Raybo's InnTainer 2011/12 Winter Indoor Tomato Project - Year #2 (pics)

[rnewste]

Weekly update: Dec 17. Some of the plants have put on 5 to 6 inches since the photo of last week (left):



Mt Princess and Victorian Dwarf are really developing:



In fact, I spotted 2 fruitset on Victorian Dwarf today:



Sophie's Choice is now flowering:



..and Demidov is thickening up:



As the Rosella Purple and Iditarod Red were now getting root-bound:



I've this afternoon, moved them into their permanent "homes":



I've shuffled around 2 InnTainers to move these 2 plants to be directly under the HPS light:



,,,,been a busy day.....

Raybo

[rnewste]

Weekly update: Dec 24. Growth continues pretty well, now 4 weeks after initial planting in the InnTainers. Photo compared to last week:



I now have 3 tomatoes on a single cluster on the Victorian Dwarf plant:



Sophie's Choice also has a new tomato growing:



Mt. Princess has added 8 inches of growth in the past 7 days:



The Peppers in the far left, rear continue to grow well:



And the Dwarf Project Rosella Purple and Iditarod Red are getting acclimated to their new "home":



Merry Christmas!

Raybo

[OtterJon]

Just awesome pics Ray, Hope you have a VERY Merry Christmas, I think those beauties look perfectly wonderful!.

[z_willus_d]

Ray, just found this thread. It made for a nice Christmas morning read. I'm amazed at your rate of growth. As you know, I have the same setup (six InnTainers) but with different lighting. I didn't inject the iron and calcium supplement, however. I do have the calcium-nitrate on hand, so I'll probably sprinkle some on top and top-water it in the next time the tainers need watering. I'll have to seek out the Actino-Iron, which I can't locate save for online where shipping is doubles the item price. I did inoculate with Actinovate and Myco-grow yesterday, so here's hoping that helps. I'm also running a humidifier full-time (when lights are on), which I expect should improve the low 25-30% humidity I was getting. in the garage. I laced the bottoms of my tainers with left-over mylar sheets, which provide a very reflective surface for all the extra lumens I have flying around the rig now that I have the 8-tube T5 running.

Merry Christmas and godspeed to those four tomatoes you have growing there!
-naysen

[rnewste]

Naysen,

I am dumbfounded by this past week's growth rate. In addition to the Mt. Princess, Mano and Rozovyi Flamingo have also put on 6 to 8 inches in just 7 days.

For the plants which are likely to grow out of their cages, I am toying with taking tomato cages and inverting them on top of the existing cages, then attaching the legs to the upper rack for support and let them hang down to meet the base cages. I'll connect them with zip ties. I simply didn't think varieties like Mt. Princess would grow so tall, so fast.

What are the Dwarf varieties you are growing in your 6 InnTainers? Also, apply VERY LITTLE Calcium Nitrate for top watering. I used a Tablespoon on my outdoor tomatoes back in August, and it wilted some of them for a month. I would suggest for your indoor plants at their early stage, no more then a quarter teaspoon.

I think the 1/2 Cup that I used this Season could be cut back to 1/4 Cup which I will do for next year.

This is a continual learning process, which is what makes it fun!

Raybo

[z_willus_d]

Ray, your rate of growth is truly phenomenal, and thanks for the warning on calcium nitrate dosages.

Here's the disposition of dwarf plants in my rig.

Rack1_Inn1:
- Beryl Beauty
- Summertime Green
Rack1_Inn2:
- Rosella Purple (1st round seedlings)
- Rosella Purple (1st round seedlings)
Rack1_Inn3:
- Mr. Snow
- Mr. Snow
Rack2_Inn4:
- Summertime Gold
- Summertime Gold
Rack2_Inn5:
- Rosella Purple (1st round seedlings)
- Rosella Purple (2nd round seedlings)
Rack2_Inn6:
- Tasmanian Chocolate
- Mr. Snow (secondary growth having lost main stem)

Obviously, I'm banking on the RPs, based on their description. I see you are too.

I'm looking forward to comparing notes.
-naysen

[rnewste]

Weekly update: Dec 31. Well, the plants have been in their InnTainers for 5 weeks now. Growth compared to last week:



Mt Princess has really taken off. I've had to attach an inverted cage pair to contain the new growth:



I simply suspended the inverted cages from the top of the rack, then secured the cages together with zip ties:



The tomatoes on Victorian Dwarf continue to enlarge:



While Mano has just begin to set fruit:



I counted a total of 5 on two trusses.

Both Mano and Rozovyi Flamingo continue their growth spurt:



And the Dwarf Project Rosella Purple and Iditarod Red are growing well compared to last week's photo:



Even the Peppers are now blooming:



I am amazed at how the stems on several of the tomato plants are thickening the further up they grow:



So far, things are looking good for a February harvest.

Raybo

[mdvpc]

Ray

Looking good. I think you will like Mano, its a nice variety.

[Father'sDaughter]

Reading through the earlier posts, I just realized that we started our Iditarod Red seeds on the exact same day! The difference is that mine are in 2.5 gallon pots under shop lights while yours are living in much more luxurious accommodations. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but I think yours have surpassed mine in height by a bit. It'll be interesting to see how much earlier yours produce fruit (and if mine end up producing anything!). I have two plants and both have flower buds starting to show up on them.

I also have one plant each of Yaponskiy Karlik, Perth Pride, Yukon Quest and Dwarf Champion Improved, and while they are all equal to the Iditarod Reds in size, the Yaponskiy Karlik is the only one plant with buds on it.

[rnewste]

I just measured the Rosella Purple and Iditarod plants to begin to keep a chart on their growth, and the Rosella Purple today is 8.5" with the Iditarod Red at 6". Let's see how they measure next Saturday.

I've now started Yukon Quest, TastyWine, Caitydid, Rosella Purple, and Perth Pride seeds for outdoor planting this Spring. Next Fall, I am going to devote all of the Winter InnTainers for 12 Dwarf Project grow-outs.

Raybo

[z_willus_d]

Impressive, impressive Ray. I can't wait to compare notes on the Rosella Purple. I'm well behind the curve on keeping up with the latest from "the project": Yukon Quest, TastyWine, Caitydid, Perth Pride, etc...

This is the stage I enjoy the most. When you think you've got everything in its right place and you're just watching the growth. Of course, that's just about when you get smacked aside the head with some disease, overgrowth, or the like for getting too comfortable.

...but for now, I'll enjoy the smooth sailing.
-naysen

[rnewste]

Time for the weekly update: January 7.

All of the plants continue to develop well. I've now had to add cages, as well as suspended extension cages on Mano and Rozovyi Flamingo this week. I've also moved up the HPS light (and my African insect repellent masks on the wall):



Mt Princess has added another 5 inches this week, to now 34 inches tall:



Fruit set on the Mt. Princess continues to develop:



As well as on the much shorter Sophie's Choice:



This is one really compact tomato variety!

On one single truss of the Mano, I count 6 tomatoes as of today:



The Dwarf Project Rosella Purple is growing rapidly, going from 8.5 inches last week, to now 12.5 inches. Four inches in seven days!



Iditarod Red has done even better going from 6 inches on Dec 31, to now 10.5 inches today. 4.5 inches of new growth in 7 days.

For the cages I've taken the 42 inch 4 hoop model, then cut off the top hoop, just above the third hoop:



The reason for doing this is the diameter of the small and middle hoops are about one inch larger than those same hoops on the 33 inch cages. Also, the 42 inch cages are made of a heavier gauge wire than the 33 inch cages.



This will allow more of the main stems to fit within the cage extension as the plants grow upward.

I then cut off the 3 legs and bend suspend points which will support the weight of the plant and fruit as they develop:



Also of note, the InnTainers have now gone 4 weeks between water replenishment today:



The hot pink fishing floats make it so much easier to do a quick-scan of water levels remaining in the reservoirs.

Raybo

[z_willus_d]

Ray, what are you doing to assist pollination? Are you leaving it to the plants with that 1/2 hour of wind from the oscillating fan? Are you shaking the vines/cages, etc.? Are you micromanaging the blossoms with a paintbrush or vibrating toothbrush?

I've been using a vibrating "softhead" toothbrush to aid pollination on the mature blossoms. I'm not seeing fruit set quite as well as you're are showing. Different varieties, yes, but the conditions shouldn't be too far off. This morning I pulled the cages apart and noticed that around eight of my 40 or so aggregate blossoms had either fallen or were about to and did with a little "push." Are you seeing any blossom drop? I certainly have several nice fruit set on the whole, and a few of the plants have more than one tomato in the oven.

Looking good on your side.
-naysen

[rnewste]

Hey Nasen,

Post some pictures when you can.

For pollination assist, I am using a "low tech" method of putting the main stem between my index and middle fingers, then "thwaking" them back and forth, for about 15 seconds. I try to do this daily, being careful to not snap off the stems.

Seems to work - as I appear to have fruitset on 75% of the blossoms which I count.

Are you seeing any insects in your setup? I've had a few of the black gnats, and recently some white-flies hiding on the undersides of the leaves. The sticky traps are effective, but I also did a light spray of Take Down Garden Spray this week to try to head them off at the pass. I have ZERO tolerance for insects inside the house!

Raybo

[z_willus_d]

Alright. You asked for pictures. Here's what I've got hot off the rack. I gave one of the racks to the open-air sunlight today, since the weather was so nice and sunny -- windy too. I'm sad to say I dropped another three blossoms since I examine the vines this morning. Is it possible to give the plants too much directed airflow?

The tallest dwarfs are just over a foot now. They're all very compact and dense. I'm surprised to see how much lenghtier and stretched your Rosella Purple is growing -- more inter-nodal space between the branches. I guess yours are stretching more for the sunlight whereas mine are currently well covered by the lights.

That 2nd pic is my sole Beryl Beauty. The 3rd and 4th show Rosella Purples. Note both the density and the evidence of blossom drop. The 6th shows my sole Tasmanian Chocolate; it currently sports three small tomatoes in the making. The other pics are general.

I'd say the plants look quite healthy on the whole. No sign of any major insect issues, though there are a few little flies flapping around.

--naysen