tiny tim dwarf tomato

[Mandy Onderwater]

yes you get extremes in the heat although the bronze is heat tolerant even your highs there you would see bolting if you try to grow them for max size so cut them back when a good size and let them regrow , and planting so it mature at the coolest point of growing season and shade it or plant it in a well shaded area as best as possible. but sadly most lettuce and cole crops wont fair well in the extreme heat.

for hot areas try one of these romaine -
"Jericho," developed in Israel
"Anuenue," a romaine developed in Hawaii-
another good choice for those crackling temperatures. "Craquerelle du Midi," an open-hearted French variety,

there are numerous loose leaf that do well in higher heat and a few of the crisps heads variants, the major issue you will find with many lettuces once you start exceeding 80f ( 27 c ) they tend to start taking on a bitter taste i have had exceptional luck in the butter head type like buttercrunch and the Mignonette bronze tend to fair very good in heat and still keep a milder flavor doing basically a cut and come harvest snipping off leafs when still young and letting them regrow for best result before they do bolt. we have had summers here of high 80 to mid 90s same range as you but not as prolonged and romains and butterhead types have dne well fr me as have some loose leaf types grown with shade over them oak leaf and Royal Oak Leaf - Black-Seeded Simpson

The ultimate if you have some space would be hydroponics as i do indoors here is that same Mignonette bronze from yesterday post and today , you can see the growth , this is a slower lettuce to starts but once it starts growing it moves along at a consistent steady growth. deep water totes like some i show in photo in an area 18 x 48inches ( 46 x 122 cm ) i can grow and harvest cut and *** year round easily growing up to 30 heads in that amount of space attached a couple photos of what a simple area that size can grow

second photo was returning from a week away and no one to tend and returned to an overgrow 18 x 48 lettuce area with 28 plants growing as a jungle.

3rd is another time of year same area with herbs growing before i set up a more permanent place for herbs and yes i had massive bumper crop of a wide variety of basils

Even my sweet basil is bolting for the first time ever. The weather has been kind of funny though. We're meant to be having tons of rain this season but... not quite.
I've found that parsley and chives grow amazing here and I can practically ignore them. They'll even live when I forget to water them and whatnot. I'm now seeing my oregano, lemon balm and mint show similar behaviour too.

I'll have a look at those lettuces! I did indeed have issues with bitter tasting lettuce. Might be best to keep that coming from a supermarket perhaps.

 

[daveb]

Even my sweet basil is bolting for the first time ever. The weather has been kind of funny though. We're meant to be having tons of rain this season but... not quite.
I've found that parsley and chives grow amazing here and I can practically ignore them. They'll even live when I forget to water them and whatnot. I'm now seeing my oregano, lemon balm and mint show similar behaviour too.

I'll have a look at those lettuces! I did indeed have issues with bitter tasting lettuce. Might be best to keep that coming from a supermarket perhaps.

bitterness can be two things too hot or stress and plants bolting stress to a plant with lack of water will also bring out bitter and astringent tones in numerous plants another that will show it is cucumbers if they take on bitterness is one or the other most often lack of water tho

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

bitterness can be two things too hot or stress and plants bolting stress to a plant with lack of water will also bring out bitter and astringent tones in numerous plants another that will show it is cucumbers if they take on bitterness is one or the other most often lack of water tho

Thank you for letting me know! I am actually thinking of growing cucumbers in the future!

 

[daveb]

couple update photos first is just to show roots even on very young starts the first is the Bronze Mignonette ons of the butter head style lettuces , the hole is 2 inch diameter ( 50.8 mm ) pipe is 4 inch pvc a real outside diameter of 4.5 inches ( 114mm), second is buttercrunch another of the butterheads style , final is black seed simpson lettuce , planted seed on 24th and 25th of december. so right now day 23 since sowed seed

tomato has gradually been tipping from weight so i slipped a small vial under it i will be making some small wire cages this after noon to support them that is one of 6 it the plastic totes at side and currently has 23 tomatoes of various sizes

 

[daveb]

stole a few leafs off lettuce last night for sandwhich , very crisp, clean sweet flavor. so is now not yet a month since sowing seeds to grow this is a few out of 64 plus lettuce and herbs i have going in corner of kitchen

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

stole a few leafs off lettuce last night for sandwhich , very crisp, clean sweet flavor. so is now not yet a month since sowing seeds to grow this is a few out of 64 plus lettuce and herbs i have going in corner of kitchen

They look amazing!

 

[daveb]

and the pepper plant just sittin gin its 5 gallon pail to to one corner in front of the lettuce and herb bed has decided it's happy and is in bloom, there are so many blooms i am not even going to try and venture a total count

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

and the pepper plant just sittin gin its 5 gallon pail to to one corner in front of the lettuce and herb bed has decided it's happy and is in bloom, there are so many blooms i am not even going to try and venture a total count

It looks so healthy! And you're growing it indoors..?

 

[daveb]

It looks so healthy! And you're growing it indoors..?

yes the pail uses a large version of a net pot from viagrow a 6 in net pot lid and the pail is filled with the hydroponic nutrient solution, the lights it is getting is the reflected light from the grow are i use for the lettuce and herbs. as you can see the media i use is the stones that are heated and they ex[and like puffed rice, the roots penetrate the gaps and go down into the liquid the pail starts ot filled to the leve of the pepper plant and as it grows the level drops it has a gap of about an inch between the pot and liquid now. the area light is from grow bed it sits next to i just turn the pail every few days to insure equal growth. the lettuces as you can see is growing well. the last 2 photo is that same Bronze Mignonette i am holding showing roots on the 18th

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Do you control the temparature, and if so, what is the average temperature they're in?
They look stunning.

 

[daveb]

Do you control the temparature, and if so, what is the average temperature they're in?
They look stunning.

the grow area is under a stair well and against an outside wall i have a sheet up to block excess heat from wood stoves so the temperatures may vary from as low as normal 64 ( 17.7c) extremely cold night 60 ( 15.5c ) to high 74 ( 23.3c ) and a rare 76 (24.4c ) the water bin for plants is raised off floor a couple inches so in affect the water will vary in temperatures slightly but not as widely as the air temps

 

[daveb]

harvest 4 plants today , gave the second row of plants a trim enough for salads for a few days lol.....

the tray is 22 x 11 inches 2 1/2 inches deep ( 56 x 28 cm 6.4 cm deep ) lettuces in tray to left - simpson black seed , center bottom - Oakleaf - center top butter-crunch , right - red saladbowl

Now that plants have harvested they will grow back a little slower at first then shoot up because of established roots and other rows and sections will also be harvested over the next week or two to stagger the harvests

 

[daveb]

regrowth begins , here are a couple of the plants i cut right down to a bit over 3/4 in above the net pot in the hydroponics first is the buttercrunch and then red salad bowl if you look close you can make out rim of the two inch net pot just in fron of the red slad bowl near the derad leafs i picked up after you can see top of wone of the stems just sticking up where it was cut back to and can see above how mych they shoot up since cutting saturday morning. because this is established rooots to a healthy plant they will grow back faster and be ready to harvest in about 4 weeks but will go the little extra time to cut another set of 4 and this same bunch i just cut at same time affectively doubling my next harvest

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

regrowth begins , here are a couple of the plants i cut right down to a bit over 3/4 in above the net pot in the hydroponics first is the buttercrunch and then red salad bowl if you look close you can make out rim of the two inch net pot just in fron of the red slad bowl near the derad leafs i picked up after you can see top of wone of the stems just sticking up where it was cut back to and can see above how mych they shoot up since cutting saturday morning. because this is established rooots to a healthy plant they will grow back faster and be ready to harvest in about 4 weeks but will go the little extra time to cut another set of 4 and this same bunch i just cut at same time affectively doubling my next harvest

I',m jealous, they look great!

 

[daveb]

a few quick clip this morning. i have decided the tubs for the tomatoes are out of control. i cannot support them proper in the tubs i need to change the container very possibly to a 2 gallon single i can handle solo and incorperate my mesh cages i used last year for 1 gallon water jugs i have 6 of these tiny tim tomatoes growing at present the first on is in a front corner of the 7 gallon totes currenly count of tomatoes in various sizes is 34 .
they are currently growing under a test set up of (2 )Commercial Electric ( brand )- 4 ft. Integrated LED White Shop Light Linkable 3200 Lumens 4000K Bright White from homedepot and a double 4 foot florescent fixture with grow bulbs

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Oh wow!

 

[daveb]

so lettuce recovery from being cut this is now start of day 6 since cutting one row of 4 plants, i harvest two ways as an example to show regrowth

the front two i selectively removed leafs leaving the central leafs in place simpson black seed and buttercrunch
the back two oakleaf and red saladbowl i cut down whole plant to between 5/8 to 3/4 inch tall

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

so lettuce recovery from being cut this is now start of day 6 since cutting one row of 4 plants, i harvest two ways as an example to show regrowth

the front two i selectively removed leafs leaving the central leafs in place simpson black seed and buttercrunch
the back two oakleaf and red saladbowl i cut down whole plant to between 5/8 to 3/4 inch tall

They look amazing. I would love eating some of that on my sandwiches.

 

[daveb]

over did it .......... ok i changed my lights at start of this grow set added some extra 6500K spectrum which also increased the PPFD total and not plants are growing beyond my normal expected amount just a bit crazy looks like neighbors will be getting some salads greens today or tomorrow... this is only half this bed and the left hand row is the batch i cut last saturday. also took a clearer snap of two of the " dwarf " ha ha ha tiny tim tomatoes i cant even see main stalk now and all 6 i have to the side area ar so heavy with tomatoes they cant stand up. ........ and on that note .... outside its windy brisk day at warm suntan temperature day here of 22f ( -6c ) amd 18 inches of snow on ground

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I would rather grow too much than too little. They look amazing!