile of bark fines like you might seed trees in nursery tubs with bark chips walled up around the tubs to keep the roots cool. All 10 plants have been treated identically since the time the seeds were planted ... same starter mix, same potting up mix, same fertilizer, same watering, same sunlight ... indentical. And there are marked differences between the plants at this time. Some are leafier, some are taller, some shorter, some have flowers, some don't have flowers, etc. When I look at that particular SWC with the two Brandywines, I see the one closer to the fence is taller and has less dense foliage maybe due to its location with regard to sunlight. I see the sunlight shining between the fence slats. Which way is east or south? I also notice the one nearer the fence is flowering. And the Brandywine farther from the fence seems to have more "mitten fingered" leaves. Hey, who knows about the vagaries of open pollinated heirlooms???...See MoreHow much food is too much food?
Comments (4)In the interest of redundancy, here it is again: With horse manure it is almost impossible to give them too much. Let the cow manure pre-compost, and it is almost impossible to give them too much. When we talk about too much food, we are usually talking about kitchen scraps. Too much food in the form of kitchen scraps will create a pretty yucky environment. The moisture in the food will cause the bin to go anaerobic, and the high nitrogen will throw off the bin's environment. Whatever you feed them, worms will consume about half their body weight each day. Under good conditions, they will eat their own body weight each day. Too much food is simply more than they can eat. Another factor that determines over feeding is the tendency of the food to heat up as it is breaking down. Both horse and cow manure can heat up quite a bit. If they have been aged to the point where they will no longer heat up, you won't have this problem. Any food you put in the bin should be totally consumed by the worms in about a week. Additional food can be added before that to give it a chance to break down before the worms attack it. You are feeding too much if it is not all consumed within a week. So our rule of thumb is to add about 1/2 pound of food for each pound of worms per day. You don't need to feed every day. You could feed 2 pounds of food for each pound of worms every fourth day. Then watch to see how fast the worms eat it and adjust the amount you feed accordingly. Aged horse manure is an ideal worm food. I would add about a pound of horse manure for each pound of worms and see how fast they eat it. You won't need bedding. Your only concern is for over heating. With cow manure, you will need some bedding. I would add about a pound of aged cow manure plus bedding for each pound of worms and see how fast they eat it. Feeding is as much an art as it is a science. In time you will figure it out. If you are feeding aged horse manure, or even small amounts of fresh manure, it is hard to make any big mistakes. You could fill your entire bin with aged horse manure, and your worms will be very happy. Weighing food isn't practical, and weighing your worms is nearly impossible, so add no more than an inch of aged manure over the top of the bin and see what happens. If the manure is still fresh, only cover half of the bin surface. That way, if the manure gets hot, the worms can escape to the other side of the bin. In a few days it will cool off, and the worms will be all over it. Really. Worms devouring horse manure is a sight to see. Your bin will be less than 8 inches deep, so this is what I would do. If the manure is well aged, fill the entire bin with horse manure, and feed enough to keep the depth between 6 and 8 inches. If you are feeding cow manure, you will need a bedding source as well. If there is any question as to whether the manure has aged enough, fill the bin with some form of bedding, and feed enough manure on the top to keep the depth between 6 and 8 inches, only feeding half of the bin surface at a time. If the manure is fresh, you could start with a mixture of manure and bedding and let the bin sit for a couple of weeks before adding worms. After a couple of weeks, turn the whole thing and make sure it does not heat up. If it does heat up, wait another week and try again. This is getting long. Time to post it. If I missed anything, someone else will fill in the holes....See More
4 years ago- 4 years ago
4 years ago- 4 years ago
@sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
Sigh at the photo orientation. So far I have spun the photos twice, resaved and attempted to repost. No dice. However I just wanted to say that I have my first fruit starting. Thank you again! I am enjoying thus project immensely!
And a question... though a bit late. What size pots do you finish growing these in? I think I am going to stick with these 5” pots if possible (dislike transplanting a plant in flower) but wondered whether they should be in something larger.
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
My goal for the last 6-7 years is to have 3 each of four leaf types as winter grows. 😂😜
12 nice compact plants. Plans out the window as i grow 10 times that much and new crosses come in the mail to gow-out. 🙄
During these cov*d times it is a nice diversion project.
Why i use tall pots to save on space. Potting up too soon is not good on plants, especially tomatoes. Keeping them a bit pot bound---the roots absorb water more efficiently as this avoids 'wet feet'. The pots dry out quickly. Let them dry out, then bottom water root zone only. Never sitting in water. But you know that.
Like micro greens. Getting the seed-to-soil ratio gets a better grow-out. A slight mini sprinkle will rot. Too thckly planted will crowd and rot/mold, pushing seeds off the soil surface. Roots need soil contact.
I kicked red-pots, beer/beverage plastic pots, out the window years ago. GreenHouseMegaStore. Minor investment over the long haul. Much more organized.
3.5inch deep is an odd description. They are 8inch deep.
Three sizes suits my grow outs. 10-10 square for starting seed so i can spin them easily.
- 4 years ago
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)