Indoor Winter Tomato Project

[lakelady]

Artis, you could be right about fungus gnats, although I never heard of them before. The soil mixes are perlite, pine bark fines, some peat and a bit of potting soil (not garden soil) Its funny because usually I get a few gnats around the bananas on my kitchen counter, and they are all now in the living room near the plants! I thought the mix was well draining, but I could be wrong. I don't water unless they feel on the dry side, but maybe I should repot with more drainage materials. I don't think they get too much light, but it's possible with the grow lights as these two plants are taller than the rest, and the other, low growing dwarfs are doing just fine. the damage is on the lower leaves. I'm a little stumped. I know our new kitten damaged one plant because she likes to swat at it, but she really is more interested in the eggplant I brought into the house to finish ripening ...she's really done a number on that one!

afrance, your plants look beautiful , so healthy !

[rnewste]

You will get small flying insects hovering around your indoor containers, as they are attracted to the moist potting mix. You can use either a passive sticky trap to get (many) of them.




Or use something more direct, like an indoor rated insect spray in the room from time to time.



Raybo

[lakelady]

Ah thanks Raybo! I did spray the two plants that don't look too good with a Neem insecticidal soap today, but I think I'll pickup some of those traps too this week.

[Elliot]

The obvious question is heat and lighting. As we all know the best tasting tomatoes are the ones that ripen on the plants when the whether is hot and the sun as strong. We have some tomato plants that are still giving us grape tomatoes. Great, they are red but they taste like a supermarket tomato even though the same plants yielded delicious fruit in August .

I am looking forward to hearing from people on how winter grown, indoor tomatoes taste and how they compare to summer tomatoes

[lakelady]

Well, I'm finding this indoor tomato growing more challenging than outdoor tomato growing, or houseplants. Two plants just don't look so great right now, the Thessaloniki and Ailsa Craig, and those are the two I was most interested in trying out! I did repot them yesterday as they seemed a big waterlogged..I added Pine Bark Fines which were not originally in the soil, and I'm using a lighter hand watering.

It's different than my houseplants; I water those once a week period. These I probably tend to overwater out of fear that they will dry up, so I'll have to keep a closer eye on them, perhaps get the water meter as was suggested earlier in the thread.

[Tania]

Originally Posted by lakelady

afrance, please share your photos! I'd love to see them.

Actually, my dwarfs are all doing fine, it's the regular tomato plants that are not doing well. I have Ailsa Craig and Thessaloniki in pots, and the Ailsa is wilted for some reason. The Thessaloniki has a weird drying edge to a few leaf tips at the bottom and I don't know why. They don't look so healthy and this just developed. I'll try and get pics up later today and maybe someone can tell me why they took a downturn. I did notice i have fruit flies near my plants and that was a surprise to me. Hope I don't lose them!

The drying tips and odd spots on Thessaloniki:

Lakelady,

Did you check undersides of the leaves for aphids? Indoors they are often a problem.

If there is nothing unusual on the other side of the leaf, I think they will grow out of this.

[Tania]

OK folks,

You really got me with this delicious project!

I could not restrain myself from starting a few small dwarfs - Hahm Gelbe Topftomate, Micro Tom, Tip Top, and Puck. The first three sprouted by now, I am still waiting for Puck to show up.

[delltraveller]

Lakelady,

What you get around your bananas are fruit flies, not gnats. That's generally what hangs around your fermenting tomato seeds, too.

[lakelady]

You know, I am wondering....when I transplanted those plants that are not doing so well, I buried the stems a bit more. I wonder if that would cause the lower leaves to react oddly. Maybe. Tania, you should definately join us! Need any seeds?

I know what is in my kitchen near the bananas is fruit flies, I have no idea what is in my pots, they are "fruit fly like" in that they are teeny tiny, and flit around a lot . Seem to be hanging around the top of the soil, so tomorrow I will go to the hardware store and get those traps. Do not see any aphids, but it looks like tiny little holes in one leaf that is drying up, so I already sprayed with neem insecticidal soap and that should take care of any of those little buggers.

[dice]

Fungus gnats will lay eggs in houseplant container mix as well as media
for indoor tomatoes and other vegetables. One recommended remedy
is to put a 1/4-inch layer of sand on top of the potting mix so that the
gnats cannot reach the organic material underneath to lay their eggs.
(I guess they do not like sand because there is nothing in it for the larvae
to eat.)

That keeps fungus gnat larvae from chewing on the fine root tips of your
plants and no more gnats hatch there.

[Tania]

adult gnats could be mistaken for fruit flies: http://www.google.com/search?q=gnats...&ved=0CIIBELAE

[lakelady]

Dice, thanks so much; I've got sand in the garage, so tomorrow I'm putting a layer on top of my soil. Tania, those things are pretty gross...eww. I bet that is what I have ... hopefully the sand, and the traps, will take care of them.

I've never had this problem before with houseplants. weird.

[Heritage]

Tania,

What are your favorite indoor dwarf varieties? Thanks!

Steve

[rnewste]

Originally Posted by Heritage

Tania,

What are your favorite indoor dwarf varieties? Thanks!

Steve

I too would be interested in Tania's dwarf recommendations. For my 2011/12 InnTainer Winter grow, I am planning on the following varieties:

Demidov, Mano, Mountain Princess, Polish Dwarf, Rozovyi Flamingo, Sophies Choice, Stakeless, Victorian Dwarf, Russian Red, and Pervaya Lyubov

Raybo

[Tania]

Steve, Ray

My favorite mini-dwarfs for growing under lights are Anmore Dewdrop, Hahms Gelbe Topftomate, and Minibel.

EDIT: All are about 6" tall and do well in a 4" or 6" container, except Anmore Dewdrop which is a larger plant but still compact enough to fit under lights.