Oh, and remember that these are open pollinated tomatoes. You can save your own seed from them. When you start getting fruit and if you want to save some seed let us know and we can give you some suggestions on seed-saving tactics!

Ed

Wow what an absolutely super dooper reply post there Ed & Lynda
Guess What.......there's news......just looked at the trays in the glasshouse......

Only the Peppers are now deciding they also want to join the party
chilli's, Peppers, Tomatoes are all getting to know one another and Iv'e decided I'm gonna open a shop

Nah seriously I'm speechless because I really did give up on those 20 Pepper seeds but as you and Doug has already said they can take a long time to Germinate and you were both absolutely correct in saying to give them a while longer here a few pics I'll update you daily.



cheers
Tafy

Aaaannnnndddddddddd......there off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chilli#1 has the lead with Chilli#2 on his left flank. Chilli#3 is beginning to make it's move on the inside of the first turn, gaining on Chilli#2....but, WAIT!!! Chilli#4 is starting to gain on Chilli#3.....Chilli#1 is giving up ground to Chillie#2...it's neck and neck!!!!! ASTOUNDING RACE IS UNDERWAY!!!!!

Hi all
quick update I have re-potted tomato seedlings got far more than needed as you can see
I should have just used 35 seeds which would have been half of the packet.......never mind trial and error I'll know next time.
here are some pics the Chilli's and Peppers they're coming along just fine.


cheers
Tafy

Hey, you got a nice litter of 'mater plants!!!! It doesn't take that many seeds to get a stand of plants, eh? I usually sow 3 seeds per 3" cup. Usually I get at least a couple to sprout. Between those two I leave the strongest and either transplant the cull if it is really a good plant or snip it off if it doesn't seem really robust. How many do you plan on keeping inside the greenhouse and outside of it?

For the greenhouse tomatoes how many are you planning on planting in each container? If you were to slightly overpopulate the container it might cause the plants to not get as large as they normally would, which could be a good thing. Production might be down a bit but unless you're planning on canning a lot of tomatoes then I'd think it would be fine. But it would cut down on ventilation and I don't know if you have a tough disease situation like we do. Do the cooler temperatures help hold down disease in the tomatoes? They'd need more feed and lots more watering having two plants nourished out of a single container. Pros....Cons. Anyhow, just some thoughts.

Looks like you've got some watching and deciding to do. Looking good.

Hi Ed
none of these little ones will be staying in the greenhouse there's 30 potted seedlings which can stay in the greenhouse for a short period only which will be decided by the 12 older larger tomatoes which are already in there which you can see, As them 12 get larger and will need the room I'll then insert bamboo canes remove glass shelf which at the moment is dividing the top and bottom of the greenhouse etc.
I do have a smaller plastic grow tent which I can use for a short period until them little ones get to large then I'll probably try and keep just a few on my patio in larger pots and give the rest to my neighbors.
I'm also gonna need room in the plastic grow tent for the chillis and peppers shortly.
I'll show you pics as I go along on this gardening journey which is keeping me sane and taking me into another world away from this bloody killer virus nightmare which no one really knows when and how this is all going to end.
cheers
Tafy

Tafy, You and many others that have never thought about growing your own food before! keep it up. Gardening keeps us sane these days.

Tafy, you're doing great!!! There will be some surprised friends that get to grow (AND EAT) some tomatoes!!! All of them will remember Tafy's Tomatoes!!!!

Yeah, thin the numbers down gifting them to neighbors and friends, hold on to the "fittest of the fit", and enjoy the journey. If you run out of people to give plants to don't stress over the remaining "stragglers"...snip them off, toss the soil into one large container/bag for reuse and take care of your production crop. Thinning can be a time of deep thought (as in Jack Handy) but once you snipped the culls it feels really refreshing as you know you can direct your attention then to the plants that will actually be giving you food!!! And, the more times you snip them...the more it makes sense and the hesitation gets less and less.

The grow tent might come in handy. I'm curious as to how they will perform without the tent. Maybe not a jungle of vines and fruit as it would be in 80F temperatures, but if they can make tomatoes on a mountain in Peru I bet you've got a good shot of growing some where you're at!!! Keep us posted!

Ed

Quick update on my Alicante Toms
here are the 30 I started from seeds in growhouse now planted out in growbags and buckets on my patio



Below are the 12 now growing like crazy and all flowering nicely in my South facing growhouse
as you can see Iv'e had to remove the dividing glass shelf for them to grow to their capacity
it really seems as if they are goin mad growing an inch or 2 every day.


cheers
Tafy

Those are looking great, Tafy!!!!!!!!!!!! Somebody's gonna be eaten 'maters!!! Nice setup, too, the way you've got them growing. Just be sure that they can get some air circulation and keep'em pampered.

Gosh, they look great!!

My Very 1st Alicante Tomato

Oh boy I'm so Very Chuffed

cheers
Tafy

Baby 'maters!!!!!!!!

They're getting bigger every day now flowers on all.


cheers
Tafy

They're definitely growing!!! Good deal!!!

Do they have bees working the blooms? Wind, physically shaking the blooms, etc., can help with pollination.

Keep us posted!!!!

Great job!

Looks great!!

Intheswamp said:
Do they have bees working the blooms?
Wind, physically shaking the blooms, etc., can help with pollination.

Hi Ed
I been watching Youtube videos and followed a few crafty tomato growers advise by using an electric toothbrush......Yep ticklin each flower just for few seconds with the oscillating brush is enough to trick the plant into thinkin it's a bee and so pollination happens.....marvellous!
It must be doing the trick because every flower has a fruit growing pushing the flower off.

Really fascinating stuff because I'm watching and examining every plant every day and seeing so many changes seemingly overnight I will post more pictures for you.
cheers
Tafy

Tafy said:
I will post more pictures for you.

So here they are....isn't it just amazing how the withering flower actually transforms into fruit as if by magic.



cheers
Tafy