Ask Carolyn

I've grown Mountain Magic for two years now, seeds sent to me by the Breeder Dr. Randy Gardner of NCSU.

So I'll try as well.

The Burpee Plants will be F1 plants but it would have been a heck of a lot cheaper to buy the MM F1 seeds from the many places that are selling them, but TGS has the best price.

Since MMF1 is a hybrid the saved seeds will be viable but the plants you get will probably be different from the original F1 plants and fruits b'c F1's are not stable. If you sow lots of the F2 seeds and then lots of F2 plants you will see what's called genetic segregation. That is, some of the parental inputs in the construction of MM F1 may , probably will, show different plants and fruits, and you may find something you like If so save seeds from many fruits on that plant, now the F3 seeds and repeat what you've already dine, selecting for that plant and fruit until what you have is called Open pollinated, OP, selection, which is not longerMM F1.

And that means that every seed you sow gives rise to the same plants and fruits.

It can take from 5-7 years to get to the OP state.

Frankly I wouldn't bother. The parentage for MM F1 is complex and I think it's cheaper and more expedient to just buy the seeds.

I f you want to take sucker cuttings from the F1 Burpee plants you can do that but I'mnot so sure about the timing as you've described it

As for timing, I have many friends in NC and they're just now sowing seed and I mean in Raleigh, Efland and I forget where Lee lives. My brother lives about 20 miles north of Asheville and so it's cooler there.

I've forgotten all your place and timing other questions b'c I'm tired and want to go to bed, LOL, but if you could tell me if my post helped and what questions I didn't answer that would help a lot/

Carolyn, who forgot tosay that the store bought Camapari's are F1 hybrids so just follow alongwith what I said about MMF1/

lr~

Oops. I forgot the last tomato - wrt From what I known it is a router gimmick for networking computers. Oh yes, and WRT means With Reference To.

and:

The surgery for creating F2's is about to commence.

Here is the mother -- six feet tall and reaching into the sky.

This message was edited Mar 29, 2011 11:31 AM

And the candidates, ready to be de-seeded.

Almost there.

They are safely in the incubator.

Meanwhile back with the pots.

Be well

(o_O)

flyboyFL, Post#8458278 is such a good photo, I can almost smell the tomatoes! That would be a good screen saver =D.

flyboy, thanks for the info and the welcome! I think the plants from Burpee and some seeds for planting mid summer will do for this year. I'm enjoying watching your progress.

Linda

Carolyn, thanks for the great info. I went ahead and ordered seeds for mid summer planting, got them for $3.95 for 10 from Johnnyseeds.com. At that price I won't be throwing 3 seeds in each little pot! The seeds are probably more expensive than the pots. You've convinced me not to count on seeds from grocery store tomatoes, but I'll find some place to plant one of them just for fun.

My garden in NC is on the Outer Banks, so there probably won't be another frost. Here in Powhatan we don't generally put in tomatoes until the first of May, probably about the same as inland NC. We're on the east side of a dune about 1100' from the ocean, so the wind is pretty brisk in the spring. I planted a Celebrity and a San Marzano a week ago since I have a bunch of them from seed. If the wind destroys them, I'll just plant some more in a couple weeks. The garden there is for our renters, so I like to have a few early tomatoes for them in June.

Linda

"I went ahead and ordered seeds for mid summer planting, got them for $3.95 for 10 from Johnnyseeds.com. At that price I won't be throwing 3 seeds in each little pot"

I cannot find the Campari seeds on Johnny's.
Do they call them a different name?

Carolyn, I thought the Compari seeds were proprietary and not for sale .

uh-uh. I'm feeling post #8458278 is a calendar entry!

Luckily we are having company.

So, who has a recipe?

Be well

(o_O)

What a beautiful photo, flyboy!

Thanks -- and delicious, too.

Be well

(o_O)

Too cute!

Gone to compost

Still chugging along.

One cluster.

Be well

(o_O)

I haven't been able to log in to
http://tatianastomatobase.com
for several days.

Does anyone know if her site is down?

Corey

P.S. I have some Black Russian seeds coming from Hazzards, if anyone wants to trade.
From what I read about them:

Black Russian
72 days (or 78 days)
rich old fashioned complex heirloom flavor
sweet taste with spicy and smoky undertones
turns dark red-black (mahogany red) when mature
Heavy producer and early!
Hazzards T8791

Rick,
I'm game for some Black Russian seeds. I don't have much in the way of tomato seeds to offer in return, but I've got loads of fresh cole crop seeds for sowing starting mid-June. LMK in a dmail!

Linda

What a revelation!

You know those little cubes that the roots grow right through -- well they don't.

These are the little devils

Well I just started to recycle the plant mixture -- and this is what I found.

The cube is intact -- and all the growth is upward.

Luckily I had the foresight to plant them deep.

And it wasn't just one cube. They all were the same.

Be well

(o_O)

These are the cubes

I am sooooooooooooooooooo glad you posted this! I just cleared out my garage to gather all my seed-starting paraphernalia for sowing again in mid-June, and I ran across whole packages of peat pots and peat pellets, and thought, "hmmmm. no sense in these going to waste..."

Are the peat pots (they're single little pots) the same as those thingies you used?

I recall the roots grew through the peat pots, and definitely through the peat pellets...problem was keeping them watered properly. They stay too wet and/or dry out too fast.

Thanks!

Linda

I really do not know.

I have used these for years -- and never checked the results. I usually put them into the ground. This time they were in pots.

But, these would be a disaster if they were planted high.

Be well

(o_O)

I always water peat pots from the bottom. Dry pots = pot bound.

I've used peat pots in the past and found them to get moldy. I would always peel the pot away from the plant and then put it in the ground. I have a stack of those things in the basement somewhere. I prefer to use the peat pellets now. They work great for me; water from the bottom and they soak up what they need and when it's time for potting up, I always take off the netting even if it disturbs some of the roots. They never show any distress and take off once in the bigger pots (16 oz. cups).

Yup, I'll chime in. Not a fan of the peat pots. This season I used pellets from a store over in Dallas Drthor recommended. I don't think they are totally peat (bat guano added). My older son is in college and visits the area with his friends every now and again so he picked some pellets up for me. Definitely had some nice veg starts this year!

I will defnitely have to find me some pellets

Be well

(o_O)

terry-emory, I am glad that you enjoy Texas Hydroponic store.
I love the Roots Organic products.
I have millions of tomatoes, pepper and eggplants already this year thanks to their products ... and maybe luck !!

Toni and Terri, I'm a bit particular with my peat pots. There are problems with the small ones (rotting, confining, etc.). I like starting with the 5-6" pots and about an inch of soil. As the plants develop their first set of true leaves, we watch them carefully and continue to add fresh soil to the pots. With larger volumes of soil, the roots spread. They are also not so sensitive to drying between watering if necessary. The we start to put them into direct sunlight by putting them into the car of van under the windshield (front or back) in a car we don't often use. (Our own personal greenhouse.)

When we plant, we tend to wet an d rip the peat pots, but in any case we plant deep to encourage more root growth.

I have to pull them out so that i can get the Mountain Magics into the ground.

But, they are almost 8 feet tall and still putting buds out.

Be well

(o_O)

Carolyn~

I can see that you are alive and hopefully well -- and I have a question.

This is a Mountain Magic second generation.

What is happening? It looks like a rorschach test.

Be well

(o_O)

LEt's just say that I am alive and good grief why did you ever bring this thread back to the first page. LOL

Yes, I know what that disease is, but can't remember the name right now so will have to check it out and get back to you when I can.

Just too much catching up to do after being off line for almost three weeks and now dealing with a new computer.

I think it maybe Buckeye Rot, but would like to confirm that. It's a systemic disease, not a foliage disease. Maybe you can go to one of the good disease sites and check it out, starting perhaps with ones from FL.

Carolyn

New computer! My, aren't you the brave one. You are gutsy. Me, I keep my abacus handy -- and still remember the "times" tables. Remember when Dick Tracy had a two-way wrist radio and Buck Rogers could actually fly through space. (But, if i remember correctly, it was "Buck Rogers in the 25th century!"

It affected only that one tomato, so far. I will check around! The blemish actually seems confined. I don't know whether I should pull it off and send it swimming -- or wait and see what develops.

Glad you are back at work here.

Be well

(o_O).

OK carolyn:

I have a new one for you.

First time, i am infested with some kind of "miner" that is chewing through my Mountain Magic and Campari leaves. It has not infected the black ones.

Should I pinch them off -- spray and nuke them -- or just grin and bear it?

Be well

(o_O)

That is one voracious herd of miners you got there!

Yes, BAD leaf miiner infection.

I'd pick off the worst leaves, research has indicated that the plants can stand about 1/2 leaf loss and still ripen the fruits. Spraying does little since the miners are inside the leaves.

And only plants where the vector has landed and laid the eggs go on to have miner problems, so i don't think it is JUST the black varieties that escapeed, theoreticaly it could be any variety color.

Being in FL I know it's a bad problem andif it were me I'd consult the experts;. have you Googled the U of FL to find their fact sheet on leaf miners and theirlife cycle and their suggestions as to what to do? I know I would.

Carolyn

Bummer about the miners, but the 'maters still look OK.