Mark's 2018 crop

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Not a bad cross at all, not by any stretch. What a beauty.

The other multi-parent Dester cross sounds mighty interesting too (#95).

Quick question: did the other parents help in reducing Dester's early blight susceptibility? I love the taste/texture of Dester, however, it gets walloped big time with EB in my neck of the woods, even with preventative measures.

A couple of interesting things came out of the Dester 3 way cross. The fruit shape is pretty darn nice, very much a market tomato, they throw a heavy yield, the fruit is nice size, great texture, and they are fairly early. I assume the shape and earliness comes from BB which is in both sides, and both Dester and Brandywine taste great.

I do think they have some disease resistance, MSE does, it seems to hold up well. Now in your area where you have more disease, may tell a different story.

What I wonder is how BB holds up in disease prone areas?

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by AKmark

This is a nice Rebel Yell that I picked today that contains the seeds of my newest cross. Rebel Yell x Mat-Su Express. This RY plant was mid season, a touch earlier than others, and MSE can run from early season to mid on some plants. The MSE I have been trying have been excellent, a real tomato bite, RY is a touch sweeter and complex too.

I don't see it being a bad cross at any rate. LOL

I would adore some seeds of that when you get to about F5, if you think you want to ! What a cross!

[MissS]

That sounds like a very promising cross Mark. I wish you well with it and will be following along.

PureHarvest, those plants of yours look phenomenal.

[KarenO]

They look terrific

[AKmark]

I came across this and thought it might be useful to others too.

http://www.homehydrosystems.com/ph_t...bles_page.html

[GrowingCoastal]

Mark, how nice to see something meant for growing veggies!

[Tomzhawaii]

Originally Posted by AKmark

I came across this and thought it might be useful to others too.

http://www.homehydrosystems.com/ph_t...bles_page.html

Aloha Mark,
I found that site maybe a year ago. It has helped me alot. It's where I made my decision to use coco coir , perlite & hydroton. I was surprised at the ph & ppm for cabbage. I had not looked at what cabbage needs,since starting some in a rail system. Again I was not paying attention to detail. Thanks for helping me remind myself of the that. The icon is now on my desktop.
Aloha

[AKmark]

Thanks everyone, just passing along info.

Here are a couple of Mat-Su Express I had on display in my retail GH. I grew them with Flora Nova grow and Cal-Mag. I sell FN and Cal- Mag to customers who need simplicity, so I set a bottle at the base of the plants. I sure sold a bunch real fast. LOL

[MissS]

Wow, I think that I would like to buy some too based on what I am seeing here. Of course nobody could ever get the perfection that you do. What you do is absolutely amazing.

[Spartanburg123]

Incredible operation you have there! Loving the pictures- keep them coming!!!

[AlittleSalt]

Mark, I can see your setup is top-notch. The pictures are helping me to understand. Please, more pictures.

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by Tomzhawaii

Aloha Mark,
I found that site maybe a year ago. It has helped me alot. It's where I made my decision to use coco coir , perlite & hydroton. I was surprised at the ph & ppm for cabbage. I had not looked at what cabbage needs,since starting some in a rail system. Again I was not paying attention to detail. Thanks for helping me remind myself of the that. The icon is now on my desktop.
Aloha

How is the tomato scene where you are at? I could not find much on the Big Island, don't remember seeing that much elsewhere either. I did see some heirlooms at some markets though. Peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, green Beans?

Thanks, hope all is great

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Mark, I can see your setup is top-notch. The pictures are helping me to understand. Please, more pictures.

You got it, you had some nice looking plants in your pics.

Seriously, I don't do anything special at all, REALLY. I just copy numbers. Here is why I let go of what I thought I knew before. I read HG provides for thousands of growers on their site, some are obviously huge because of the quantities of fertilizers that can be bought. Anyway, big league. They provide everything for container growing, lay outs, fertilizer programs, and they explain why. I simply follow their advice. The owner Mike Morton is a master at this stuff, I just ask questions, and listen to him.

Anyway, they give us a great guideline to follow. I think some adjusting is necessary from one area to another, but it is not that hard. I highly suggest their affordable growers guide for tomatoes. GH or outside, we feed in containers, and the more accurate we are the more we get in quantity and quality too.

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by MissS

Wow, I think that I would like to buy some too based on what I am seeing here. Of course nobody could ever get the perfection that you do. What you do is absolutely amazing.

Yes you can, I do nothing special.

[Tomzhawaii]

Originally Posted by AKmark

How is the tomato scene where you are at? I could not find much on the Big Island, don't remember seeing that much elsewhere either. I did see some heirlooms at some markets though. Peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, green Beans?

Thanks, hope all is great

Aloha,
We have many small farmers here. The sugar cane and almost all the pineapple are gone. The usual is tree fruits (banana ,avacado, papaya, passionfruit, etc) the veggies can be found at farmers markets and Chinatown. The farmland is disappearing . Sub divisions and Highend homes garner more money for the landowners. Basil has become a huge export. But for me, I am getting less frustrated with my hydro / container setup. The info is out there, it just took some time to weed out the fakes. My U. H. Tomatoes (N-63)is blooming nicely and have some sets coming. I bought the seeds from the university seed program. Maybe Mr. Kratky had some hand in this hybrid seed? That would be cool. Anyway, Thanks for your sharing and kindness.
Tom