Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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May 18, 2008 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 36
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Time to get the seedbox out again
I was thinking about starting fall tomatoes this weekend and went out today for some peat and perlite. Have any of you zone 8 and up folks already started your fall plants?
dawn |
May 18, 2008 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 4,064
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violet,
I am in zone 8b (San Jose, CA.) and after reading a thread here on "cloning", instead of starting my Fall crop from seeds, I am going to root suckers of my current plants. Pretty easy to do either in water, or moist potting mix. Just a suggestion on an alternative way to start your Fall crop. Ray |
May 18, 2008 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 942
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Ray,
rooting suckers is a great way to get fall plants started. However, last year I had problems with fungus carrying over(probably in its real early unnoticable stage) from cuttings. So now, I pefer to start seeds again. Unless, there is a special acception, such as a puple haze F1 plant I recently aquired. Vince
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Vince |
May 18, 2008 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 4,064
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Oh Vince, do tell how you procured an F1 Purple Haze plant.
Ray |
May 18, 2008 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Southern California
Posts: 74
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i just started seeds today that i ordered from TGS. i think im in zone 10
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May 18, 2008 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 36
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I've tried radical pruning to restart the plants in the fall but they never were very productive. The plants still look healthy, I think rooting some cuttings is a good idea. I'll do a few of those in addition to my seeds.
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May 18, 2008 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 942
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Ray,
A fellow TV member near here had an extra PH F1 plant(origin Laurel), and was kind enough to give it to me. Vince
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Vince |
May 18, 2008 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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I had my first tomato a couple of days ago from a cloned
Stupice. I kept it alive over the winter under lights. It was in rather tight dirt (recycled potting soil) with not much air space (rooted it in water first) that dried extremely slowly, it was shaded by 3 bigger cuttings, and it was a couple of feet from flourescent lights. As a result, it hardly grew at all for the first 3 months, although it stayed alive, and it kept growing roots. In January I repotted it in better container mix, added a little kelp and fertilizer, and it has been growing in a south window until a week ago, when it went out into the garden. It is 3-4 tall, has a few branches, and it has about 10 more set fruit, marble to walnut sized. The seeds on that first fruit seemed quite small, even for Stupice, but it still tasted like Stupice. (Now if I can do that with Earl's Faux, or Lucky Cross, or ....)
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May 18, 2008 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Farmington, Nm
Posts: 450
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I have started some fall seeds. Gregori's Altai, Jet Star, Jubilee, Black Cherry and some eggplant so far.
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I moved! |
May 18, 2008 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 4,064
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Hey Vince,
Can you send me a sucker from your F1 Purple Haze (PLEASE!!!!!!!!!). Wow, I would really like to try the real deal F1 plant some day. I understand that Laurel is now out of F1 seeds, and there may be no more Purple Haze plants after this year. Ray |
May 18, 2008 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 942
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Ray,
You got mail. Vince
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Vince |
May 19, 2008 | #12 | |
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a
Posts: 21,169
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Quote:
With maybe 5-6,000 different varieties commercially available re seed and all the other several thousand in the SSE YEarbook for SSE members and you're going to do a complete repeat? C'mon, you need to broaden your horizons and grow as many different varieties as you can all the time. Sure there will be faves, but it's the continual search for THE PERFECT tomato that kept me going to the point where I've now grown over 2000 different varieties. Just think how many I could have grown if I'd had two growing seasons every year.
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Carolyn |
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May 19, 2008 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 4,064
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Hi Carolyn,
Wow, you've grown 2000 varieties!! My exchange with "Vince" was aimed at trying an F1 Purple Haze tomato, as with Laurel reportedly out of seed now, I fear I never will get the chance to taste a "real" one. If Vince can put a Sucker wrapped in a moistened towel in a ZipLok bag and send to me, I might have a chance of rooting it, to then taste an F1 tomato. Do you understand my (crazy) quest? While I am growing Purple Haze RL and PL plants currently from F2 seed, I have a desire to compare them to "the real deal". Ray |
May 24, 2008 | #14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 36
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Some of my fall choices are gambles that it won't freeze by Thanksgiving, but I'll take the chance. At day 5 after sowing the following have germinated:
Black from Tula Texas Yellow Reinhard's Goldkirche Dona Eva Purple Ball Black Cherry Coustralee Usupouski II Nepal Neves Azorean Red San Marzano Red Currant Cosmonaut Volkov sprouted with no growing tip Carbon Jeff Davis Anna Russian Heidi I'm also taking cuttings of Sophie's Choice and Chalk's Early Jewel from the spring garden. In spring I let them get as big as they can in their little starter cups but I might try potting them up into 1 gallon pots to let them get a little bigger if I'm not ready to yank my spring planted tomatoes. |
May 24, 2008 | #15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Covington, GA 30016 7b?
Posts: 321
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Out of six seed, I got only two teensy weensy Black from Tula, disappointed because they do not seem to be growing at all
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