Black Krim Behavior and Seed Surprise

[txraddoc]

First real post so here we go. I'm new to OP tomatoes and am growing some Black Krim. The plant in the first picture was planted on 5/22/14 and is currently 16 inches tall. In the last several days it has developed an intense compact growth right at the top which looks very vigorous. The leaves are curling under a bit and it has several flowers on it and two giant flowers at the top. Just wondering if this is BK normal behavior. My impression is that its an indeterminate plant that gets very large.

It's in a 12 inch pot with good potting mix and coconut coir and supplemented frequently with the blue stuff and some Texas Tomato Food. I'm kind of excited to see what happens next!

Another interesting thing, from the same seed pack (Burpee) came several other regular leaf plants and the potato leaf plant you see on the right in the second picture. No mixups here. I have no other PL anywhere. Kind of excited to see what this grows out too.

[Anthony_Toronto]

I've seen that compact growth on several occasions, will grow out normally. PL is most likely a stray seed but might be a cross...worth growing out?

[AKmark]

I also have a (PL) Blk Krim, so I did the right thing and crossed it with a (PL) Early Girl

[txraddoc]

Originally Posted by Anthony_Toronto

I've seen that compact growth on several occasions, will grow out normally. PL is most likely a stray seed but might be a cross...worth growing out?

I think I will. Should be interesting to see what happens.

[IronPete]

Watch out for the blue stuff. A couple of years ago I was using it and my plants got to over 7' tall! They just never flowered! The reason is the 20-20-20 has a huge amount of Nitrogen which makes them grow taller and stops them from flowering. This year I have used tomato specific organic fertilizers and the results have been waaaaay better! Good luck!
Pete

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by IronPete

Watch out for the blue stuff. A couple of years ago I was using it and my plants got to over 7' tall! They just never flowered! The reason is the 20-20-20 has a huge amount of Nitrogen which makes them grow taller and stops them from flowering. This year I have used tomato specific organic fertilizers and the results have been waaaaay better! Good luck!
Pete

20-20-20 is greenhouse grade for growing. It shouldn't be used for gardening except maybe to get them established. If you can find something like 12-45-10 when you transplant into the garden, this is great for root growth. then switch to 9-15-30 for fruit production On occasion 20-20-20 won't hurt, but keep it limited. These ratios can only be found in commercial non organic sources. Mine all comes from Miller's or Plant Marvel.

too much nitrogen does produce beautiful lush plants, but no fruit.

[RayR]

I would think the Texas Tomato Food would be plenty for nutrients. Why add more with the blue stuff? More does not mean better with chemical salts, more often means worse.

Black Krim is a large indeterminate, your top growth will be limited by the rather small soil volume in the 12" pot. The plant is or will likely get root bound and be unhappy.