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My tomato grow log (2)

I've started on my second season and have "transplanted" eight plants so far: 3 Legend, 3 Mira, a Siletz and a Sacramento. Discovered that delivering too much air to a bucket of water is not good for plants - they were wilting. Turned the pump off and they have perked up a bunch.

I have no idea how many plants I can cram into the GH - somewhere between 39 and 51 - only time will tell.

The plants so far:
Three Mira
Three Legend
One Siletz
One Sacramento

Joining them, in time, will be Florida 91, Delicious and IT-06-313.

Minimum goal: A ripe tomato to pick on Christmas Day in the morning.
Ultimate goal: 100 pounds of ripe tomatoes per week by the end of December.

Mike
 
Click to expand...
I have several like this one - the heart leaves are yellow. The good ones above started like this also but turned green after a while.

ghbad21025.jpg


There are about five that look like this one. I don't know why they are so much worse but they likely will not make it.

ghbad1025.jpg


And part of my lettuce crop. I loved how it turned out this spring, huge plants (~2.5 feet tall), no bolting, great taste. It's Black Seeded Simpson.

ghlettuce1025.jpg


Mike
 
Added eight plants tonight:
Siletz, Florida 91, IT-06-313 and Cabernet (I think!)

I would love to stick these in their dirt trough and surround them with more dirt, but the wood walls of the GH are two feet tall and the plants will get next to no light until they are bigger.

Mike
 
I was going to hang a small cabinet to keep supplies in but need to drill a couple of holes. While bending down to plug in the drill, I espied something I did not expect. This is a Legend tomato plant that has been in water since September 24.

It's still a long way from being ready for a sandwich but I may be a lot closer than I expected. The plant is not even 24" tall yet!

legend111.jpg


Mike
 
Nine days later:

Only nine plants in water are surviving and one of them looks real, real sick. But the first eight are looking great, five of them having blooms and hopefully close to setting fruit.

I've been trimming the bottom leaves off the plants. Not sure how this will work in the long run, but so far, the internodal length of the heart leaves is amazingly tight and close. Light levels have been great for the most part and the temps have stayed between 55-85. I add what amounts to about an inch of rain per week, along with a cup of compost tea every week or so, at least once the plants start growing. The hydro plants don't get any tea and they do not seem to be using much more than a quart of water a week. Every evening, using a sprayer, I mist the leaves on all the plants, simulating dew.

A fan runs about ten hours a day, strong enough to cause all the leaves and even the stem to move.

I figure I am at least a month away from harvesting ripe tomatoes and probably six, maybe eight weeks away from full production.

My next quandary - how long before I start replacement plants? I have no clue what the life time of the plants are. In my garden, it was about six weeks from the time they started producing ripe maters, but then again, the weather turned real bad.

My plan is to sit on my hands for at least two more weeks. Then I will have to decide what seeds to sow, without having any data as to how their early brothers will end up producing.

Mike
 
I AM A DAD - TWICE!

At least two plants have finally set fruit - one in water, the other in dirt. The water plant is Legend, the dirt is ITC-06-313 - a greenhouse tomato.

It's still a long road to getting a ripe one by Christmas, but at least I am a lot closer than I was a couple of days ago.

Mike
 
I have been wanting to get pix for several days, but the sun has been MIA for the last week.

My nuits are homemade: rain water, a tablespoon of Tomato-tone per gallon, two ounces of Fruit & Bloom (5-30-5?) per four gallons and one 500 milligram multivitamin per bucket per week, for the hydro toms. For the ones in dirt, they get a cup of compost tea every other week until they start blooming, otherwise about 3/4" of rain water every week-ten days.

Lots of foliage, several toms in various stages but the low amount of sunlight is really slowing development of ripe fruit.

Mike
 
I'm working on growing a few plants upstairs, under lights, since I am not getting enough sunlight in the GH to support vigorous flowering and fruiting. It will be a six-month trial or so, involving 7-9 plants, all but one of them under a 400-watt HPS with a special bulb.

This is a Red Delicious, the one that will not be under the light - it will have to be content with a 150 watt HPS. It was a left over seedling from some earlier plants I had started. I transplanted it into the container on Dec. 26 and last evening added about three inches of dirt around the stem. It is under a 105 watt CFL for the time being.

delicious1231.jpg


These six and hopefully two others will be under the 400 watt bulb. They are Celebrity, Better Boy, First Prize and Goliath. IIRC, only the Celebrity is a determinate. They were transplanted into the 3" pots on Christmas. All four have 70-75 days to maturity, though that seems to mean nothing in real life.

seedlings1231.jpg


They are under the 150 watt HPS now.

Since this is a test, I need to set requirements for grading purposes:

C = 28 pounds of ripe toms per plant
B = 32 pounds per plant
A = 36 pounds per plant
A+ = 40 pounds per plant

The cost to grow them will be about $86 in electricity and about $14 in fertilizer/soil. That's if I keep them under the light for 180 days. If I could get that down to 150 days, I would save some money and if I can fit eight plants, that could mean another 70-80 pounds of fruit.

Happy New Year,

Mike
 
Toasty,

I don't have a hint! The only one I am vaguely familiar with is Better Boy which dad grew 35 years ago. It seemed to do okay, but we planted them using a tobacco setter (40-50 plants per row, three or more rows) and he never staked them or did anything except have us pick the maters when they were ripe.

To be truthful, I probably should start another 8-10 types to see how they do. But, I doubt I can explain the costs of lights and such to she who must be obeyed! At the same time, while productivity is important, since I'm selling (or plan to) mostly restaurants, how the mater tastes is maybe at the top of the concerns.

If I can grow a tasty tomato, I know I can sell as much as 200 pounds per week to local restaurants without breaking a sweat - and get a great price for them. Plus there are a few produce stores/delis I know that could handle another 200-300 pounds a week between them, though they won't pay as much as a restaurant.

Perhaps an apt analogy - I have a rather cheap ticket for a train ride that I can get off of at any time. But I don't know where it is taking me or what I will need to go through to get there!

Happy New Year,

Mike
 
Was out playing around today, thumping plants to aid in pollination, checking each and every plant. I notice one problem I am having is a white fungus that is forming on some leaves and even small fruit. The GH stays extremely humid - no way I can avoid it unless I want to use a dehumidifier. Cold air comes in, gets warmed up, forms condensation. It is somewhat good for the plants, as long as they can get plenty of air. The bottom leaves on some plants cannot, and as they age they seem more susceptible to the mold/mildew. So I now have a nice collection of leaves to add to the compost bucket. I am also running the fan all night long with the air blowing on plants that typically do not get much. It's warmer air, since the fan is next to the kerosene heater.

I also noticed three plants that seem to be lagging behind the others. They are determinates and their neighbors are not, but they also seemed to be a bit on the yellow side and their bottom leaves were turning very moist. Out came my scissors and off came the leaves and stems from the bottom of the plant. They don't do anything except soak up some nuits, as little or no sun hits them. Their brother and sister leaves refer to them as free loaders. The will also contribute toward making fertilizer. At the same time, I have my garbage can that has gallons of nutrient solution I add to the buckets when the level gets low. Gave all three plants a cup of it. I swear - two hours later they looked much greener and larger. Probably my eyes and aspirations playing tricks on me, but I'll take it!

Mike
 
This is what the plants look like ten days later. I put them under a 14 watt LED panel yesterday, moving them from a 105 watt CFL:

110toms.jpg


Mike
 
From above, I was going to move the Delicious to a 150 watt HPS but have left it under the CFL. Took this picture yesterday:

delicious119.jpg


What is surprising is it is less than 10" tall.

Mike
 
77 days from December 26. That should be about St. Patty's Day, give or take a few. I'm hoping I don't mis-micro-manage this plant. One thing, because it is only one, I can keep track of the amount of electricity I use as well as the production.

But my real test is the one with six plants under one 400 watt light. I figure it will cost about $100 to grow them to complete fruition. If they do great, I would harvest 240 pounds, decently, 180 pounds. At $1.50/lb. that would be $360-270 in profit.

How many plants I grow next winter will depend on how this year turns out.

Mike
 
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