Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Dave

Seeds are planted. Now we wait.

Can you provide any details on this variety -- cherry, slicer, red, yellow, black?

The first sprout appeared today.

Here is a PDF file from the Florida Foundation Seed Producers detailing the variety. It is a hybrid.

[url]http://ffsp.net/resources/itn0802announceack.pdf[/url]

Several of us have seeds for two varieties bred by Dr. Randy Gardner that Bejo seeds were supposed to make available to the public this year, but didn't, perhaps b/c of bad seed production in the Netherlands where the headquarters of Bejo is located.

They are both F1's , there's a thread about them here, I distriubted seeds for both at another message site, with permission from Dr. Gardner and folks should be looking for them next year if Bejo gets the seed production done.

One is called Mt. Magic F1 and is a cherry and the other one is called Plum Regal F1 and is a saladette.

A third one that Dr, Gardner bred is called Smarty F1 which was offered last year at Johnny's and is a grape tomato.

The first two have the latest genes bred in for Late Blight and much much more and I could attach a link to information about both of them but perhaps it's better to wait until they do become available to the public.

So good luck with those seeds you have.

Carolyn, who just looked up the info on Tast-Lee but will let you post it since you said you would. Do you know when Bejo intends to make the seeds public?

Scheduled release date is 2011. Link is posted above. I'll repeat it here.

http://ffsp.net/resources/itn0802announceack.pdf

2 more sprouts this morning.

One more this morning. That makes 4 so far.

It has been 10 days and I have 5 sprouts out of 12 seeds started. Doesn't meet the given germination ratio of 75%. Could be my methodology, so I will try it again in a different manner.

It has been 10 days and I have 5 sprouts out of 12 seeds started. Doesn't meet the given germination ratio of 75%. Could be my methodology, so I will try it again in a different manner.

***

WHy do you feel that you have to reach the 75% germination rate that might have been on the seed pack?

Do you know when the seeds were produced and/or when that germination test was done? That could be quite revealing.

it seems to me that's what important is that you get plants.

And I bring this up with regard to the three varieties I noted above. In that case I'm sure that Dr. Gardner sent me the same seeds he sent Bejo for seed production and large growouts for F1 seed production, just as I'm sure the seeds you got from the U of FL were also produced there at some date in the past.

There were no % germination rates given on the seeds he give me but they ranged from about 60% to about 80% whereas fresh seeds should have been close to 100%.

And I'm sure that's the same situation with you as well.

So why not just grow the seedlings you have?

Carolyn

The seeds were a free sample, so I can't complain, HOWEVER when an item is marked with a 75% germination rate, and I get less tham 50%, I figure there is something wrong. Like I said, it could be my methodology, but even 75% is a low figure.

The seeds were a free sample, so I can't complain, HOWEVER when an item is marked with a 75% germination rate, and I get less tham 50%, I figure there is something wrong. Like I said, it could be my methodology, but even 75% is a low figure

*****

Please don't feel that something is wrong. As I said above it depends on when the seeds were produced and when that specific germination test was done. And I also said if it was FRESH seed the germination % would be close to 100% so you know you aren't working with fresh seeds.

I don't find a 75% germination rate strange at all b'c I think the sample you were given were seeds that were produced several years ago and of course I have no idea when the germination test was done.

So it's not your fault at all for getting less that 75% germination.

Carolyn

The seedlings got caught in a thunderstorm while I was out today. So far they look OK.

I went ahead and potted up the seedlings yesterday. Looks like they survived.

So far so good.

We had very heavy rains today with flood warnings. I hope the seedlings survived. I had just potted up 2 larger other types before the rain hit. I may have lost those.

Heavy rains again today. The seedlings survived the first wave of rain. Here's hoping.

Following the third day of heavy rains, the seedlings don't look very good. I started 18 more seeds in case these don't make it.

I'm all for outdoor germination because it produces hardy stock, but I also advocate moving the flats to a safe location when a huge storm is coming. Why can't you move them into a shed or a porch before the storms? Then move them back out after the strong rains pass by.

Right now, it looks like only 1 of the original 5 seedlings is going to survive. That's not good for having planted 12 seeds to start with. I hope the second batch of 18 does better.

The first sprouts of the second batch are starting to show. So far 8 have sprouted of the batch of 18. I should get a few more.

As of today I have 10 sprouts. Looks like I must have done something right this time. I'm going to take a little better care of this batch.

As of yesterday, there are 11 sprouts out of 18 seeds. A little better than last batch. The 11th sprout looks like a runt, but time will tell. I am taking better care of this batch. It's raining right now, but the seedlings are sheltered. I just have to remember to move them back into the sun after the rain passes.

Is the purpose of this thread to see how many seedlings you can kill?

What is it you are using for starting mix?

Why would you start a thread about why a nursery in your area will have starts available in 2 weeks when you have started plants of your own?

There's no points awarded for posts in this forum!

I've just about decided that I don't like your attitude. It seems that you live to jump in peoples s**t. Back off before I get nasty. Trust me, you won't like that a bit.

If you think you can intimidate me you're wrong! I'm actually trying to help. If it takes me being sarcastic to get something drilled in to peoples heads then so be it. You haven't answered my question. What are you using for the starting mix?

I am working with very little real experience and little resource. I am learning as I go. Very little here applies to Miami. Some people don't like or appreciate sarcasm. One resource I have is my own website where I can store pictures, so I use them.

Originally I used a mix made up by the local nursery. I later found out it was much too heavy. I have been cutting it with perlite more and more. I think I almost have it right.

The first pic is the best survivor of the first batch. There are 3 more survivors, but are very poor.
The second pic is the second batch which looks pretty good.

I mostly use a 50/50 mix of sphagnum and perlite for starting seed. There's still a problem with your mix or you may have bugs. The reason I say this is because the seedling from the first batch has what looks like multiple growth points and a couple dead leaves already. That isn't normal for a plant of that size. I guess it's also possible that the rain caused this if it damaged the original growth point. A mix being too moist can also cause this although I haven't seen that happen with tomato plants but have with others. If you have a macro or micro setting on your camera take a closeup of the underside of the largest leaf so hopefully you can rule out spidermites.

Spider Mites destroyed one of my other plants. I have a macro lens for my camera and am good with it, but it's hard to get under a plant this small. We'll see just how good I am. Will Neem oil kill spider mites?

I got rid of them inside the house by rotating Neem and a Joy and water mixture every 5-7 days for 6-8 weeks. I'm pretty good with a camera too. Below is a link with directions and pictures.

Here is a link that might be useful: does this sound like spider mites?

I believe this belongs in the diseases forum, so I have placed more pics on a thread I already have there.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tompests/msg0600130215190.html?7458

I can see why I'm the only other person posting now. Skipping back and forth is ignorant. You need to do some heavy reading on the Growing from Seed forum,

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/seed/

and the Container Gardening forum,

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/contain/

and I do mean lots of reading before you start asking questions. If you would like for me to quote some forum rules for you I will.

Garf, most people don't even know that there is a pretty good explanation on how to grow from seeds in the FAQ section of tomato forum. Link is below.

Your seedlings can be potted up soon. If you can, splurge on a bag of Lamberts Potting Mix at Home Depot and pot up into 3 or 4 inch containers. You can bury them to the cotyledon leaves. You don't need to use inside lights down here unless you want to but not necessary. Gradually introduce to sun --if you can, protect from afternoon sun. Also protect from driving rain even at this stage. They will only need that one transplant up to the bigger pot. They should be ready to plant in about 4 weeks. I find it helpful to bring the plants inside at night if you don't have too many--they like the cooler AC temps as it is still very hot even at night here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Starting from seeds

The seeds were started outside and have been outside all the time. I've used perlite to lighten the starting mix I had been using. This time, The starts were on a shelf unit lower shelf during the heavy rains and on top when the weather was clear. They are doing much better.

Glad to hear they are doing better, good luck with your plants.

Of the first 24 seeds, only one is thriving. About 3 are barely hanging on. We have had thunderstorms almost every day. I have started 12 more seeds and there are only 3 left, which totals only 39 seeds in an envelope marked 50 seeds. I am not doing well with this batch. If anything happens to the one good plant, I will never find out if this is a good variety.

I made a mistake on the seed count. The first number should be 30, and the total 45