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New to growing your own tomatoes? This is the forum to learn the successful techniques used by seasoned tomato growers. Questions are welcome, too.

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Old October 25, 2017   #61
Worth1
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What's "normal light"? Sunlight? Incandescent bulb? What?
There's normal light and then there's Bud Light.

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Old October 25, 2017   #62
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I think peat pots are getting a bad wrap.
I have successfully used them from the seedling stage on up with great success.
No problems with roots growing out the sides or anything they grow everywhere.
These were put in kitty litter boxes with no holes and water put in the bottom.
If I found they were water logged I just drained the water out.
It isn't the product it is the method each is used.
If I planted them in larger containers I put the plant pot and all in the bottom and filled it with potting mix.
If they are planted in the garden the same thing or the peat pot ripped off first.
The most important thing is to not let the peat pot ridge stick up above the soil line.
This will act as a wick and draw moisture from it to evaporate.

Worth.
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Old October 25, 2017   #63
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Hi Ginger ...I wondered about that too but I dropped vermiculite ...I have just gone through all my Loctite bags and checked the seeds ..I found 4 and "lost" four ..Even with a magnifier head band and tweezers I lost the tiny root on each of the four probably through it being stuck on the paper..I took extreme care but I used sharp pointed tweezers when IMO I should have used the point of a small knife that I had found better but had misplaced it...
Ginger I wonder if you saw my other post re the two Tasty Toms I bought just after they came available several weeks back ..One looks pretty good with flowers and buds but the other I am worried about ..It should be flowering and the leaves in the head area look turned in and have a slight brittle feel when touched...Neither have had spray only Mycorrhizae on the soil they sat on when put in their drum and been in my greenhouse all the time..They have been watered aprox every 7-10 days with Miracle gro with some normal water inbetween... The one that concerns me is not diseased IMO ...all I can think of is that one got too much heat one day when my greenhouse got too hot (something I will have to watch...)...I presume All i can do is wait and see what happens ....regards Ron
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Old October 25, 2017   #64
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Hello Ron,

once the seeds have germinated and I've transplanted them over to a compost pot, the only failures I've had have been pots where I haven't watered enough straight after transplanting.
If you want, I'll make up miniature earthtainer that I use for my tomato seedlings and post a picture for you. Really easy just a pot, capillary wick and half a cola bottle. Haven't got an empty bottle at the moment, which is unusual the way my kids go through them. The trick is to strike a balance, between the amount of water wicked up and the amount of drainage in your mix, it took me a while to get it right and I still make mistakes as I'm still learning.
Personally I don't like the idea of mist spraying my plants, far to much work for me I'm too lazy.

As for removing your peat pots, as someone has already said, seedlings are tough little B&s*@r%s, I'd tip the pot upside down with the stem between your fingers and just rip off the pot. Haven't used peat pots for years, but I'm pretty sure the ones I used didn't rot away either.

I agree with you, bigger the root ball, bigger the plant and more fruit. Some of my OP plants tend to have small roots and struggle while the F1 are bred to produce stronger roots and plants but of course are more expensive and you can't save the seed. Luckily in the Uk there is a shop called Wilko that sells seeds at the end of the season with a 75% markdown. Got some F1 Shirley for £1 the other week ready for next year.
This year and a much to late really I tried some Dwarf Tomato Project toms for the first time, don't know if anyone else agrees but I found the root and plant growth very impressive I would recommend those for next year to you Ron.

Lastly Rugby, I live in North Wales Ron and we don't tend to follow the Rugby as keenly as the South do as all the big teams are in the south. I grew up in the eighties watching New Zealand thumping Wales usually by about a 100 points, I'm sure my emotions at the time were far different to yours. I was and still am convinced that 80% of it is down to size of the players. Our lads looked to be about 5ft tall to your 7ft giants, by half time most of our players didn't have much energy left for the second half. We are doing much better now, but one thing for sure Ron, I'm not going to brag to anyone from New Zealand about rugby, I think that would be a big mistake.

Kev
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Old October 25, 2017   #65
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I think peat pots are getting a bad wrap.
I have successfully used them from the seedling stage on up with great success.
No problems with roots growing out the sides or anything they grow everywhere.

The most important thing is to not let the peat pot ridge stick up above the soil line.
This will act as a wick and draw moisture from it to evaporate.

Worth.
Hi Worth...I read that also about ensuring the soil level was above the top of the peat Pot... I will recheck on the peat pots later today......I have also been concerned about my chamber and the cooling unit built for me and its ability to get a steady consistant 10 degrees C so I tested an old fridge freezer today I have (thank goodness i never trashed it.)...I got 4 degrees in the fridge compartment so I will extend the tubed water outlet from the reservoir into the fridge and connect it to a length of coiled plastic tubing in there for additional cooling and then it will go into my Growing chamber and back out to the pumping unit and go around again so its a continuous flow...I think all I have to do is then use the Electronic Thermostat and its probe in the air within the chamber... set @ 10 degrees plus 0.5 to stop and start the Fridge freezer when the desired temperature in the chamber is reached ..Can you understand that..I am confusing myself but I will get it checked by the electrician plus I now see where the wires are on the fans that power the Leds .. so I will put them on a separate circuit.......so all the lights can be put on and off together....via two circuits of course because the fans are 12V and the LED Tubes are 240V.....Cannot wait to get it going with the seedlings inside ....and see what has happened 2 -3 weeks later..Cheers Ron
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Old October 25, 2017   #66
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i've used peat pot in the past and had no problem with them, the roots will eventually grow thru. them, (they won't dissapear) and when you repot them i plant them as deep as possible, what ever part of the stem is buried will sprout out new roots, also had roots grow up over the top of the peat pot and then start growing down like normal after repotting.
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Old October 25, 2017   #67
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i've also just peeled the pots down the sides, and removed them, some of the roots stayed in the sides of the pots, and got ripped off but the plants grew just fine,
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Old October 26, 2017   #68
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Kevrow73...I will get a full reply away to you later today.......I Have been told by the gardening centre to cut the bottom of the peat pot off with a knife.......Now I used a Sphagnum moss mix for the first time and it is so light and just falls apart ...one has to be so careful..I have already had several accidents?...Cheers Ron
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Old October 26, 2017   #69
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There's normal light and then there's Bud Light.

Worth
Hi..What about "I saw the light" ..Got an idea there was a song called that back in the 1960's...and then "Blinded by the Light"....Regards Ron
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Old October 27, 2017   #70
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Hello Ron, I've not used Sphagnum moss in a potting mix before, but I'd go with the advice of the garden centre sounds good to me. I don't know exactly your planting season in New Zealand but if it's still early and your worried about losing too many of your plants, then it might be a good idea to sow some more seeds now. I always sow extra just to be on the safe side. All the best, Kev.
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Old October 27, 2017   #71
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Hi..Kevrow..2.10am and I have just rewired the fans so the Leds on them can be switched off and the fans still go on my Growth Chamber.....Yes I take your point...I hate losing seeds and plants ...I have two at least of my new varieties I am trying and a lot will have to be transplanted and put in the growth chamber in the next few days where they will stay for 2 to 3 weeks or even longer ??? I will have to find the directions again...I know the chamber has to be 10 degrees and then raised later which means any late seeds will miss out on the benefits of the growth chamber ...I do not know if it will work but its all about Temperature/light and wind and my mature Tasty Toms may not be too far away...One Black Ethiopean is spindly and is struggling to stay upright in the Sphagnum moss mix and I have real concerns about the mix due to this...
The Garden centre is useless apart from one that does try to help me ....which grows most of its own plants and makes its own soil...The rest are an embarrasment ....
When I was young it was all about Wales and South Africa in rugby ...Hell they still bring up the try of 1905 I think it was that won Wales the game ...I recall the brilliant try in the Barbarians game years ago that was engineered by the Welshmen in the backline....Something one never forgets and i think the All Blacks kicked possession away and lost the game..Of course the team we really like to beat now days are the English??Cheers Ron
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Old October 27, 2017   #72
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Hello Ron, if your reading this at 3am GO TO BED. That Black Ethiopean, if it's a seedling can't you pinch the lowest leaves off and bury the stem deeper in more mix it might be worth a try.
I've read about Sphagnum moss and it's supposed to retain a lot of water I remember my wife telling me she used to use it to line hanging baskets which would make sense now. If you have concerns about the mix retaining too much water it might be a good idea to reduce it next time.
I have seen Wales at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff in 2000. I managed to get tickets through work, we were playing Japan in their first World Cup. The noise as the 75000 crowd sang 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau' made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I will never forget that. It went a lot quieter when Japan managed to score a try though, I thought that was quite funny at the time.
Of course England are ALWAYS the team we want to beat.
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Old October 28, 2017   #73
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Kevrow..I have just refitted another radiator...the previous one was leaking.....I often thought about how I could easily keep check on my plants in the growth chamber and when I was biking around I suddenly thought??? "why not use a Web Cam" So that is what I will do ..i have a spare one lying around......Sphagnum moss might retain water but it dries out extremely quickly..Another late night coming up ....Transplanting... Cheers Ron

PS.. Darn the water is not circulating so i can only presume the submersible water pump cannot handle the extra plumbing??

Last edited by murihikukid; October 28, 2017 at 04:50 AM.
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Old October 28, 2017   #74
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Kevrow Sphagnum moss is an entirely different product than sphagnum peat moss. I see no way to start seeds in Sphagnum moss. Yes it is used to line planters sometimes and to grow orchids and such. Peat moss on the other hand, is a wonderful medium to start seeds and grow plants in.
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Old October 28, 2017   #75
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One isn't decomposed the other is from a peat bog that has built up for many thousands of years.
Peat forms when plant material does not fully decay in acidic and anaerobic conditions. It is composed mainly of wetland vegetation: principally bog plants including mosses, sedges, and shrubs.

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