Growing a tomato plant inside my house-- help me make this successful

[Arielle]

I wanted to comment on the pruning question and dispel a myth. Pruning tomato plants will not encourage larger, sweeter fruit. A healthy tomato plant will produce the same amount of fruit to the same size and same flavor even with all of those suckering branches in full swing- maybe even better fruit with more leaves present. Pruning is good for both indet and det tomato plants only to remove branches that are touching the soil. Removing suckering and extra branches on indet tomatoes will not harm tomato production. It may harm tomato production on determinate types.

Very interesting-- so keeping all the leaves might be better to collect all the sun light possilble.

THis begs the questions---Does the larger plant then require MORE fertilizer? AND can I keep up with the need?

 

[Arielle]

Quote: THank you for the tip. I"m sure these tomatos will need to be replanted a couple times, with the final pot a large 4-5 gal size.

 

[Arielle]

THe variety in flavors is truely amazing-- it keeps me in the garden taste testing. lol Iwant to try MORE flavors.

I have a pkt of Pineapple #5844 (TGSC) that is described as bibolored red and yellos, and gorws very large upto 2 pounds and is streaked. Flavor is rich fruity sweet.

The year I tried growing these I planted WAYYYY to many seedlings to get them all in the ground. Too ambitious a project given the ground still needed prepping.

Too easy to grow too many, right?? So this year it will be fewer AND plant further apart, AND stake well ( or cage).

Quote: Reaching the fruit became my problem lastyear when I did not get many of the plants caged. THose that were caged we picked the most fruit from. Those that fello over not even the chickens could reach, and when we did it usually resulted in broken branches. Lesson learned.

 

[Arielle]

Your Massachusett weather poses a issue starting early. Virginia is milder but still frost potential to May especially the mountains. I start my tomatoes early staggering grow trays a week apart under grow lights (Jan-Mar). Once they get outbound seed starter trays this is my trick I move them into the laundry room/bathroom on a small storage shelf - (Jan - April) I use the dryer & washer so there is warmth and moisture. The seed plugs are transplanted to homemade newspaper peat pots rest in aluminum pans. I keep inside till ready a good 6-8 inches diameter pot and good leaf development then move around in wood crates. If fluke snow occurs pending location needed to bring in then it goes into shed, garage or house crawl space light cover fabric - a light is needed for heat overnight.

Reason stagger we have difficult springs (excessive rain, hail or etc) -things happen even freak snow in late April. I harden outside gradually morn-night inside if snow or temperature drops too low. Frost cover is scrap fabric via thrift/clearance or hobby shops - mine is a heavy semi-sheer valentine lace like fabric got after season cheap it allows light and doubled does the job. Other wise it's sheer plastic such as a heavy disposable clear painters drop cloth added too.. I don't have the room for a cold storage but once planted a set at a time per week -

Back-up rotation replacements necessary till you know what to expect and devise better crop security. Yes had plants stolen, I plant in ground mid-March to May other than weather also local kids, cats, squirrels & etc. I grow early variety get them before the kids get out of school hid among mid season and late season also have issues neighbors helping themselves ........fences mean nothing in my area...... Annoying yes but the weather changes here so wildly, the wildlife has their appetite and the neighbor social graces lack sometimes.

You are very clever to devise systems of propgation that thwarts both mother nature ane neighbors. Ironically you are improving the nutrition of those theives!! Maybe boffer up some of the extras for sale??? Surely won't cut back on all the theivery, espeically the kids looking for a snack. Maybe put picked tomatos out in a bowl for the passing school kids . . .lol

THe Valentine lace like fabric is a boon-- I didn't quite understand-- do you put anotherlayer of plactic over this??

HOw doyou make newspaper peat pots???? I have used cheap plastic party cups but really hate the one time use and the plastic issue.

DO you have pics of your indoor and outdoor set up?? I'm envisioning the laundry room a jungle of p lants.

 

[Arielle]

Let me see if I have some photos...


I keep coming back to this one because it's one of my favorite photos that I've ever taken. But also, it shows how big our un-named favorite tomatoes get.



This was taken in July about last year, and we had a really slow start last season (was frosting at night all the way through May up here). I seem to enjoy taking photos of my flowers and landscaping projects more than my production stuff it seems, although I'm just as happy with them sometimes as I am with my blooms!

Along with stump of the world and our family tomato without a proper name, I tried opalka (a dud, not very productive), and cherokee purple (had too mealy of a texture where there was meat and too watery where there wasn't meat, just a crummy texture all together). We also did both red and yellow pear (too thick of skins to be really pleasant) and green zebra. Green zebra has a nice flavor when you let it get really, really ripe, but it was annoying picking them too early and tasting how sour they can be often. Too much of a pain for us to try again.

There's also another that I grow for my kids since they're the only tomatoes that they'll eat- those currant ones. I got seeds labeled as "spooner" tomatoes from someone, and I've been growing them yearly since. My kids eat them like candy, which surprises me because for such a small tomato, they have a really pungent "adult" flavor for a small tomato. So, I'm going to give some reportedly sweet cherry tomatoes a good run next year, but not the pear types.

The peach type, is that the kind with the fuzzy skin? What do you do with the skins on those? And tai pinks, do you have any photos of them? Thanks!

Look how huge that tomato is-- the biggest ever!! A picture worth framing: Lovely subjects and lovely colors.

It looks like thee description of the PIneapple, doesn't it??


One year the kids had a yellow pear tomato from school-- and that was my sons intro to eating tomatos. Huge plant-- floped over the top of the 5 foot cage, but he could reach in and take what ever he wanteed, when everr he wanted. Now both my both apply that same thinking to the big garden! THey regularly raid the garden.

Can't have the fruit without the well tended garden-- that is most of the work. THe bamboo supports has given me an idea. Bamboo is easy to grow, so I"m inkering with the idea of growing some of our own here, partly as a screen where noew houses have gone in. Used to only see one light at night at the one house. Now the roofs covered with snow, and the porch lights surround us, or feels like it.

Quote: I was stunned to see the number of tomatos offered by Tomato Growers-- got my culinary juices flowing. . . .

THe sour phase might be nice as a salsa or a chutney.

THe fuzzy tomato-- the garden peach--THAT would take some getting used to. BUt then I now eat a kiwi fuzz and all-- when kids are little eating and food prep is at a premium-- I continue eating them whole now because it still saves me time.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: My mom made us eat nasturitum flowers in our salads-- does that make it a veg???

Quote: I'm betting both methods work as both challenge the stems ability to withstand side to side movement.

Will save me blowing on them.

 

[Arielle]

UPDATE--

THe one cup of Sun gold hybrid # 6313 has ben moved inside my incubator ( in a baggie) because I moved it aside to roll the eggs and forgot to put it back on the heating pad, aka incubator! Darn. 70 in the bath room feels cold compared to the incubator at 100.

 

[pinusresinosa]

I wanted to mention, sungold is probably one of the best tasting yellow hybrids so I hear from tomato enthusiasts that I deeply respect. They went on my plant list this year to try.

Bigger plants will need more ferts, but I find that slower release ferts work just fine in moderation, even in highly positive DIF conditions with lots of growth. Just keep the water coming and plant in full sun where the plant can take full advantage of it's god-given ability to make it's own basic food. I've had best success by turning in good amounts of rotted manure and mulching with compost in the past, that's it.

 

[Arielle]

THe purpose of this tom was to have be indoors-- hence a fast matureing type. Cant plant here for, well , let's see. At least 3 more months. Since this plant is a very early maturing at 52 days-- hope to have a few tomatos looooong before May 1st.

Green house got renovated into a chicken coop. Guess I need that back . . .

 

[pinusresinosa]

THe purpose of this tom was to have be indoors-- hence a fast matureing type. Cant plant here for, well , let's see. At least 3 more months. Since this plant is a very early maturing at 52 days-- hope to have a few tomatos looooong before May 1st.

Green house got renovated into a chicken coop. Guess I need that back . . .

Oh yeah I forgot, sorry Arielle.

Although, I do mix rotted manure and rotted compost into my potting soil. So, I'm tying my offshoot convo and lack of focus to that since I have too much pride.

Directly in the pot inside, I would stick with recommended feedings on the box if you're going the Miracle Gro or similar route, should be plenty since the stuff seems to be recommended to use heavily, often causing imbalances in the outside garden and burning foliage. You can adjust for how much growth is going on if you feel comfortable. But again, did you say what you were using to feed with? Guess I shoulda asked that first (only on cup three out of my usual 5 of coffee today, totally not with it, sorry).
Watch for things like yellowing between veins in the leaves- that's one good indicator of a nutritional problem in tomatoes that can easily be recovered from. But for now, I'd stick with the status quo.