Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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May 3, 2011 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Woodstock GA
Posts: 418
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Growing tomatoes inside your home
A friend of mine wants to grow a few small tomato plants in his kitchen. He's asking me whether or not he'll have to pollinate them himself, or if the plants are close enough can he just give them a little shake now and then?
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May 3, 2011 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 6a - NE Tennessee
Posts: 4,538
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Tomatoes are self-pollinating. Give the fully open blooms a little shake a few times and that'll do the job.
Ted
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Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch |
May 3, 2011 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Zone7 Delaware
Posts: 399
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I agree. I have been growing tomato plants in my dining room window every winter for at least the past 10 years. A shake a day is all you need. Use the right soiless mix and enjoy no disease or bug gardening...plus homegrown's in January...;-)
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Farmer at Heart |
May 3, 2011 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Crystal Lake IL
Posts: 2,484
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How interesting. Do they taste as good, or similar, to the ones grown in the garden?
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Tracy |
May 3, 2011 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Southern Connecticut
Posts: 435
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This is a picture of some Tiny Tims in my kitchen window with tomatoes on them. I already ate 3 that have ripened. A little shake of the blooms worked fine for pollinating them as did shaking the little ornamental pepper plant with peppers in the lower right of the picture.
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May 3, 2011 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Zone7 Delaware
Posts: 399
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Some of the varieties I never grew outdoors like Red Robin or New Big Dwarf so I can't compare taste wuth those. But the Momotaro and Kotlas both tasted just as good indoors or out. No way I go any month without homegrowns....
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Farmer at Heart |
May 3, 2011 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SoCal Inland
Posts: 2,705
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Are you guys using any lights or just sun in the window? Linda
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May 3, 2011 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Southern Connecticut
Posts: 435
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I started the Tiny Tims under lights and when they were about 4 inches tall I put them in the south facing window and that is where they have been since. The pepper only had the first pair of true leaves when I put it in the window. The Tiny Tims are only in 4" pots. I should have put them in larger pots a while ago but I never got around to it.
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May 4, 2011 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SoCal Inland
Posts: 2,705
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Thanks, I have some Red Robin seed I will germinate for next Winter! Linda
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May 4, 2011 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 4,064
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I grew 12 plants over the Winter supplementing the sunshine from my south facing window with a HPS lighting system.
I ran the light about 4 hours per night: This coming Winter I will grow dwarf type varieties, versus the Goose Creek, Indian Stripe, etc. to keep the vegetation canopy more controllable. Raybo |
May 4, 2011 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Zone7 Delaware
Posts: 399
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I have never used lights on any tomato starts. I don't own any LOL I have started maybe 2,000 tomato plants without any lighting, just a very sunny south facing bay window that also captues some east and west sun because it is bowed.
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Farmer at Heart |
October 23, 2011 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Alpine, Calif. in winter. Sandpoint Lake, Ont. Canada summers
Posts: 850
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mewste......LOL, I just bought that same type of rack today at Costco but never thought
of using it as a big tomato cage. What did you do with all the other shelves? For me, that rack is perfect for transporting flats of seedlings to sell next spring. Last year I had flats all over the seats and floor of my truck and they were hard to get at. Maybe till spring, I should roll it into my dining room window and grow some maters to eat. I wish I have 8-10 of those racks in my hoop house. Only bad part is that each shelf has room for another half flat. Do they make such? |
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