Interested in Growing a Multiflora Dwarf?

[dfollett]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

They look so healthy and productive. What are you feeding them? I want to do the same.

I do nothing fancy. I mix a full capfull of Osmocote 14-14-14, some mixed into the bottom and the rest around the top of the pot a couple of inches below the surface. Once they start fruiting heavily I add TTF every couple of weeks. I learned that the hard way. I had several deteriorate and have fruit quality fall off rapidly before I realized they probably need more fertilizer than normal plants. Since I've used the extra fertilizer later, they have held up much better.

I'm sure there are other fertilizing regimens that will work as good or better. That's part of what I hope we learn with these trials. Use your normal regimen, just realize that they will probably need extra if they set fruit like I hope they will.

Three weeks from sowing 12 seeds of each, and here are how many have grown:

12X-F3-7 12 plants 100%

13X-F3-1 7 plants
13X-F3-2 7 plants
13X-F3-6 4 plants

21X-F2-1 10 plants

37X-F2-1 7 plants

[MarinaRussian]

70 babies started. Keeping my fingers X'ed for these X's

[clkingtx]

I was wondering what the 11/12X means. I think the 11X, or 13X, or 14- means those particular crosses, but what does the two numbers together mean?

I am really curious about the family trees for these plants, it is really fun to try to guess what is going to come of them!

Carrie

[dfollett]

Originally Posted by clkingtx

I was wondering what the 11/12X means. I think the 11X, or 13X, or 14- means those particular crosses, but what does the two numbers together mean?

I am really curious about the family trees for these plants, it is really fun to try to guess what is going to come of them!

Carrie

I'm happy to share any information I have about any of them. It was a sorta kinda screwup.

11X was a cross of the micro multi-flora X (Brandywine X Margaret Curtain F1).
12X was a cross of the micro multi-flora X (Pink Pioneer X Margaret Curtain F1).

Last summer while I was gathering fruit from the F1s to save seed, I accidentally mixed fruit from those two crosses. Brandywine and Pink Pioneer are very similar - indeterminate - PL - Pink - large fruited - great tasting. Both were crossed with MC. The F1s were nearly identical. I decided to save seed from that batch of fruit anyway. I kept that batch separate from the other batches of those two crosses.

Those labeled 11/12X are from that batch of seeds.

[clkingtx]

I wondered if it was something along those lines, thanks! The plants are all doing really well, acclimating well to outside.

[jmsieglaff]

My 5 11xF3 are happily growing under the lights in my basement. I'll update after I plant them into their final containers.

[dfollett]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

My 5 11xF3 are happily growing under the lights in my basement. I'll update after I plant them into their final containers.

I'm hoping we can get a black (maybe a large black) on a <18" plant. Its daddy is an F1 of Brandywine Cowlick's X Margaret Curtain. The potential for color, fruit size and flavor should be there.

[disneynut1977]

Heres what I am growing from seed you sent, 6 plants of each cross. I started all the seed, ended up with getting 2 indeterminates that a I pulled. The remaining are all dwarves, with maybe a few micros?

Photo taken a week ago. Pulled them from my lights and put in front of my windows. Should be be enough sun for them as my little cacti are starting to flower in front of this window.

[dfollett]

Originally Posted by disneynut1977

Heres what I am growing from seed you sent, 6 plants of each cross. I started all the seed, ended up with getting 2 indeterminates that a I pulled. The remaining are all dwarves, with maybe a few micros?

Photo taken a week ago. Pulled them from my lights and put in front of my windows. Should be be enough sun for them as my little cacti are starting to flower in front of this window.

Thanks for posting. I wish I knew more about the genes that influence these things. If I understand the genetics correctly, we should be able to learn something from these. We should learn if there are two recessive genes that control the size of their mother – micro multiflora plants from the Red Robin X Rose Quartz multiflora family I am growing out for ChrisK. They are all from one of those crossed with different papas.

They certainly carry the ‘Dwarf’ gene. If there is another recessive gene keeping them extra small, all those I sent you should be fixed for both of those genes. Everything I sent to you came from plants that were 20” or less in size and all were multiflora. I’m looking forward to what you get from them.

Are they going into pots, containers or into the ground somewhere?

[disneynut1977]

Originally Posted by dfollett

Are they going into pots, containers or into the ground somewhere?

Hi Dan
Since we are coming into my summer time, most I will put out into my garden beds. I will keep back 1 of each cross and put them in nursery standard 2 gallon pots, I think technically those are 1.66 gallon? I want to see what they will do for me being indoors. Thankfully, I have tons of sun at this window, so I'm positive those will do just as good as the inground ones, maybe just a little smaller, because they will be limited from the pot size.

I wish I hadn't culled as much though and kept 10 plants of each cross. I know 6 is good, but I keep thinking what if I culled that 1 perfect winner.

Other than the 2 rogue indeterminates, all the leaves types were right on except for the cross, 11xf3x1 pl. I got an even mix of rl and pl, I kept going with the pl though and it looks like 1 of those may be a micro compared to the siblings.

Half of the cross 14xf3x1 rl also seem to be noticeably shorter.

I check the trays each morning when rotating for equal sun exposure hoping for the start of flower clusters.

[jmsieglaff]

Originally Posted by dfollett

I'm hoping we can get a black (maybe a large black) on a <18" plant. Its daddy is an F1 of Brandywine Cowlick's X Margaret Curtain. The potential for color, fruit size and flavor should be there.

Dan, I'm excited for these. The plants continue to grow nicely under the lights. I'm thinking I'll grow these on my deck, with the high sun angle in late spring and early summer, I don't know if they'll get enough direct sunlight up by the patio door indoors. I have some 12" outdoor circular planters (tapered) so I they are about 0.50 cubic feet. I'm thinking I'll do 3 in one planter and 2 in another. 5 would be way too tight I think--both from a soil point of view and an airflow point of view.

Do you care if these are bagged or not? If you do I may rig up something to 'bag' the entire pot.

As far as plant supports I think I'll just do this on fly with garden support sticks and twine. (Especially since I think the amount of support needed will be directly related to the weight of fruit set, which seems to be a rather big unknown yet with these.)

[dfollett]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

Dan, I'm excited for these. The plants continue to grow nicely under the lights. I'm thinking I'll grow these on my deck, with the high sun angle in late spring and early summer, I don't know if they'll get enough direct sunlight up by the patio door indoors. I have some 12" outdoor circular planters (tapered) so I they are about 0.50 cubic feet. I'm thinking I'll do 3 in one planter and 2 in another. 5 would be way too tight I think--both from a soil point of view and an airflow point of view.

Do you care if these are bagged or not? If you do I may rig up something to 'bag' the entire pot.

As far as plant supports I think I'll just do this on fly with garden support sticks and twine. (Especially since I think the amount of support needed will be directly related to the weight of fruit set, which seems to be a rather big unknown yet with these.)

Grow them any way you want. I only know how they do the way I've grown them. Actually, I don't know how they grow at all. I haven't grown this generation. The more we try different methods, the more we learn.....

[heirloomtomaguy]

A couple flats of your babies

[OzoneNY]

I searched but I didnt find a description or much leading to a clue. Maybe I missed it, but can someone tell me... what exactly is a multiflora tomato plant?