First time in an age I've felt like sowing and growing anything and not the best time of year for growing! Anyhow, I set some Micro Blue seed (saved 2015, I think F5 or 6) on damp paper, in a bag and then into the airing cupboard 4 days ago and wonderfully I can see little roots already. I'll try to get them potted up tomorrow before the roots get too long. I seem to have misplaced a couple of generations somewhere, just glad I still have these to grow. No idea how these will pan out but I hope I'll have window space for a few plants.
Micro Blue - revisited
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Same here glad your better. I think it's a nice challenge to start growing anytime of the year. I was thinking of sowing some chilli's this month. I've been looking at seed website's looking for something unique but haven't found one yet to grow.👍 1Comment
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Now 5 days later and potted up, 100% germination, although I was heavy-handed with one seedling whose root had grown through the paper, I'm doubtful it will grow.1 PhotoLast edited by jayb; 08-10-2019, 13:13.Comment
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Ah, I can see where you are coming from, the plant pot is white, which makes the photo a little deceptive. Individually picked each seedling from the damp paper and potted them up in compost in a shared pot. Though I have sometimes, as you surmised, planted a whole piece with germinated seeds and covered with soil, usually when I've let them get too big! Either way seems to work well.
Yes, I did, they were fun.👍 1Comment
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Lovely, I found a self seeded tomato in the garden late last year and took it in. Got some fruit of it too, but despite being in the warmth (well frostfree) of the conservatory the plant died during the dark days of January. Shame. So I very much hope you will be much more successful.
But I will try to dig up and overwinter my Mexican Sour Gherkins this year and also my runne rbeans. Runne rbean roots work well, not tried the MSGh yet. So there will be some things living through winter for an earlier start next year, hopefully.
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My little toms are growing on steadily, first true leaf stage. I was going to see how they faired on the windowsill with natural light, but I think now, as I have a grow light, I might pop a few under it. They will have to wait a week or two as some work being done on the house and everything feels it's upside down and under a huge pile of stuff!Comment
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They should love it with the additional lights. And they are just the right size for a growlamp in that they will always fit underneath it too. Sorry for the upheaval, but if there is something to look forward to at the end of the works, it is only temporary.Comment
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Yes, I'm hoping so, they are growing well so far, but they are in the house and light levels are falling rapidly!
Thank you, yes, temporary. Rotten windows have been replaced which is awesome, it's been like living in a barn! I'm trying to do some painting as it's long overdue and we also have an old, very worn and embarrassingly dirty carpet to be replaced. So love the dogs but they do add to mess and wear and tear.Comment
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Approx. a month from starting, starting to look a little more like tomato plants. they are still really small.1 Photo👍 1Comment
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Thanks, triffid, I'm using a 4 tube t5 light. I've had them a few years now and they have been brilliant, somewhat pricey though. I'm pretty sure I bought them from Greenhouse Sensations https://www.greenhousesensation.co.u...ntpage-nosto-3. I bought them to go with their propagator. But you can go down a DIY route and buy the lights etc, which I would think might be cheaper. I've also got a single t5 with reflector, that gives a fair bit of light, but you can only have a single row of plants underneath. -
I think the maximum height from the bottom of the pot, to plant top would be 38 cm so about 15 inches, that's without the raised shelf. I bought one of these in black for mum (for her Streptocarpus) There are only two lamps, I'm not sure it would provide enough light for fruiting chilies? I don't know though as I haven't looked at the lights output.
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I thought I'd add in the days from starting to help keep track of progress and perhaps compare to spring/summer grown ones later on. They are now 41 days from sowing (well putting on damp paper) and they either have 4 or 5 true leaves and until a few days ago no extra heat or lighting. The lighting system they are under gives off some heat during the day.
It's not that clear but as a guide I think Micro Tom matures to first ripe fruit in around 100-120 days, a bit of a wide margin!👍 1Comment
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Clumsy,That's a long time to ripen don't you think for small tomato?
From memory, (which can be a bit dodgy at times), I think generally the Micros have been quicker, but even if they are not I think for their incredibly compact size, they are real heroes to my mind. It is something that could be perhaps bred for. At the moment I have 7 plants from this particular batch (they would have been saved from several plants) and already some are ahead in growth. If only the first fruit to ripen from the first plant to ripen were selected and then repeated for several years, time to maturity time would likely be reduced - by how much I don't know. But then what other traits might have been influenced in the process?
(Sungold F1 indeterminate cherry tomato is pretty quick to my mind, without exact dates I've sown in January and harvested the first toms in May, so yes you would think a small little plant should be able to do it very much faster!)
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I think the word micro makes me think they should be able to fruit earlier and ripen quicker for some reason, or the plant is small so it will produce a lot quicker. It's interesting their seems to be few projects on the internet people breeding micro varieties. I seem to be learning more from you and galina everyday. Whilst it's raining I seem to be researching more. -
I'm with you Clumsy, you would definitely think they could be quicker. Micro Toms do seem to have their followers, and rightly so they are undemanding and rewarding, plus at the moment not much variation is widely available. There are certainly other small growing varieties which are bigger than the true Micros, but to my mind, they can get a bit too tall for indoor winter growing, though the balance is often a bit better flavour and larger production. Thank you for saying but it's not onesided, I keep learning new ideas, tips and ways of growing that you share here too. Amongst other things I love the way you set out your beds and crops.
It's partly why I like it here, everyone who has posted is so supportive and helpful, plus the ideas and ways of doing things are inspiring.
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