First in Pots

I've made a start on planting some tomato plants, these three will live in the hothouse unless it gets too hot. I planted 2 x Totem & 1 x Lime Green Salad into a soil/mushroom compost blend.

Watching Them Grow

Today's Update.

With a few seedlings still in the seed trays, all else is looking good, with the majority of those varieties potted up actually putting on some size. Amazing, after the seed trays were empty, I got a Tappy's Heritage pop up and is doing well.

The only plant that is failing is a single Nicoleta which is blind so the earlier few blind plants are all I've lost this year, which mush be a record, with Damping Off being my biggest enemy in past years.

To show what's doing OK, I'll post these photos showing different sizes I'm up against, with poor germination and starting late, something I hope to rectify in the future.

 Russo Sicilian, Banana Currant, Tappy's Heritage

 Truffaut Precoce, Toedbusch Pink, Monomakh's Hat

 Donskoi, Vodar, Bychok

MS, UK2000, Sakharnyi Zhelty

Giant Tomato

As I only need one plant of this variety to grow in the garden this season, I sowed four seeds for a "Giant" tomato from seeds given to me by a chap at Stratford. After almost a week, one germinating seedling is emerging, so my one plant looks to be a reality.

**Update on these - 4 seeds sown - 4 seeds germinated.

By the time the day was over, three seedlings had emerged.

Village Red - Again

In 2010 I grew a self sown tomato plant, which was a sport from a yellow tomato I grew for someone in Canada. I tried growing it for a few years, but got some real mongrel fruit, so I gave up on it.
This year, I'm back trialing it again, with four seedlings from the original plant, of which I'll pick one and see what I get. After the first planting, I got a heart tomato, so I should get a heart tomato again this time. Here's a couple of babies from seed saved in 2011/12 seed save and still viable after 7 years.

Village Red - Seeds from F1

The original Potato Leaf Sport - Self Sown
 

The Wait for Plants

Apart from 4 seeds I sowed a few days ago, my heat mats are now devoid of tomato seedlings. I'm still to work out exactly what I'll grow this season, but I'm sure we'll have something tasty.

Here is the hothouse as of this morning.

 Empty Heat mat

 Seedling Tomatoes

Seedling Tomatoes & Hibiscus

Is This The Final List?

I thought I would remember all the varieties I'm growing this season, but without doing a stocktake now , I think I may have most of the varieties here. Now Kotlas is out of the running as it died, so I'll go with these until I find others I've missed. Some like Grubs Mystery Green & Black Krim I may pass until next year as there are lots of seed around for these.

Could this be my final list.

Arkashin

Banana Currant

Black Krim

Bychok

Ceylon

Chocolate Stripes

Collioure Long Plum

Cows Tit

Crisana

Donskoi

Duncan's Dutch

Giant Belgium

Greek Witness

Grub's Mystery Green

Korall

Kotlas

Le Case di Apulia

Lime Green Salad

McSee's Grape

Monomakh's Hat

Morado

Morning Rose

MS

Nicoleta

Orlinyi Klyuv

Poil Blanc

Prairie Fire

Purple Russian

'Rare'

Rosado de Ademuz

Russo Sicilian

Sakharnyi Zheltyi

Siletz

Speckled Roman

Tappy's Heritage

Toedebusch Pink

Totem

Truffaut Precoce

UK2000

Village Red

Vodar

White Oz Cherry

         

The End is Nigh

Well, I'm probably down to 6 or 8 varieties to prick out then that part is complete and I can sit back and watch them grow. Some varieties are slow to get up to be showing the first true leaf stage, which is when I prick them out into the foam cups. Yesterday, I watered the cups with a solution of the red bottle Tomato & Vegetable PowerFeed Liquid feed. It's quite strong, as 20ml in a 9 litre watering can and it was still quite black in colour. I also used the powdered form of Tomato Food in the potting mix at pot up time, so any food store left in the cotyledons won't be needed now.

Some photos as usual, more for my reference than anything.

'Some' of my lot for this year.

Here are a some of the 30+ varieties I'll be growing this season, all being well as some I only have one seedling of and I'm hopeful of getting some fresh seed from them all.

 Toedebusch Pink

 Arkashin

 Rosado de Huelva

 Sakharnyi Zhelty

 Donskoi

 Negrillo de Almoguera

 Monomakh's Hat

Bychok

Two Heads - Better?

I posted a photo of a seedling a while back which I thought may have grown two heads, or two growing tips, well I was correct in my thinking.

Here's a photo of Totem, with it's double array of leaves.

Garden Group - Seed Offer

I got the offer of some tomato seeds last night on a Facebook Garden Group by a guy in Stratford. I made contact with the guy today and called by and collected them on the way home from Bairnsdale. Apparently for a HUGE red tomato he's been growing, but not the best year for me, as I've got enough to grow this season and these will sit in the seed tin until next year.

Some of mine from today.

MS

Todays Newbies

In the first couple of trays in the old propagation mix, I grew what I believe were seeds of a rare tomato and got one spindly seedling that looks like it will fall over at any time. Having only four seeds left and no likelihood of getting any more, I sowed them all. After what seems an eternity, I have two showing in the mix this morning. Now this makes me happy as I'll grow both if they survive the journey.

Also, I found 6 seeds for a tomato I shared too much, that being Morado, that I gave all my seed away, except for the six. Well I planted the six and got five to germinate and while this was happening, I contacted someone who I gave seeds to to ask for some - just in case. They arrived and I sowed some of them as well, so another variety I'll save lots of seed from.

In the seed tin I found seed for the variety Cebrino, as at the time I couldn't remember what it was like, until I looked up photos I'd saved. This was a brown and green striped small plum, similar to the commercial Zebrino. I had a good germination with these, but pulled them out - that's how bad they were.

Here's a few photos of this morning, the rare tomatoes in the top photo, my Morado in the bottom. The Collioure Long Plum in the middle, this is from old seed saved on paper towel, posted earlier.

Two Leaf Types - Tomatoes

Tomatoes are generally referred to as having either Regular Leaf (RL) or Potato Leaf (PL) and as such each will take on a different appearance when growing. Although not grown commercially, potato leaf plants often produce great tasting fruit and home growers will often grow them, because of it.

Here are two photos showing the difference between the two types. Top plant is a Potato Leaf, while the lower is the Regular Leaf.

Tomato Genetics - Blind or Mule

Tomato Genetics at work.

It doesn't take long to pick them out, can you see them. 'Blind' or 'Mule' plants appear in some varieties of tomatoes. The two photos attached show what's commonly referred to as a tomato plant having a blind leader at their early stage in life. If planted and let grow, they won't form a growing tip, because it just never formed.

Mule isn't a common term that gets used much, but it does exist. It's often used because it will never reproduce 'offspring'. Sometimes, a plant will be classed as blind/mule when in fact it does grow a normal growing tip, but then it 'grows out' while the plant is still young. When I did my training in Horticulture, the teachers had never heard of this and thought I was pulling their leg, but after working with tomatoes for a time, it will in fact show up.

The List of Varieties I Have - So Far

There are lots of single plants among this list, but I suppose I'm lucky I got them due to poor germination of my old seeds.

So far, these are the varieties I have in single pots, so I'll go into the season with most of these, plus the other varieties still on the second heat mat.

Arkashin Bychok Ceylon Cows Tit Donskoi Greek Witness Le Case di Apulia Lime Green Salad McSee's Grape Monomakh's Hat Morning Rose MS Negrillo de Almoguera Nicoleta Prairie Fire Purple Russian Rosado de Ademuz Rosado de Huelva Sakharnyi Zheltyi Siletz Speckled Roman Toedbusch Pink Totem UK2000 Vodar White Oz Cherry

Totem Seedling

I'll leave this photo here to see if anyone comments on it, but I don't think anyone will see what I 'think' I see in it. lol

A View at What's Potted Up

I think that most varieties of tomatoes that had viable seeds have now germinated, with just a few empty spots where nothing grew. By next weekend, I should have all that I'm potting up done and then it's just a matter of growing them to size by the end of October. I usually work on about the 9th of October as my plant out day, but with starting later, this will also be later.

Here's what's potted up so far.

New Life

I didn't give much hope to getting these seeds to germinate, as they'd been scraped onto a piece of paper towel, but I got a pleasant surprise when I saw they were breaking through this morning. By this afternoon, they were starting to stand erect in the tray. These are the Dutch variety my friend Duncan gave me seeds of on Saturday, so Saturday to Thursday is pretty good germination time. I'll give these a working name of 'Duncan's Dutch' until I can find something better, or their variety name.

Today's Progress

Today, my first job was to water all the seedlings, as they are sucking up the water well on these warm days here. The varieties left on the second heat mat are starting to poke their heads up, a couple I really need to save are Nicoleta and Crisana, both doing well and both given to me years ago from a Romanian family who bought them out here when they migrated to Australia. The Dutch variety I got and planted Saturday are showing through the mix, so all good.

The seedlings I gave a working name of Red Velvet, are up and I will grow a plant of this variety on with my 'new' growout, this being the second filial generation (F2). If all goes to plan, I should get plants with Potato Leaves in this generation and red heart shaped fruits after regular leaves and oblate fruit last time,  but they are at the stage where until they reach F6, they will be very unstable in what they do and how they grow.
By Friday, the seedlings will have had a dose of Seasol, which they'll take us as a tonic rather than as a fertiliser, then I'll decide if I need to feed them with some 'tomato food'.

 Heat mat #2 - doing well

Seedlings potted up so far.

Some of The Later Seedlings

A look at the newer seedlings this morning to see how they're going and I took some random photos for the blog while there. I have a single seedling emerged overnight for my F1 Red Velvet, which I'm regrowing from 2009 seed. I decided to try again with this tomato, it's shape and size at F1 was great, but it went down hill after that.

Here are some photos of the newer seedlings.

 Red Velvet F1

 Donskoi

 Orlinyi Klyuv

 Poil Blanc

 Giant Belgium

Greek Witness

On The Home Run With Seedlings

The saga of the poor germination continues, with the last couple of seedlings to emerge from the first heat mat being Monomakh's Hat and Arkashin.

The second heat mat started off fine with my White Cherry jumping out of the soil in numbers, but then the progression of single seedlings continued with :-


Greek Witness
Belgium Giant
UK2000
Donskoi
Poil Blanc
Black Krim
Purple Russian
Morado
Orlinyi Klyuv
Truffaut Precoce

Now I don't particularly mind getting one or two seedlings in a variety, but some have had stuck seed coats and I've lost the only seedling, where Arkashin for instance, I managed to get it off.

Most varieties from the first heat mat have had some seedlings potted up, the rest will become compost when I know they have survived the transplant.

Orlinyi Klyuv, known as Eagles Beak, is a red heart tomato and one I'm looking forward to growing, along with Donskoi a monster fruited plant if it grows true to form, so it and Belgium Giant should make a great pair.

As of today

The First Hundred

I didn't realise I'd potted so many up, but a check on them sees over 100 plants potted up into single cups, so far. Years ago I would do about 450 plants, but now I've slowed down and from now, only my specialty plants I'm growing especially for seed will be potted up. Although growing later, I think with our Summers getting longer, the varieties I'll be growing will do just fine here.

Watering Your Tomato Plants Where They Need It.

When you look at a tomato plant growing in your garden, you may find roots close to the surface of the soil, but don't think for a minute they're going to be used solely for giving the plant a drink, as these are the feeder roots. These roots absorbs nutrients at soil level and actually feed the tomato plant from the soil, the actual roots that deliver moisture to the plant are much deeper. To be able to water your plant efficiently, the water needs to get to these roots and this is the best, quickest way to do it. Using 50mm slotted flexible aggie pipe, cut into 500mm lengths and before you plant your tomato, bury the tube into the hole so it protrudes about 50mm above the mulch if you use it.

Take a look what I've done here, then when you do it and it works for you, then you'll know the water is going where it's needed.

 Close up of the slots

 50mm Slotted Aggie Pipe

Cut to lengths - depending on plant types

The finished tube placed below tomato plant.

Feeding Your Garden Bed

My grandfather lived up the road from me as I grew up and he grew Grosse Lisse tomatoes every year and had a reputation for his gardening skills in the town. Two things he always told me about growing tomato plants were 'Feed the soil to support a crop' & 'Don't water tomato plants so the foliage gets wet', two things that I remember well.

My grandfather has been gone for many years, but I guess I listened to him as I still do these things now, the only thing is my grandkids aren't interested in gardening, so what I've learnt over the years won't get passed on.

So with feeding the soil, my vegie garden has been added to with a great topsoil with Mushroom Compost added, along with Dynamic Lifter and now today we'll add Cow Manure, Sheep Manure  and Straw Mulch, so my tomato crop lasts a long dry Summer and will be fed right through.

As for watering from above, we have used a technique on each plant, where a poly drain hose is buried below the plant so watering can be achieved from above without splashing water on the leaves of the tomato. I'll look up some photos and show how this works.

Improving our garden bed soil after adding new soil/mushroom compost. 

Before this cow manure and straw mulch went on, Jan dug a trench down the middle of the two garden beds, while I opened up the compost bin. We filled both trenches with compost, as both gardens were devoid of worms. The compost had 1000's of worms, so half are residing in each garden bed now. The trenches were covered with soil which will allow the worms to move through the soil.

Dutch in Origin

My latest and last lot of tomato seeds for the season is now planted. I was told about these seeds ages ago, but thought they were Italian, but it turns out they're Dutch in origin, so I'm up for the challenge. Apparently a nice red tomato of some size, so we'll see what eventuates, if I can get them to germinate..