Micro Tomato Rehab Day

[GoDawgs]

The micro tomatoes that were started in December have gotten long in the tooth and unwieldy. They have been living in cottage cheese containers and they've outgrown them. Their shoes are way too tight!

This afternoon was a good time to deal with it. Two of the six got tossed out entirely. The rest got repotted to larger pots. They also got big haircuts which, in a few cases, meant cutting off trusses of green cherries but they had to go to balance out the plants again. One leaning at a 45 degree angle got repotted straight up. They’re all now half the size they were. Fix it time!

Left to right: Gelbe Topftomate, Pinocchio Orange, Joshalos and Birdie Rouge



Chibikko on the left, Groovey Tunes on the right. Thanks to Ellie's plant description, Chibikko has been in a two gallon pot from the beginning and I'm glad for it. It's covered with flowers right now. I still think those tomatoes have a strange taste.



They've been producing for a while now and have slowed down a lot. They're determinates but I think they might have another round or two left in them. They'll get the chance.

[Labradors2]

In the future, would you plant them in one gallon sized containers a lot sooner? You have spurred me to check on my micros, and they too are pot-bound. I transplanted two House tomatoes into one-gallon pots in the hopes that they will be happier .

Linda

[GoDawgs]

Yeah, I think one gallons would do for some, depending on variety. For sure the Groovey Tunes and Chibikko need a 2 gallon right off the bat. I've been depending on Ellie's descriptions of her micros to help with that:
https://heritageseedmarket.com/index...warf-tomatoes/

The bamboo bbq skewers I use as small stakes work well when the plants are younger but someone suggested using chopsticks and they are a lot better when the plants mature. Time to find a pack of inexpensive ones at an Asian grocery.

One other thing I've learned is that these plants will lean heavily when they start setting trusses and need to be staked upright unless they are supposed to be weepers. Otherwise you'll end up with plants growing at 45 degree angles and wanting to fall over. I did have several take headers off the table a few times!

[D.J. Wolf]

OK GoDawgs, you're making me think now. I'm seriously considering planting 2-3 micros in maybe mid August to try to grow indoors to keep me in some tomatoes through the winter. Even if it's just cherry tomatoes, I'm ok with that.
Was looking through a couple sites, and found one called "Tiny Tim" that I put on my list. Any others that you would highly recommend?

[GoDawgs]

I really like Joshalos (yellow-orange when ripe) which has a good flavor and is sweet. I also like Red Robin (red; a great producer with somewhat larger cherries than some other micros) and Lille Lise (small red fruit).

I'm sure others have their favorites they can add to the list.

[Labradors2]

I can second Red Robin, and I also like Birdie Jaune. I'm still waiting to ID the others for taste as I pick different ones that get mixed up in the salad!

Linda