Need Some Help

nnavarra61 · April 13, 2015

I need some help, a few weeks (3-4) I started my seeds, nothing fancy just egg crates to start. I had the crates in trays to bottom water, upon checking daddy's seeds my 11 year old daughter (who is growing her own zucchini) went and added water. Unfortunately she took the crates out of the trays (they were labeled), now we don't know which is which. All the plants that germinated now have their second (first true) and some third set of leaves. I planted very benign this year as it's my first in a while (see 11 year old). Only have 4 types, Juliet's, Fourth of July, Mortgage Lifter and Amish paste. Can anyone out there tell me how to tell them apart? I think I'm waiting till they fruit. Any ideas?

amideutch · April 13, 2015

Since they are all Regular leaf you may have to wait till they fruit.

Ami

LindyAdele · April 13, 2015

The tomatoes I am growing have three different leaf shapes, and three of them have distinctive stalks each year for me (Ildi is very pale almost yellow, blueberries is purplish and striped german is always very thick-stalked). I don't believe the varieties you are growing have distinctive leaf shapes or other distinguishing markers, so you might just have to wait on this one! Your cherry - Juliet's will probably have smaller flowers and a heavier flower cluster...

nnavarra61 · April 13, 2015

I had a feeling, oh well I guess I'll have to wait it out. Thanks for your help

Gardeneer · April 13, 2015

My question is : HOW DID YOU / MAKE / ID .. the seeds in the egg cartons ?
How many cartons did you have ?

nnavarra61 · April 14, 2015

I used 18 egg cartons (my wife bakes a lot), using one carton for each tomato type. The cartons were set in 4 individual trays to germinate. Like an idiot I marked the trays and not the cartons, 2 trays germinated almost every seed and the others just a few. Any insight you have is greatly appreciated.

Gardeneer · April 15, 2015

OK. Now we know all the seedlings in each carton is one variety.

If you had PL types you can tell which ones they are.

Now go ahead and mark your cartons , A, B, C, ...and also mark the seedlings the same way. When they grow fruits you should be able to ID them, by color, size. since you had just 18 varieties.

Yet another good probability:
It is likely that your daughter returned the cartons to the same tray, if she watered one carton at a time, or one tray at a time.

nancyruhl · April 15, 2015

Amish Paste is distinctive for me at the seedling stage because it gets the typical ferny leaf of the paste type. Mine grow taller quicker but are leggier.

Gardeneer · April 15, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by nancyruhl

Amish Paste is distinctive for me at the seedling stage because it gets the typical ferny leaf of the paste type. Mine grow taller quicker but are leggier.

Few varieties can be identified from their growth habit and foliage, eg.

--- Indet cherries grow faster.
--- Some have wispy foliage
--- Silvery Fir Tree can be told from from yards away
---- PL are obvious and relatively there are fewer of them.
---- most dwarfs grow much slowly

But once you get fruits with some color you can tell what they are since you know you have just 18 varieties.

Gardeneer

Father'sDaughter · April 15, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

But once you get fruits with some color you can tell what they are since you know you have just 18 varieties.

Gardeneer

Actually only has four varieties according to the first post, so identifying them after fruiting should be a piece of cake.

bughunter99 · April 15, 2015

The one that looks rather wimpy is probably your Amish Paste. That one has wispy leafed foliage.

Juliet has pretty distinctive leaves. If you google you will likely find your match there. If not, once the blossoms start, Juliet blossoms will show up in bigger clusters I believe.

Can't help you with distinguishing between mortgage lifter and 4th of July but if you google images you might be able to get to a best guess.

April 13, 2015	#1
nnavarra61 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Willow Grove, Pa. Posts: 29	Need Some Help I need some help, a few weeks (3-4) I started my seeds, nothing fancy just egg crates to start. I had the crates in trays to bottom water, upon checking daddy's seeds my 11 year old daughter (who is growing her own zucchini) went and added water. Unfortunately she took the crates out of the trays (they were labeled), now we don't know which is which. All the plants that germinated now have their second (first true) and some third set of leaves. I planted very benign this year as it's my first in a while (see 11 year old). Only have 4 types, Juliet's, Fourth of July, Mortgage Lifter and Amish paste. Can anyone out there tell me how to tell them apart? I think I'm waiting till they fruit. Any ideas?

April 13, 2015	#2
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	Since they are all Regular leaf you may have to wait till they fruit. Ami __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!'

April 13, 2015	#3
LindyAdele Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 323	The tomatoes I am growing have three different leaf shapes, and three of them have distinctive stalks each year for me (Ildi is very pale almost yellow, blueberries is purplish and striped german is always very thick-stalked). I don't believe the varieties you are growing have distinctive leaf shapes or other distinguishing markers, so you might just have to wait on this one! Your cherry - Juliet's will probably have smaller flowers and a heavier flower cluster...

April 13, 2015	#5
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,918	My question is : HOW DID YOU / MAKE / ID .. the seeds in the egg cartons ? How many cartons did you have ?

April 14, 2015	#6
nnavarra61 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Willow Grove, Pa. Posts: 29	I used 18 egg cartons (my wife bakes a lot), using one carton for each tomato type. The cartons were set in 4 individual trays to germinate. Like an idiot I marked the trays and not the cartons, 2 trays germinated almost every seed and the others just a few. Any insight you have is greatly appreciated.

April 15, 2015	#7
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,918	OK. Now we know all the seedlings in each carton is one variety. If you had PL types you can tell which ones they are. Now go ahead and mark your cartons , A, B, C, ...and also mark the seedlings the same way. When they grow fruits you should be able to ID them, by color, size. since you had just 18 varieties. Yet another good probability: It is likely that your daughter returned the cartons to the same tray, if she watered one carton at a time, or one tray at a time.

April 15, 2015	#8
nancyruhl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Metro Detroit, Michigan Posts: 1,051	Amish Paste is distinctive for me at the seedling stage because it gets the typical ferny leaf of the paste type. Mine grow taller quicker but are leggier.

April 15, 2015	#11
bughunter99 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: zone 5 Posts: 821	The one that looks rather wimpy is probably your Amish Paste. That one has wispy leafed foliage. Juliet has pretty distinctive leaves. If you google you will likely find your match there. If not, once the blossoms start, Juliet blossoms will show up in bigger clusters I believe. Can't help you with distinguishing between mortgage lifter and 4th of July but if you google images you might be able to get to a best guess.