October 31, 2008 by Peat
Posted in
In this Blog, I will be growing the AeroGarden Cherry Tomato seed kit. It will be starting in Week 2, I have lost my Week 1 information!
This will be grown using the General Hydroponics 3-Part Nutrients - namely the Flora Micro (hardwater), Flora Grow and Flora Bloom
Cherry Tomatoes Harvested up to 25th January 2009 - End of Grow
32 Total Weeks of Growth
Total of 74 tomatoes harvested
Red Heirloom - 55
Golden Harvest - 19
The tomato count is low due to the plants growing rapidly up into the lights, this has necessitated pruning which has lost me many buds.
In Summary
The first tomato formed at 8 Weeks and 3 days
The first fully ripe, ready to eat, Red Heirloom tomato appeared at Week 13 and 3 days.
The first fully ripe, ready to eat, Golden Harvest tomato appeared at Week 13 and 5 days.
The first tomato formed at 8 Weeks and 3 days
The first fully ripe, ready to eat, Red Heirloom tomato appeared at Week 13 and 3 days.
The first fully ripe, ready to eat, Golden Harvest tomato appeared at Week 13 and 5 days.
Weekly Picture Summary
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Mon, 03/09/2009 - 09:48
#2
Thanks jess, it's been a long
Thanks jess, it's been a long time since I was a hero. 
Rosemary from seed is a long, long process... It would have been much better to buy an established plant to look after, I wanted to try this from seed so flouted convention. Rosemary thrives on neglect, so it's an ideal plant for me. 
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 15:07
#3
Well, I'm all done and
Well, I'm all done and viola... lets keep our fingers crossed.
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 15:10
#4
Good luck! It should be
Good luck! It should be happier. 
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 12:45
#5
Wow! u guys are fast! I have
Wow! u guys are fast! I have poured out the distilled what I put in yesterday b/c there is an odor. I have the plant sitting in a small vase of tap water while I run the perioxide thru for a hour or so. I have 3% so I will use the smallest amout of that! I have no mL measurements for pray for me 
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 13:00
#6
You need to get all the plant
You need to get all the plant roots/sponge in the peroxide as well, they will be coated with algae. Pop some dilute peroxide into your small vase to help with this.
Edit: cross-post with gisette, yes, it's an additive. Once the system has been run through with it; new water, new nutrients, plant back in and add some more to the tank.
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 13:37
#7
I just added a tiiiiny bit of
I just added a tiiiiny bit of hydrop to the vase & its running thru the AG3 right now.
Meanwhile should I be worried about these little spots I just noticed.
I am thinking they are just water spots because I had sprayed the leaves with water a few days ago (b4 I learned better) & they sat wet under the light.
Is it water spots or something worse 
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 16:28
#8
I hope it will now be fine
I hope it will now be fine for you, good luck.
As for the brown spots, I would ignore them at this time - they appeared on my plant during it's grow, probably water spots as you said. We'll worry about them if they grow and spread.
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 16:42
#9
We'd love you to stick around
We'd love you to stick around and open your own Grow Log to show off how it does, Jessi. You've got me curious how your tomato does from here on in.
Everybody wants to grow tomatoes in an Aerogarden. But they give people more trouble... I suppose the same is true outdoors, too. People just love tomatoes, though!
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 12:53
#10
Prayers engaged.
But after
Prayers engaged.
But after cleaning the tank (bleach water), you actually add the peroxide into the tank water with the new distilled water and nutrients. It's not a cleaning step, but an additive.
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 11:32
#11
Hi Peat & Gisette!
You guys
Hi Peat & Gisette!
You guys are awesome! This is the most useful info I have gotten about what could be wrong. I am so glad I found you guys.
G is right. I have done most of what you described Peat just yesterday... clean, sanitize, distill water & new dry nutrients. I am going to get the hydro periode today & add that. Just a teaspoon right?
I did smell the water today & it does have an order even after all of that... so hydro perioxide should fix it right?
Also I did wonder about that gap. The algae was around the edge & in the groves of where the top pod holder & the bowl meet. I am going to cover that in foil today. So far the plant looks better ( I think 
)
Here's todays pic..
I used one of my green bean wires to give it extra support
There is a brownness to the bottom of the stem that worries me 
.. lookie
Please tell me if u think it looks better
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 12:41
#12
A teaspoon will be too much
A teaspoon will be too much (1 tsp = 5mL), this will be too strong for the plants using the 17.5% peroxide.
You need to know the capacity of the AeroGarden 3, I'm unsure how much water it holds - I only use Classics (which are just over 3 litres). I've had a dig round but cannot find that snippet of information - does it say in your book at all?
Anyhow, just 0.5mL per litre - that's the usual dosage for 17.5%... It's such a small amount, but goes a long way.
The plant will look a little brown near the base, but it should be a healthy looking brown, it's a little hard to see from the photo
Oh, algae won't grow without light, cut that out and you will have no more green slimy problems.
Edit: After digging around in some books, the dosage for 3% is 3mL per gallon (around 3.7 litres), therefore use 1.2mL (ish) per litre - if I have my maths correct.
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 11:58
#13
What's there looks healthy to
What's there looks healthy to me. Can't really see the brown stem in the pictures, but it's probably not a problem.
The reason I suggested rinsing the roots in chlorinated tap water, is that you can't bleach that part without killing the plant. Yet microbes / algae cling to the roots. Tap water chlorine is essentially very dilute bleach, so... that's about as severe as you can get washing them, without hurting them.
FWIW, the 17.5% hydrogen peroxide Peat mentions is not readily available in the US. Normal antibiotic peroxide (first aid supplies at your local drugstore) is more like 3%. You can probably use three teaspoons safely, but might want to start at 1 teaspoon.
Sat, 03/07/2009 - 22:18
#14
Hi Pete,
You seem to be the
Hi Pete,
You seem to be the cherry tomato aerogarden expert so I am hoping that you can help me!
This is my 2nd attempt to grow 1 cherry plant in my aerogarden 3. The first on was pathetically short at 5 weeks old it looked like it was 2 weeks old.
Aerogrow was kind enough to send me a new seed pod & so far this plant is having trouble too.
This plant was planted January 15, 2009 (which I believe is 7 weeks ago)
Your pics of 7 weeks look alot different than mine 
as you can see from the pictures. And there is a problem with the leaves! They keep turning brown & drying up.
As you can see, the plant isnt too close to the grow light. Also I am just using the nutrient tabs that AG sent me.
Today I changed the water and found what looks like green algae & mold in the bowl. I cleaned & sanitized it with bleach & used distilled water & a fresh nutrient. I also cut the brown leaves off.
Do u think my problem will be solved? Will this baby recover & finally grow?
Sat, 03/07/2009 - 23:12
#15
Hi, Jessijordan, welcome!
Hi, Jessijordan, welcome! Peat's definitely the expert - I've only killed tomatoes in an AG so far. 
But Peat's asleep (he's in the UK), so a couple questions in the meantime -
Did the second tomato grow any better than the first plant?
Do you smoke, or does anybody who touches the plants? I do. And I think I infected my tomato plants with tobacco mosaic virus. 
They tended to get crunchy-brown leaves like yours. I'd hoped it was due to overstrong nutrients, but it wasn't. Although overstrong nutrients could cause it - like if you wait until the warning lights come on before topping off the water. There's so little water in an AG3, that I just keep them up to the fill line all the time (like check every day or so).
Peat would know better. Good luck, sorry you're having such trouble!
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 01:09
#16
Hi Gisette,
Thanks for
Hi Gisette,
Thanks for trying to help! I dont smoke nor does my boyfriend ( he quit 4 years ago way b4 I ever got any AGs.. yay!) Although I do wonder about the air quality in here just in general. 
In the future I will definitely water at night right when the light go out at 11:30pm. This plant is doing better than the 1st. Its just not doing as well as other people. I noticed Peat had his 1st tiny tomato at 8 weeks. Im approaching 8 weeks on thurs & I have a shabby looking baby!
I need this to work! lol
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 04:44
#17
Hi jessiijordan and welcome.
Hi jessiijordan and welcome.
I sort of cheated with my tomatoes, they were grown using a hydroponic liquid - this put me ahead of the game compared to the AG tablets. Even so, your plant is looking seriously stunted.
Brown and crispy leaves,a few things spring to mind; poor quality water, overfeeding, underfeeding, environmental conditions or disease.
Are you growing your plant in distilled water all the time? Is the plant grown in reasonable conditions i.e. not too hot/cold/humid?
What worries me more is that you have got green algae in the water, this will only really grow if there is light getting into the AeroGarden. Looking at the right hand side of your bottom picture, is there a gap between the top and the bowl? Does the water smell 'off', dank, musty?
Algae is bad, it grows, dies and decomposes. Removes nutrients/oxygen from the water, starving your plant and suffocating your roots - it can then allow pathogens to flourish in your water, further killing your plant.
OK, I'm going to guess that you have something 'nasty' in your water, this is killing your poor plant...
First
1. Make sure the AeroGarden is lightproof.
2. Remove your seed pod and sanitise the whole bowl, everywhere (including the plant spacers), with bleach.
3. Get hold of some Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) from a chemist/pharmacy - if possible 17.5% proof or more.
4. Dump all the water from your AeroGarden, run plain water (and the required amount of peroxide, as per the bottle instructions - usually 0.5mL per 1 litre) through your system. Run this for a couple of hours, pour the stuff down through the top of the pods also. The peroxide will kill most algae/mold in your system.
5. Dump the whole lot again. Refill you AG (with distilled water if you can), add some more peroxide and also the AG tablets - cross your fingers and hope that this will work.
Last Resort
1. Throw the whole lot away, plant, sponge water.
2. Sanitise with bleach, thoroughly, everywhere. Include the plant spacers in this, everything that can come into contact with the water - if there is any disease here, we need to kill it once and for all. Be meticulous in this, you don't want this to happen again. 
3. Replant and start again. You do need to start off with the starting tablets though, otherwise the seed will be over fertilised and ruined.
Sorry, it's a bit of a long post, I hope this works for you. Please let us know how you get on.
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 10:49
#18
But - since Jessi just tried
But - since Jessi just tried most of that (bleach cleaning, fresh distilled water, etc.), for now might want to just add a few teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide to the bowl, and make sure it's light-tight. And maybe rinse the tomato roots in chlorinated tap water. Then see how it goes for a week before doing the whole dump&bleach sequence again. But keep an eye on the water visually and by smell in the meantime?
I wonder if it's kinda light inside a white Aerogarden, anyway, from light going through the white walls. Just for now, it might not hurt to put some aluminum foil across the top.
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 16:46
#19
Week 32
I have decided to end
Week 32
I have decided to end my tomato plant, I think it's time to move onto other things. It's had a good 32 weeks of growth and still looked to continue.
I'm in two minds with this grow, on one hand it was a really good project to undertake with the GH nutrients and my bubbler system - the plant grew extremely well and was enjoyable to grow.
One the other hand, I had allot of problems with the plant outgrowing my Classic - it just grew too well and too fast. What this meant was that I had to continually prune, that meant loosing many forming buds and flowers. The result was a disappointing tomato count - a total of 74 tomatoes across 32 weeks...
I think I can summarise this: would I do this grow again in my Classic - no, would I do it in a Pro200 or Deluxe - yes. The AG's with the extra headroom are really more suited than the lowly Classic for this sort of plant.
So, the final picture...
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 17:38
#20
All I ever did was grow some
All I ever did was grow some sort of full size tomatoes in my Deluxe and wouldn't do it again, much less in a Classic. Like you, little return for all the time and effort but a great job nonetheless. So what's in store for the now bare AG? Any timeline on getting deluxes yet?
EDIT.. after 4 crossposts, wow! We're going to devote the classic to lettuce if this herb garden ever gives up.
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 17:41
#21
Thanks Bruce, that
Thanks Bruce, that cross-posting thing is back again though.
There is no timeline for the Deluxe, something hazy on the horizon for the Pro200 though...
Edit: yep, I'll join the cross posting club. 
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 18:31
#22
So far, the kibits tomato is
So far, the kibits tomato is looking well-suited to the Deluxe... Of course, I haven't eaten one yet. 
I've seen others growing kibits in an AG, but never saw how it turned out, only along the way.
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 17:23
#23
Wow, the end of an era,
Wow, the end of an era, huh?
Can't help but agree on your conclusion - just seems too frustrating for the yields, growing tomatoes in the short Aerogardens.
So whatcha gonna grow next?!? 
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 17:29
#24
It's modification time for
It's modification time for this AG - always wanted to do something with Aeroponics...
Not sure if it's going to be totally waterproof though, my bubbler system always leaked water out of the front, despite the hatch being firmly clicked into place. I was always left with a large pool of water under the bowl.
If the aero thing works then it will be lettuce to start with, as a quick trial. Then, possibly peas as the second planting?
I've got quite a bit to think about with this at the moment, misters, getting the right output water pump, will it all fit, will it all leak...yikes!
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 17:31
#25
Oooh! Looking forward to it!
Oooh! 
Looking forward to it!
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 19:02
#26
Have no idea why I've never
Have no idea why I've never seen this glog but I love it! I've read the pruning techniques from AG (is that really you, Lorraine? WooHoo!) and this and have practiced it since I first read them. Now to get more tomatoes than stem....
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 19:13
#27
Yes, yay, lorraine! That
Yes, yay, lorraine! That other article is great, too... I'm thinking after the peppers, it's about time I tried the AG tomatoes thing. I'm beginning to feel inadequate as an Aerogardener, never having attempted them. Tomatoes and eggplant, I think...
Tue, 11/25/2008 - 11:09
#28
All the tomatoes are up to
All the tomatoes are up to date, I can confirm that they still taste great - especially if you pick and eat. The 'extra' ones in my pot (on the windowsill) have stopped producing, it's just leaves now. Probably lack of light...
This is still my favorite plant to grow in the AG, and I do recommend it gisette - in your Deluxe of course. If my cucumber ever gets going then this may be relegated to number two though. 
Bruce, thanks for the link, that will come in handy. If you grow these in your grow tent then the results will be pretty impressive, especially with the GH nutes.
Mon, 12/22/2008 - 10:54
#29
Week 27
Still growing strong,
Week 27
Still growing strong, and a little out of control - again! Especially that collapsed branch at the front with all the tomatoes.
There was a period of some inactivity on the tomato producing front, but the plants seem to have got themselves a second wind, and are now ramping up production! Behind that mass of foliage there are fourteen Golden Harvest ones forming, this plant has always lagged behind the Red Heirloom.
I'm not sure what's going on, all the ones at the back have not been pollinated at all. They have formed and grown without my intervention - the plant is now self pollinating, suits me.
Mon, 12/22/2008 - 11:18
#30
Over half a year now, wow!
Over half a year now, wow! And still going strong. How's the flavor on these, Peat?
Mon, 12/22/2008 - 11:22
#31
The flavour (British spelling
The flavour (British spelling ) is still great, I'm really happy that they have lasted this long and are still producing - you get the feeling that they will go on and on...
Mon, 12/22/2008 - 11:45
#32
I subscribe to the
I subscribe to the Scandinavian system - I speak my language, you speak yours, and we understand each other fine. Great to hear re the tomato flavor!
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 16:51
#33
Love the light boxes but it's
Love the light boxes but it's been kinda crazy seeing the different results. I'm sure you'll get it figured out, Ginger.
I've been cogitating both your problems with tomatoes and peppers.... I have regular sizes of both growing and haven't had any problems with topping blooms. I've never touched the peppers but prune the tomatoes almost daily. Granted, I don't have a plethora of toms yet but I'm getting leaves and (slowly) flowers down low. Is it just a matter of timing or am I having beginner's luck?
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 20:50
#34
How are your peppers "regular
How are your peppers "regular size", never pruned, and less than 8" tall?
That may be the crux of the matter. You're growing under much brighter lights, in the Deluxe, right? My plants were already... 15" tall? when they transferred to the Deluxe, and they were still jam-packed with three plants squished together, and their leaves are fairly big and dark. I pruned. They branched. My peppers only produce flowers at the crux of a new branching. But the branches that started however far down below, just stretched until they reached the light to leaf / branch again - right back up at the top.
So - my plants and Peat's may be stretching to the light a lot harder than yours are? And hopefully mine will do that less now, because I removed the middle plant?
Obviously, I'm just guessing. It's a great question.
Tue, 11/11/2008 - 15:51
#35
I wish I knew why my peppers
I wish I knew why my peppers are staying so dense and compact, it doesn't make sense since they're 4' tall in the field. Maybe the intense light has something to do with it, they don't grow much in height but are spreading out all over the deck. I've already had to move one greek oregano and will have to move the other in a few days to give it light. The oregano is doing much better in the herb garden with growth formula than bloom, BTW and we had to pinch off quite a few buds yesterday.
The tomatoes are of unknown origin and they've produced tomatoes outside from twice cherry size to almost hamburger size. I almost killed them with PH and nutrient problems and do serious "scientific" pruning almost every day. Here's a crazy theory - every time I raise the tomatoe's light hood they grow to fit in a day or two. A few leaves get burned from hitting the lamps and that branch quits growing. I prune it back pretty severely and start getting growth down low. None of my plants have overgrown the light hood much, have yours?
I'm at a total loss about the peppers not growing upwards but think the secret to tomatoes is to prune severely and prune often, before buds have a chance to form.
Back when I was in landscaping we "espaliared" plants by putting weights on the limbs to make them bow over then have new growth growing straight up again. I had a Dracina Marginata 7' tall with geometric limbs growing up then out then up then out then up again, all by making the limbs droop and have new growth go upwards.
Back on topic, I do think the Classic just isn't made for most normal plants. For herbs and lettuce it's fantastic but beyond that it's going to be a handfull.
Tue, 11/11/2008 - 16:23
#36
There are a lot of flowers
There are a lot of flowers that do well in the shorter, dimmer Aerogardens, too.
They're a near-perfect lettuce-growing device, though. Very satisfying and fast-growing.
Bruce, did you ever read Aerogrow.com's article, Pruning for the Technically-Inclined ? It's very good. I've adjusted my pruning to focus on meristem tips ever since, to good effect. (I often pluck the meristems, instead of lopping below as they suggest, since pepper buds form next to the meristem. Dunno if the same would work on tomatoes.)
Edit: I added a bit to the Lore book page on tomatoes. Think of it as a FAQ. But since I haven't grown tomatoes in an AG, I dunno that I'll add much more to it. Y'all are welcome to.
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 16:56
#37
I have been adopting this
I have been adopting this pruning regime for my tomatoes, I'm pretty happy with the results. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe lorraine wrote this for AeroGrow.
I'm onto week 23 of the tomato kit now. The hood is still in it's 'beyond' configuration and the plants seem to have slowed down in vegetative growth. I have been able to keep on top of the pruning, just snipping daily. The plant now has around 19 tomatoes, in varying stages of growth, and seems to have gone into overdrive in tom production...
Week 23
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 18:54
#38
Wow, that's a very solid
Wow, that's a very solid healthy-looking wall of tomato plant, Peat! The tally's still up-to-date at the top, yield 36 tomatoes? Plus that one in the corner you're about to eat? How's the flavor, by the way?
Tue, 11/11/2008 - 10:11
#39
It's the same here, the
It's the same here, the branches flower great, they then shoot up into the lights. I tried a severe prune, this helped in that I now have a number of forming toms lower down - but, the majority of buds want to form at the top. I prune nearly everyday, what I prune are decent branches that would form many flowers, I don't have a choice.
The problem is the Classic, it's just too small. If I had a Pro200, Deluxe then I am pretty convinced that all this would be solved. If I can get many buds in the situation I have now, then they would be a long way away from the hood of a better model AG. I would then harvest a decent quantity of tomatoes.
Also, you may remember that this AG is running on a water pump AND an air stone. I will be getting much better and faster growth than just a pump only. This does not help!
The stretching of the plants to the light could be an issue as well, our bulb light output cannot compete with yours - they will stretch less with yours. You can also throw in my use of GH nutrients, this will have a bearing on the plant growth. Better nutrients, better growth; outstripping the capacity of my Classic...
So, perhaps what I am doing here is pushing the plants beyond what the Classic can tolerate. If I stuck to the 'standard grow' (AG tablets, and no air stone), then perhaps I would not be having these issues?
I have to say that the Classic & Pro100 are not the best for growing tomatoes and peppers. If you want plants like this then I would stick to a Pro200 or Deluxe.
Sun, 11/09/2008 - 12:55
#40
Week 19
This is two weeks
Week 19
This is two weeks after the severe prune I gave it at week 17 - it looked very bare then. Here we are now, the plant is up into the lights once more, the hood has been 'extended beyond' the normal setting and I may be back to square one again - pruning all the buds away because they are getting burnt. I do wonder if I will ever get anymore tomatoes, the Classic is just to small for this plant. It's really annoying cutting all those buds off, I have lost so many potential tomatoes now.
Week 19
Sun, 11/09/2008 - 12:47
#41
Week 17
Looking a bit bare
Week 17
Looking a bit bare because I had to do some drastic pruning. To recap, the plant is growing great on my water pump and air stone modification (blog about this modification coming soon), too great in fact. It had outgrown my Classic, all the buds were getting fried by the lights. Only one thing to do... Call in a very sharp scissors! The plant has been cut down lots, any new forming buds will now be at a reasonable distance from the lights - I can then get some proper tomatoes rather than burnt ones!
At the moment, most of my buds/flowers are now in the bin - tough call but I think it's for the best. The plant will soon be back to it's normal self and giving me more toms. I now have some leeway with the hood, it can be raised another two notches.
Due to the ongoing problems with the plants falling over, I have secured them with some electrical flex. It's doing it's job admirably, they are rock steady now.
Week 17
Sun, 11/09/2008 - 12:59
#42
So sad to prune all the buds
So sad to prune all the buds off, isn't it. 
Well, they'll grow back, with patience...
The potted group looks pretty happy, huh? I'm surprised at how well they're doing on weak light!
Thanks for the update!
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 15:39
#43
Ooh, I love your weekly
Ooh, I love your weekly summary lightbox pictures up top! Thank you!
Is that getting sufficiently easy to do? To make the lightbox stories?
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 15:42
#44
Yes, it's really simple now
Yes, it's really simple now after your instructions, I can rattle them off quite quick now.
The main pictures were getting a little lost in this blog, seemed a good idea to put all the main ones at the top - glad you like it.
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 15:48
#45
Oh, good - glad the
Oh, good - glad the lightboxes are getting easy enough. Stage next is a lot more work... To make it even easier, could be hard, in other words.
I do like it! Flipping through the pictures, week after week as a time series, the garden growing really comes alive. Or I think so, anyway. I like the discussion, too, but tend to flip through pictures, then read discussion, then open up specific pictures based on the discussion if I think I missed something I'd like to study again.
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 15:58
#46
My personal choice is to have
My personal choice is to have the pictures 'large' in the main blog window, it sort of gives it more impact. The lightbox is great for adding extra pictures, and now, a weekly time series - I'm happy that worked out.
I initially set it up to autoplay but then went back and changed it all to step thru, couldn't make my mind up which I preferred.
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 16:09
#47
I made up my mind when I
I made up my mind when I started with the lightboxes - I strongly prefer step thru. Autoplay is doomed to always go either too fast or too slow. And I don't much like being a passive viewer. Must click something!
I really like the pictures lightboxed, always, best. It lets me see the narrative whole, and the pictures whole, and drill in. And comes out vastly better in Recent posts and Recent comments and other digest forms. And loads faster (assuming you link the thumbnails to real thumbnails, instead of full-size pictures the s/w must retrieve and scale down...) To each his own, though.
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 16:15
#48
P.S. If you want to see
P.S. If you want to see something bizarre, find a page of Recent Comments, where more than one comment has a lightbox. If you open the lightbox on any of them, you'll see it's stepping through all lightboxes on that page - that being a page of recent comments.
I kinda like it.
Sun, 11/09/2008 - 12:10
#49
Remember back in time, 17
Remember back in time, 17 weeks ago... I reclaimed 3 cherry tomatoes from my seed kit, grew them in my AG until they were big enough and then transplanted them to soil.
After a re-potting a few times (as they grew), they were eventually transferred into a 12" pot. Here they are, growing nicely and producing. I cut them down once, as per the AG instructions, but have left them grow wild after this. No light hood to impede their growth this time, the only light they have is from my indoor window ledge where they sit all day.
Here they are at 17 Weeks
Sun, 11/09/2008 - 12:03
#50
Week 15 and ongoing…
I
Week 15 and ongoing…
I have decided to make this my final weekly update, I will only post now and again to let you know how things are doing.
The tomato plant continues to grow well and produce tomatoes, I'm unsure how long this plant will continue to do this – many, many weeks no doubt. This thread will fill up with multiple photographs of, essentially, the same plant with a differing number of tomatoes in a variety of growth stages - this will become repetitive.
So, I will continue to use the ‘bloom phase’ of growth. The plants will be fed every two weeks with a fresh batch of water and nutrients, in between they will be topped up with normal water.
Same mixture and the same pH levels from now on - Flora Micro 8.5mL, Flora Grow 4.2mL, Flora Bloom 12.7mL (all per 3.2 litres), pH is kept at 6.3, EC will be kept at 2.4, and the water temperature is around 81oF (27oC) for interest.
Once the tomato has given up it's last fruit, and is due for a well deserved retirement, then I will let you all know how many toms I have received from it – yes, I will count them all!
In Summary
The first tomato formed at 8 Weeks and 3 days
The first fully ripe, ready to eat, Red Heirloom tomato appeared at Week 13 and 3 days.
The first fully ripe, ready to eat, Golden Harvest tomato appeared at Week 13 and 5 days.
Week 15
Ok doke! Thanks u guys! I will open a grow log (just soon as I read how) and keep up loading pics. I was thinking that maybe the foil will reflect some light back up to the lower branches and that they will grow. When I finally get a tomato I am going to be so happy!
I just ordered a whole bunch of stuff from the company I just found called www.buzzyseeds.com I am going to try my hand at growing things the old fashion way as well...u know in dirt. Lol!
Its getting warm here in NYC now. Today was 65 degrees and this week will be in the 50s. I will definitely start a grow log to document all my little babies. I had to throw out another green bean seed today. This is the 2nd one that rotted. I am trying to get 3 to grow in an AG3 but this darn 3rd seed is so elusive! But I'm determined.
Hey Peat,
I noticed you are growing rosemary from seed! You are my personal hero. I bought a rosemary plant online a few weeks ago but uts dead now I think. Its just all dried up. It pretty much arrived half dead & no matter how much I called & emailed the lady would tell me know to care for it. I did get a refund tho.