My (Seedy) Ritual on New Year's Day

[rnewste]

Time to get the seeds started for my 2009 Tomato season!! I've been using these compressed tree bark "pods" available at Hydro shops and have pretty good germination success. Started 33 pods today containing 27 varieties that will mainly go into EarthTainers about March 15. To the right in the bowl are 10 Purple Haze F1 suckers that I am trying to over-winter.



Interesting juxtaposition (I've been wanting to find a use for that word for years now) of the Purple Haze suckers in the window-box, surrounded by Purple Haze plants growing outside the window.

Here is my final grow list for 2009 (thanks to many TV members who supplied me some interesting seed varieties):

Berkeley Tie-Dye: (Red, Green, and black striped cherry)
Big Beef
Bloody Butcher
Carmello
Celebrity
Cold Set
Cuostralee
Dona
Druzba
Earl’s Faux
Ed’s Millennium
Goose Creek
Gregori Alti
Hege German
Indian Stripe
KBX
Marianna’s Peace
Momotaro
Neves Azorean Red x BW F3
Opalka
Paul Robeson
Prue
Purple Haze F1 (from suckers)
Purple Haze F3
Red Robin
Spudakee

Ray

[newatthiskat]

That is a great list Ray! I am going to be starting seeds in about 15 days. You just keep making me jealous! Purple Haze sounds like a terrific tomato. Good luck keeping it going!
Kat

[Tania]

Ray,

I do not know how you do it, but it is so great to have year-round continuous crop of home-grown tomatoes!

I can only make myself start seeds when all our fresh tomatoes are gone and I start craving for a fresh home-grown tomato so badly that I am almost ready to eat the tomato potting mix I make in the fall to prepare for the new season...

I am curious about your Purple Haze F3 - what kind of segregation did you get in your F2 fruits?

I am also planting F3 this spring, and I selected 3 different lines:
1. PL, the earliest, round black large cherry, 1-2 oz fruits, 1.8 average; early fruit seedless
2. RL, smallest black round cherry, 0.75 oz average
3. RL, plum-shaped black, 1.5 oz average

I will be planting at least 12 seeds of each and hope to have at least 8 plants for each line.

Tania

[rnewste]

Tania,

From the Purple Haze F2 seed, I got a pretty wide distribution of tomato sizes. I had anticipated from the PL plants, that I would get the larger tomatoes. Actually, the largest ones came from the RL plants.

I can send you some of the seeds saved from the larger tomatoes, if you like. Also, since you do so much for all of us with your helpful Tomato-base, I would be happy to send you 2 of the Purple Haze F1 suckers that I am currently rooting. Just let me know and I will get them off to you.

Ray

[Tania]

Ray,

It is SO kind of you to make me the offer like that, I am honored and grateful! Thank you!

I think it will be close to impossible to send the seedlings to Canada - they will not make it through the customs.
However, it'll help me a lot if you tell me the size and color of your 'typical' Purple Haze F1 fruit, so I have a good reference point...

I may take you up on the seeds offer though.
Although it is a bit embarrassing for me to admit, but I had one PL Purple Haze plant in 2008 that produced Cherokee Purple-sized fruits. And I did not save seeds from it, as I was after a black cherry type, and by the time I finally got to my senses, the late blight hit badly and the plant died along with remaining unripe fruits. So no seeds.

Also, what was the smallest of your F2 fruit? Did you get anything smaller than F1 fruit? PL or RL?

Too many Purple Haze questions... I must be really hung up on small-fruited blacks, huh?

Tania

[rnewste]

Tania,

Oops, I forgot about the Canadian Customs. The offer stands if you can think of a way to get them to you, however.

Regarding the Purple Haze tomato sizes from the F2 seed, most of them were of the large cherry size, but in one in 50, I got some of almost tennis ball size. As I am interested in larger "slicers", I saved seed from only the largest ones I harvested.



On my current F1 plants, the tomatoes are much more consistent, at approx golf-ball size:



Ray

[Tania]

Wow - that's what I'd call 'heavy yields'... Absolutely stunning.

Thank you for the pictures!

[hawks]

new around here. i have cherokee purple seeds if you don't. any interest in a trade for a few of the many interesting names you listed?

[hasshoes]

Absolutely gorgeous!!!! Did I read somewhere that you use Activonate (sp) ? I used Serenade my first year but am looking for alternatives. :0)

We're growing a lot of the same plants, so you must have good taste.

[rnewste]

Hawk,

Welcome to the TV Forum. There are many interesting folks who post here with lot's of good tomato advice. I learned more in 1 year reading posts on this Forum than would have taken me 10 years to do on my own.

There are many people who trade seeds (or just send them to you without trades). There is a Thread called "Wanted Varieties". Just post what you are looking for there and all of us will help you out.

Heather,

I did do leaf sprays with Serenade as I had a continuous bout with powdery leaf mold throughout the season. I am doing "A/B" comparison grows right now, with Actinovate, Myco-Grow, and nothing as a control, on Oregon Snow Peas in the soil to see if there is a marked growth difference. Will be reporting my results in about one month with photos.

As I only have space for about 32 tomato plants this year (will be growing Sweet Corn instead in 8 of the 'Tainers), my List keeps rolling from year to year. While Brandywine Sudduth and S.O.T.W. did fine last year, I had to make room for Prue, Hege German, etc. to try out this season (so many to grow....so little space....)

Ray

[ContainerTed]

Ray, I was driving back from the Post Office a few minutes ago and as I passed a construction area, your first picture on this thread popped into my brain.

Have you ever tried or thought of trying those pellets that swell up when wet to fill up the "wicking" portion of the 'Tainer? I had some earlier this year that would fill up a 16 ounce cup, so I know they come in several sizes.

Anyhow, you can see how my mind (what's left) works. I still haven't settled on that subject for the ones I'm building.

[rnewste]

Hey Ted,

I would like to research those pellets - - however, I have not seen them out here in Cali. Do you have a link to them by any chance?

In the past, I've thought about just putting a car wash type sponge in the wicking basket to fill it up and assure a constant supply of moisture up to the potting mix in the main 'Tainer area. I rejected that idea as the sponge would compress too much and could break the contact with the underside of the landscape fabric - - breaking the moisture delivery because of an air gap developing. Something quite "dense" with minimal compression is needed to fill the wicking basket.

Ray

[ContainerTed]

Ray, I don't have one immediately, but I was on a couple sites this past "late summer" that had them in numerous sizes and the price seemed reasonable if memory serves me. I'll look again and get back to you. Someone out there may tell us before I can find one again.

Ted

[ContainerTed]

Searched out there again and found many, many sources of the "Jiffy Pellets". Most of them want about $4.00 for a bag of 25 small ones. The larger ones can go for as little as $70 for 1,000. Ebay has some larger ones on "buy it now" for as few as 250 larger pellets at a good price (~$35 including shipping) and the seller I looked at had a 100% rating

A lot of seed companies have them. Parks and Ferry Morse came up quickly in a google.

Ted

[rnewste]

Ted,

These appear fine for seed starting (although I like the ones that are made of compressed tree bark found at Hydro shops (maybe the folks who cultivate those kind of "crops" know something).

I'm afraid that they would eventually compress too much during the season in the wicking basket. Think of the wicking basket as a "cupcake" in that it needs to be slightly overfilled to compensate for settling during the season. So fat, potting mix is the best wicking medium that I can come up with.

Ray