Growing F1's indoors during the winter

[greenthumbomaha]

Originally Posted by bower

KarenO did that alright, but I think she did plant midwinter and then got seeds in spring just in time to plant.
I've never grown a fall planted tomato indoors, and nothing I brought in or tried to grow from a fall cutting was strong enough to survive, but I think Fusion Power brought seedlings or cuttings indoors in fall to overwinter and then got fruit and seeds.
Of course that is Alabama vs Alberta.
I noticed with my overwintered peppers that they didn't flower again until we got to the ten hours of daylight mark in February. Maybe you could start the seeds at a time they would be ready to start flowering when you get ten of natural light?
https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/madison
Your 'daylight winter' is just a couple weeks shorter than ours. That would be February 3 for you. So count back ?? eight weeks from that perhaps, or six? depending on the parents. Some time in December. You can keep the seedling(s) right under lights for weeks anyway before you pot them up. I do think the little ones need lots of light. If the timing works out, you should have fruit setting middle of february, at roughly six weeks to mature there would be ripe seeds at the end of March for spring sowing. ???

Here is another daylight calculator ... Helpful for growing greens and other vegetables Persephone Days

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php

I started micro toms today and hope to grow by a south high-e window without lights. None of the overwintered peppers are showing signs of stretching, so they may be more tolerant of shorter days.

- Lisa

[Keen101]

I'm attempting to grow an F2 [Solanum pennellii x domestic tomato] hybrid this winter inside. It is huge. The plant is doing well under some LED lights. The flowers awhile back seemed to take with the hand pollinating and a few set fruits. But some flowers turned yellow and fell off and now even the small fruit ones turned yellow and fell off. I think i'm lacking some sort of nutrient? I tried watering with some flower and fruit hydroponic fertilizer. But didn't seem to help. Maybe i should do that again now that it is finally flowering again.