The tomato plants in question were dealt with..lol.. really I just pulled one out, and put it in water to hopefully root. The other I just left where it was. I will watch them to see if it keeps growing fast, or if it starts looking more like I expect it to.

I put some more water in the basil clamshell(have 6 sponges in, 5 with basil from different sources, and 1 with mint) this morning when I checked everything, and when I looked again this afternoon several more little leaves had popped! It's funny, the oldest seeds(from 2013) popped first:

I yanked the bitter black seeded simpson(mine I trashed, my daughter took hers to put in her window), and put the tiny buttercrunch lettuce plants in.

Since now there are no really tall plants, I was able to lower the lights, and I put cotton in the bottom of some of the net pots to hang down and wick nutrient up to those that don't have really long roots yet. I am expecting growth to increase for those plants now that they have a "foot in" the nutrient so to speak.

Pak choy:

Largest Sweet N Neat:

I will definitely give the odd tomato a chance, hopefully they will both do well separately, and are actually what I think they are. The one I pulled out had a thinning part in its stem, but came out with a couple of longish roots, and several little root hairs, so I think it will be ok. They should make a really nice hanging basket arrangement before too long.

Pak Choy:

buttercrunch:

Sweet N Neat tomato:

It seems like everything is growing, just really really slow. Just noticeable growth every 2 days. I am thinking of increasing the nutrient concentration in the salad bed, to see how they do. The pak choy and lettuce are the youngest things in here, and they are nearly 3 weeks old. The nutrient solution is 6.0, and 675 ppm. I might bump it up to 800, and see how they like it.

Honestly carrie i would try dropping the ppm. Everything looks very dark green so you have plenty of nutrients.

My nutrients on my lettuce was 450 for 3 weeks and it thrived! They are closeto harvest now and even upping it to 600 i didn't See an increase in growth

Does anything look like maybe they need lower nutrient levels? Would that slow growth?

One thing I will make sure and do, is turn the lights off at night. I wonder if the 24 hour light would slow the growth? I know I should have done it before, but they were growing so slowly, I didn't want to risk slowing them down more, lol.

The nutrient levels look good, they are nice and dark and no signs of burn. Upping them might cause burn and thats why i suggested lowering rather than strengthening. Plants take a while to recover from a burn or nutrient lockout, underferting Has no adverse effects except leggier growth and possibly slower growth. On a side of caution always better to try with reducing then adding.

24 hr light vs 16/8. No it will not slow growth however it will run up your electric bill unnecessarily. Plants grow a tremendous amount during dark cycle and absorb light during the 16 to photosynthesis. If under 24 you do not notice it as much as the plant is constantly growing in a standard pattern, where as after the dark cycle you notice it more because the growth happens during the dark 8 hrs.

These are the lettuce grown the first 3 weeks at 450 (280 actual) then upped to 600 for a few days now.

Notice how light green they are, id rather a light green lettuce than a burnt stunted lettuce.

One thing that could be happening is the constant rising of the nutrient solution lvl. In the kratky method it requires the roots that have became out of the solution to become air roots. If these air roots are resubmerged in solution it sufficates the roots and oxygen uptake to plant, which in return slows growth. After a couple weeks the solution should be down a few inches giving a few inches of suspended oxygen for the plant to breathe.

Notice on my choy how the roots look totally different from the solution roots to the air roots.

Ok, I'll just leave the nutrient as it is, and see if the dark period makes them grow faster. Thanks a lot!

Just noticed the pictures, sorry. I think I see what you mean. I will just give them some time, and see how they do as the nutrient level drops. Thanks again!

I can notice some growth in the largest pak choy, the sweet n neats, and the largest buttercrunch. I guess growing dwarf tomatoes kind of messes up seeing rampant growth each day! They will only get about 10" high, so they have to pace themselves, lol!

Sweet N Neat

buttercrunch:

pak choy:

Looking good!

That choy is about to overtake everything!!

Yeah, I can tell he is planning something, lol! I should have put him by himself, I guess! Next time I grow one, it will definitely be in a large container by itself!

I didn't mention last night, the sweet n neat tomato is forming teeny tiny flower buds! I will try to get a picture tomorrow, close up.It will be so neat to see, a three inch tall plant with lots of flowers!

I didn't mention last night, the sweet n neat tomato is forming teeny tiny flower buds! I will try to get a picture tomorrow, close up. It will be so neat to see, a three inch tall plant with lots of flowers! I will probably be moving the pak choy into their own containers, and put basil in their places. I will post pictures when I do that.

With Bok Choy it is one of the asian vegetables that need a high PH of 7 and a EC of about 1.5 to 1.8 at mature growth but the PH is very important or stunted growth will occur. It is one of those asian vegetables like Patsoi that want a high PH which means if you grow these vegetables it is not compatible with most other plants.

Kang Kong etc is different as it will grow in the medium range of a PH of about 5.8-6.2 the EC in the range of about 1.5 to 1.8 approximately.

Tomatoes are in a world of their own with a PH of about 6 - 6.2 and a EC of about 2.8 to 3.2 approximately , but boy they are thirsty devils and will drink up your reservoir of nutrient very fast.

PS I am in a forum in Singapore that is very active with hydroponics growing in limited space light etc and high temperatures, so I understand your possible attempts at getting it right. I am married to a Malaysian and have relatives in Singapore so I understand the obstacles you face.

Interesting read Robert, I'm actually having great success with 6.5ph on my choy...run around 800ppm and they love it. She actually is growing the same choy as me, i sent her the seeds. These are cantonees pak choy so it might differ from the bok choy variety's you are used to growing, i have upped my ph to 7 before and they weren't very happy.

Carrie, got my shipment of seeds and updated my trade list so anything else you see that you would like just lemme know. I ordered the sorrel and dwarf brussels for ya so i know those already.

I will try 6.5 PH and see how that goes, I am growing outdoors in natural light using expanded clay , but I have put in another two trays DWC one with coco and one with perlite, as we live in the sub tropics in Australia heat and humidity can be a problem, so I am growing under shade cloth , so I will see if the moisture holding mediums do any better and I will try 6.5 PH as you have mentioned.

robert, interesting ideas about tomatoes, I will have to experiment with some more concentrated nutrients later in the year, once I have standard size, or even larger dwarf tomatoes. The tomatoes I am growing now are dwarf or micro dwarf varieties(3 varieties, the tallest reaching maybe 12 inches at maturity) As they seem to be doing well, and show no signs of deficiencies, I am going to stick with the ec at 1.35(if I did my math correctly). I will be interested to hear how the shade cloth works for you, our weather here probably is very different than yours, we stay pretty dry, but the summer sun can be brutal on our gardens. I have thought about getting shade cloth to protect some of the more tender plants I grow.

chuck, cool about getting the seeds! I always love getting seeds, lol. What variety is the honeydew, do you know? Somewhere around 2006, I grew what was supposed to be a hybrid between a cantaloupe and a honeydew, it was called "milky way". It was of course, an enormous plant, but produced an outrageous amount of melons. I think I planted 2 or 3 of the plants in one hill, and the plants filled about a 12 foot circle, shading out even the grass and weeds. We ended up getting over 15 melons probably, ranging from normal cantaloupe size, to about sugar baby watermelon size(maybe 2-8 pound range). They started out dark green, and lightened up just a little, like a key lime pie color as they matured. There were no stripes, spots, or webbing on the outsides, they were smooth. The first I picked was so disappointing, it tasted just like a cucumber...I wanted to yank the plants up...but am so glad I didn't. The one I picked was under ripe, because when they are fully ripe, they are better tasting than any melon I have ever had. So sweet and rich flavored, it ranks probably in my top 5 delicious foods. I have been looking for those seeds since about 2008. They had to have come from gurneys or harry fields, or burpee because that is where we got our seeds from that year. I can't find anything that looks close.

Are you planning on saving seeds from your habanero? I am so tempted to try one of those...I could always just buy one from the grocery store. I have heard the flavor is fruity.. I think they might be good in a batch of some kind of jelly...plenty of sweet to balance out the heat.

Funny, I already have the majority of my gardens planned out, and we haven't even built the beds yet, LOL! I am hoping to be getting in some neat tomato varieties soon, I will let you know when I do. A kind person on T.V. offered seeds for SASE, and there were some really neat ones(I will let you know when I get them, in case you want some, too). I want to try to grow some of the dwarf project large fruited tomatoes(I think most only get to about 3') in hydroponics very soon. I think they would have to have a cup of some kind to sit in(as opposed to a sponge), and some kind of really sturdy support. I have heard that the plant itself, being as stocky and thick as it is needs lots of support, and commonly falls over if not supported well, especially when loaded down with fruit.

Yeah I plan to save the seeds, i have saved them for 4 years now and the plants seem to be staying true. I got them as a orange/red cross but only have got red out of them. They are great with jellies and jams. Some of my favorites are bitter sweet chocolate habanero covered pretzels Or chocolate carmel habanero milk shake.

the honeydew I do not have any idea on the breed, the seed pack just says honeydew. I don't really like sweet melons so you are more than welcome to them. They are from the free seed newbie exchange.

Your math is correct on EC and since you are growing those Monsters i think youll be fine right there till at least fruit starts to form. I know what you are talking about on garden planning, i have pretty much my entire property planned out and im about 5 months before plant out lol.

Flower buds so hard to photograph, dwarf tomato is is around 2 inches tall, so the buds are teeny!

I moved the pak choy to a gallon jug by itself, it is definitely growing great, a little limited by the light and nutrient level maybe, which is fine:

And the basil is needing transplanted soon, I will have to find containers to use that can fit under the lights that I have. I didn't take a picture of them, but I will once I get them set up. In my salad box I have 2 lettuces, 5 micro dwarf tomatoes, and 1 pak choy. My plan is to get the lettuces and choy out of there into their own 1 gallon reservoirs, so that will leave 3 spaces free. I have 2 or 3 more dwarf or tumbler type tomatoes, 2 mexican sour gherkins(not sure how big they can get, but probably too big-WHOA-just read that this can get to 10 feet long...I need to really think about where this is going to go...), and the basils need homes...will have to do some arranging to get everyone situated.

It seems unreal that this frail little thing can grow into a huge monster, needing strong support structures: some of the leaves are about the same size as my fingertip.

Everything's looking great!

Glad to see the sour gherkin is doing soo well... those hard to grow plants love a change of approach.

Yeah, I have tried so many times to grow them, and never got one past the three leaf stage, and then it was pathetic, and died quickly. These seem to be pretty happy!

The sweet n neat tomato looks to have a flower about to open, it is so tiny.

chuck, I got the seeds in I was waiting for, orange russian 117 tomato. Definitely one of the most beautiful I have seen, if you want some seeds:

My largest sweet n neat seems to be developing a deficiency of some sort, I am thinking iron? The nutrient is at 676ppm, pH is 6, and the reservoir temp is approx 68 degrees:

Also, my tam jalepeno pepper is showing some similar blanching(this pepper is in peat in a small pot, but each watering is with the same half strength nutrient as all the hydro stuff. It requires water/feed approx every 2 days.)

It is probably not a coincidence that the only two plants that show this are the ones that are flowering and or fruiting right now.

Are you still using tap water? It to me looks like a calcium def but in early stages its kinda hard to tell.

Those maters look great! I def could use a few seeds. Any idea on production and size the plants get?

I am still using tap water, it might be time to start inching up the nutrient strength, or switch over to the tomato formula half strength...I'll have to think about it a while, and see if/how it develops. I sure don't want to lose any possible fruit to blossom end rot.

As far as I can see, they are indeterminate, so will probably get as big as you will let them, I saw some pics on TV where one Pennsylvania grower had a plant that was incredibly loaded down with full sized fruit, so production can be pretty good. He had a garden with lots of homemade compost worked in, and 10-10-10 fert. He also pruned to 1 or 2 main vines, staked them, and cut the plant off at 7 feet tall. My guess is they are pretty vigorous growers. Flavor is supposed to be mild and a little sweet.

Speaking of TV, you said you had tried to register with them and never heard back, did you happen to do that on a computer, or phone or tablet? I happened to read that for whatever reason requests from a mobile device don't even reach them, so you have to do it from a computer. It is listed in their how to join sticky.

Yeah I sent the req on my phone. That is more than likely the issue. Oh well though as I spend more than enough time here I really don't need another forum. Lol

Ill wait for a review from you on them before i ask ya to send me seeds as i have too many varietys to grow this year already....good problem to have!!

Yep, it is a cool problem to have. I can relate, I am going to be working on the dwarf project this year, and will have between 13-18 tomato plants to grow from that, plus any others that I will be wanting to grow. I think all in all, I will have between 24-50 tomato plants! The orange Russian 117 will definitely be one of them, though. I will let you know how it is. Next month I will probably start making the rounds to any deli, sandwich shop, restaurant, or grocery store I can think of to get free buckets to grow all those tomatoes!

In approx 3 gallon reservoir with half strength lettuce nutrient(676ppm), I added 1 Tbsp of each part of the tomato formula concentrate(enough to make 1/2 gallon full strength)that puts the reservoir at 856ppm. Hopefully that isn't too big an increase. I figured that would be the gentlest thing I could do, to hopefully nip the deficiency in the bud. If that doesn't work, or if they have any trouble, I will just replace the nutrient with fresh mixed tomato formula. In watering the pepper, I will just start using the tomato formula, and water it lighter, and every day. That will end the severe moisture changes that it has been going through.

Sweet N Neat tomatoes still showing the yellowish leaf centers, seems to be less yellowish on the largest one than yesterday, and the yellowing on the smaller one is not visible to the eye, just shows up on photos. No signs of any problems from the increased nutrient solution.

Also found a nice little jalepeno pepper on my plant:

Sweet on the pepper....bet its gonna be tasty!

I think the tomatoes look fine, It looks like the yellowing is more so very light green new growth. I wouldnt be too concerned untill the leaf develops a little more and see if it darkens. Alot of my tomato leaves start off very bright green then as they fully develop they darken. Its actially a good sign of vigorous growth.

The plants are doing pretty well, I had to change things around due to a move. The plants were exposed to some pretty cold temps for a few hours(probably got around 50 degrees. Some (gherkins, peach, and tomatoes) were a little pouty and wilted, but getting them back to a warm and well lit place has cheered them right back up. I noticed I have about 8 little jalepenos growing, and there are still a lot of flowers. No open flowers on the tomatoes, but they are all dark, lush green. It will be interesting to see if they have any more light green as they grow, if it indeed was due to fast growth. I figure they will have another growth spurt in a week or so, after they settle in good.

I had a leak in my styrofoam reservoir, and had to relocate each of the plants to gallon jugs(actually didn't have enough for every plant). Everybody got mixed up, hard to tell the sweet n neat tomatoes apart! I will post some pictures soon, I just have to figure out who's who.

Ok, things are disorganized, but here are some pictures.

Tam Jalepeno

Anmore Treasures tomato

Sweet N Neat tomatoes

Rearranged grow box

Thing's are really looking good!

How old is the anmore treasure tomato?

Thanks! The anmore treasures tomato is about 25 days from sprouting. It is a tumbler type, and I thought it was going to be a very small plant, but not so much, lol. It is the tallest of all the plants, I think. I am hoping to be able to put it in a hanging planter in my kitchen...I guess that will depend on how big it gets...

I've never thought about it but that would be very cool having a hanging kratky planter.

Well, plants seem to be settling in well to their new digs, starting to grow vigorously again. Most impressive is the gherkins:

tomatoes:

anmore treasures is getting too big for the little quart bottle, going to move it to a gallon one soon:

Everything is looking great! That is some impressive growth on everything.