Start S F1

[D.J. Wolf]

Originally Posted by Greatgardens

There, it is fixed, more-or-less. The only issue is that I lost quite a bit of resolution. I have run into this issue many times. The forum software appears to take the long axis of a photo and make it the horizontal (and the short axis becomes the vertical). That makes sense, because our monitors are scaled that way. If you just rotate the picture (in Windows 10), then it still comes out on it's side. I did download IrfanView (nice program, BTW), and rotated the picture, but still came out on its side. The way that I fixed this was to change the "canvas" size by adding 400 pixels to both the left and right sides. That made the picture wider than tall, so the forum software didn't change it. But IrfanView changed the pixels of the picture making it less sharp. The best answer that I see is to take the picture in "landscape" mode. Or maybe, I can change the setting on my phone.

It may be the size of your photo to start with. If you resize with IrfanView to 800*600 (or viceversa whichever it is) then the photo should post correctly here

[Greatgardens]

Thanks, I'll try that the next time I post a photo.

[zipcode]

There are certain 'flags' in the file that signal the software how to rotate the picture (the forum is ignoring this flag). iphone is the one that does this, not sure which others. Yes, resizing and saving will delete this flag but keep the orientation it provided, also in other software (I use fast stone, which is similar to irfanview).

[Milan HP]

Hello, Start growers over the ocean,
you are doing much better jobs with Start F1 than me here. They are fantastic.

I am carrying out an experiment with three Start plants: one of them is allowed to grow 3 branches, the other one just two and the last one only one. And I wonder if the number of shoots makes a difference in fruit size and taste. The other conditions are as similar as possible. I'll see what happens.

Milan HP

[jmsieglaff]

Originally Posted by Milan HP

Hello, Start growers over the ocean,
you are doing much better jobs with Start F1 than me here. They are fantastic.

I am carrying out an experiment with three Start plants: one of them is allowed to grow 3 branches, the other one just two and the last one only one. And I wonder if the number of shoots makes a difference in fruit size and taste. The other conditions are as similar as possible. I'll see what happens.

Milan HP

I look forward to your results, I suspect there will be an impact on fruit size, potentially a moderate impact, especially with later fruits.

[newgardener_tx]

My Start F1 is flatter. It is about 2 oz big, 3-6 tomatoes each bunch, tons of them each plant. I have harvest a lot. Thanks for the seeds.

[MrBig46]

This is what my Start F1 tomatoes look like today. I have them at the end of the line where they are protected at high temperatures from direct midday sun by shade from other plants. It suits them quite well, because it protects the fruit from the yellow collar around the stem (a bad legacy after Stupice).
Vladimír

[Milan HP]

Sturdy and healthy plants, Vladimír.

Actually, I looked at my Starts yesterday. Start 1 (1 stem) - 6 flower bunches; Start 2 (2 branches) - 8 bunches; Start 3 (3 shoots) - 12 bunches. They all have fruit, Start 1 the biggest ones visually. No, I am not counting my chickens before they are hatched: the taste of ripe fruit will decide. However, S3 seems to be a bit ahead, doesn't it?
Milan HP

[MrBig46]

The time is approaching when Start F1 tomatoes will ripen. So far only positive reactions to plant growth and also several taste reviews on other sites. Of course, I like every nice one, but I know that not every condition may suit this tomato (especially in warmer and wetter areas). I know that we also sent them to Florida or to California. I'm very interested in the rating from this part of the USA. Two received taste ratings:
Labradors (Ontario): perfectly ripe and very slightly soft when squeezed, I found them delicious.
Pondgardner (Colorado): fantastic taste and perfect size to cut up to use in salads.
Vladimír

[ddsack]

I have two Start F1 plants, and I noticed yesterday that one tomato is starting to blush. I have picked four Stupice in the last week, so it is true that Start is about a week later to ripen. All tomato seeds were started March 29, and plants went into the garden May 29.

[Milan HP]

Hello Ddsack,
I don't know how you do it. My Starts were seeded on Feb 18, planted out on May 12 and there's no sign of blushing yet. True, the spring was unusually cold and we've had a spell of cold rainy weather lately, but compared to previous years my Starts are late sleepers this year. More than 3 weeks behind.
Milan HP

[Labradors2]

Milan, it must be the heat. I'm sure I started my Starts around the same time as you. Mind you, I misunderstood how big they would get, and planted them into 3-gallon containers! We've been getting ripe fruit for ages, but now the plants look rather sick. The leaves are pale and slightly purple. My fault, I am sure.

Linda

[MrBig46]

My Start F1 looks like this now.
Vladimír

[jmsieglaff]

My first Start S F1! Ripe July 12, 99 days from seed sowing and 60 days from transplant. The flavor is very nice, moderately sweet, nice amount of acid, rich tomato flavor, good texture. The tomato is 1.5 oz (43g). The plant is absolutely loaded with tomatoes, I suspect near 100. More will be enjoyed in the coming days. Thanks to Vladimir and Robert for their seed sharing this past winter. It has been a couple years since I have grown Stupice, but from memory, I seem to like this better (I enjoy Stupice as well).

[Milan HP]

Hello Linda,
that's exactly what I do - 12l (3.17 gallon) containers. If they are healthy, they produce tomatoes till late November. Considerably smaller than in the garden (20 - 30 grams in containers as opposed to 50 - 60g or more in the garden), but definitely as tasty or even sweeter. The fertilizer I use all year round is 8 - 13 -11 (+ a bit of Mg and other microelements).
The symptoms you've described give me an impression that they are short of soluble Magnesium and Phosphorus. Try supplementing those elements and maybe they'll be as happy as mine.
Milan HP