February 27, 2014 | #31 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
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Finally! I think I will have my seeds by the end of March after all.
KO |
March 4, 2014 | #32 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
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Very nice! Well worth the wait, now you'll be in time to plant the F2 - congrats!
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March 15, 2014 | #33 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
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currently fermenting F2 seed from both crosses.
Worth all the trouble Karen |
March 16, 2014 | #34 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Honey Brook, PA Zone 6b
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March 26, 2014 | #35 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
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A pretty respectable size for a kitchen tomato
The green ones are the Ludmilla's pink heart x Captain Lucky F1 the Breaking ripe one is the Delicious x Captain Lucky F1 Day 7 now after planting F2 seed from a mature green LPH x CL I have 8 seedlings which represents only about a 15% germination rate but hoping for a few more. I now have more seeds so waiting to see what else comes up and will sow some more. I have decided in the interest of space to concentrate on the F2 grow out of the heart cross at this time as I am a big fan of oxheart tomatoes and would be excited if there is a heart (especially a PL heart) among the F2 seedlings. I wish to thank those who encouraged me to try the indoor grow out over the winter. I wondered at times if it could possibly work and wonder of wonders, it did. The result is that it has saved and entire year in my project and that is a huge benefit in my short season. Karen |
March 27, 2014 | #36 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3
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Karen, I had to go back and read this thread from the beginning. I admire your project, and your plants really did amazingly well inside. Living in the kitchen, they surely did become part of the family! Do I understand right that you kept lights on them 24/7, as well as the window light?
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Dee ************** |
March 27, 2014 | #37 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
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24/7 supplemental light in the beginning but they got too big very quickly for the lights to do any good. I do not have halide lights or anything fancy so since December they have only received window light and despite that, once the days started to lengthen they actually produced some fairly decent fruits and are still blooming. Thy are showing signs of getting tired now, they have been growing since October and so I am waiting for these fruit to ripen and then I will let them go toward the light. They have served the purpose they were grown for and it's time for the F2's to have their turn. I may take some large cuttings mainly for practice in rooting them and to see how long it takes for a large rooted cutting to produce fruit vs. growing from seed.
Thank you for your comments Karen |
March 27, 2014 | #38 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
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Awesome, KarenO. I hope you get a precocious flowering little F2 heart that tastes and looks like Lucky Cross. Can't help wishing for a shorter season version of that one, any shape, so I can grow and taste it down here in a cold old fog bank!
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March 27, 2014 | #39 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
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I'm not in a fog bank Bower but CL was great for me here last year. Do you have seeds? I will send you some if you want, PM me
KO |
March 29, 2014 | #40 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
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Thanks, KarenO, maybe another time... too many to fit this time around. The year that looks like a hot one... I might try it.
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March 31, 2014 | #41 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
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The first of the F2 seedlings. (My grandchildren!)
I got impatient and took seeds from one mature but fully green F1 tomato a couple of weeks ago. Only these few seeds germinated but it's a start. I see a PL one among them too which makes me happy for two reasons, one, since LPH is RL, it confirms this was a cross, not a self pollinated tomato although I had already been quite sure as the F1 fruits were flattened oblate beefsteaks and not nice smooth definite hearts like LPH. S econdly, I really like potato leaf plants for the thick leaf cover and I just like the way they look in general. I will allow the other few F1 fruit I have to ripen before I take more seeds in order to hopefully get a much higher germination rate. I think the majority of seeds in my green tomato were immature but I am still pleased to have these 9 seedlings and a little head start. KarenO |
March 31, 2014 | #42 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
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I nearly went nuts last fall, waiting for my latest crossed fruit to ripen off the vine. I guess it was worth waiting for that blush of colour. They have all germinated just fine, which surprised me - the fruit were not so mature at all when they had to come off the plant, and they took forever to show any sign of ripe. The 'greenest' two only produced a few normal sized seeds, but I was glad to get those.
From what I read about it, a fruit ripened off the vine like that will have viable seed, but the seed will not have the longevity of seed from a vine-ripened fruit. This is why I'm growing out all the F1's this year, without further ado. So be patient with the ripening, and save yourself lots of F2 seed from those plants before you let them 'retire' from active duty! How cool to see the little PL seedling. |
April 5, 2014 | #43 |
Tomatovillian™
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I would be interested in what you are growing Bower. you should make a thread about your F1
My other heart cross fruits finally ripened and so now I have enough F2 seed to fool around with for quite a while. Planted a few more heart cross seeds and will store the rest for next year. The others are looking good with 2/9 potato leaf so that's fun. We'll see how the newly planted ones do. I planted a whole bunch of the delicious x captain lucky cross as well thinking they wouldn't germinate well either...well naturally they have ALL germinated so now there are way too many. I plan to select only potato leaf seedlings from that cross to start with in the interests of space and my fondness for PL plants. from The Ludmilla's cross I am hoping for a fancy heart so won't be fussy about the foliage. KO |
April 13, 2014 | #44 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
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f2 seedlings coming along. Most interested in the potato leaf seedlings from both crosses. 71/72 seeds from the delicious x captain lucky germinated and of those 15 are potato leaf. Only have two so far from the LPH x captain lucky cross but have sown a few more seeds of that one and hoping for more PL plants.
Last edited by KarenO; April 13, 2014 at 01:44 AM. Reason: add pics |
April 28, 2014 | #45 |
Tomatovillian™
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10 RL D x CL seedlings
12 PL D x CL seedlings 6 PL LPH x CL seedlings 7 RL LPH x CL seedlings From all that germinated I have made my first selections to grow out and have chosen the most vigorous seedlings of each. I gave a dozen RL D xCL seedlings to a friend and the rest were discarded. That was a little hard I have to say but survival of the fittest it is and selection begins with the best of the small seedlings. One of the oldest LPH xCL PL seedlings has droopy and twisted leaves so I am very interested in that one as I think It might be a heart. A PL heart would be interesting as there are so few and so we shall see what it turns out to be. I confess it to be my favourite already though. The seedlings pictured here are "sisters" from the same fruit. as well, 3/9 of the oldest LPH x CL seedlings are forming buds already which is a trait I am looking for as well. LPH was the first full sized ripe tomato in my garden last year and that was from fruit that was set before they were planted out. This Tomato breeding stuff is fun https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3581757&type=1 KO Last edited by KarenO; April 28, 2014 at 02:07 PM. |
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