Day 41
UPDATE#6
Grower update
Update #6
Actions taken
PruningTrimmed the rapidly growing tomato plants back.
Had to trim these monsters up. One bit me! ;-)Starting to get flowers. These are about 3 days out from a flush/fill/feed.
GrowLog
AbandonedBlack Cherry and Sun Gold Tomatoes in an AeroGarden Farm XL
Grow log by Jay · Original thread
6 visual updates8 photos16 replies
View recapCrop🍅Tomato
VarietyBlack Cherry, Sun Gold Hybrid
MethodAeroGarden hydroponics
EquipmentAeroGarden Farm XL
Plants2
AudienceAdvanced
What you can learnA useful early-stage indeterminate-tomato record covering germination, thinning shock, nutrient changes, pruning decisions, and first flowers.
Actions:3 Nutrients1 Planting1 Finished1 Pruning
Useful practices
- growing indeterminate varieties alone
- sowing three seeds per pod and thinning
- feeding with measured nutrient and Cal-Mag additions
- top pruning and boundary pruning
- planning regular flush-fill-feed maintenance
Problems encountered
- seedlings appeared shocked after thinning and feeding
- indeterminate vines had previously overwhelmed mixed gardens
- rapid growth required aggressive pruning
*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.
Conversation
R
Jay did you end up top-pruning or not? I can’t seem to find any advice on top-pruning per the AG instructions if you are growing in an XL unit, but I also have 4-5 branches on some AG tomatoes in a 12XL right now and have to decide as well; hoping to learn from what you did!
S
ry, You may find some information here
J
ry I did top prune, still in the flowering stage.
Day 29
UPDATE#5
Grower update
Update #5
Actions taken
NutrientsAdded twenty-four millilitres of AeroGarden nutrients and twelve millilitres of Cal-Mag.
These bounced back from the thinning.I should have F&F'd today but I'm unbelievably busy... I'll do it at the next feeding (said to remind myself)AG nutes 24ml, Cal-mag 12mlAny recommendations on pruning? I'm thinking get them back in the boundary of the unit, leave suckers and such for now?
Day 23
UPDATE#4
Grower update
Update #4
Moving right along!About time to top prune?
Conversation
S
Those are both indeterminate varieties, aren't they, Jay? I am very interested in seeing how they do in the Farm.
J
They are indeterminate. I'll have to keep an eye on them. I terminated a bubbler bucket version that had 9 foot long vines!
S
Nine feet! Well, I have never tried the Black Cherry. But if they are as good as the Sun Gold, it will be worth watching them climb the walls!
Day 15
UPDATE#3
Grower update
Update #3
Actions taken
NutrientsAdded twenty millilitres of AeroGarden nutrients and ten millilitres of Cal-Mag.
Fed 20ml AG Nutes and 10ml Cal MagBefore:After (they look shell shocked, what happened!):
Conversation
S
From what I learned you should not add any supplements like calimag until after 30 days. Also might have been too much. You can try doing an R&R. It looks like you trimmed the extras out of each pod too?
J
I did trim them I forgot to mention that. They look shell shocked that their pod mates are gone.
S
Just give them two weeks and watch how they rebound.
Day 9
UPDATE#2
Grower update
Update #2
Three seeds per pod with last spring's seeds, this isn't a bad germination rate!What say, another week and thin?
Conversation
E
It's up to you, but personally I'd recommend thinning at this stage if you want to pull out the seedlings rather than cutting at the base. I let some seedlings grow a bit further and tried pulling them out at that point, that was a big mess
M
I usually wait until the seedlings are about 3-4 inches tall and thin them by cutting the weakest-looking ones at the very base. I think that gives them plenty of time to get good and established and you can pick and choose which plants look healthiest.
Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update
Update #1
Actions taken
PlantingPlaced three seeds of each tomato variety into two AeroGarden sponges.
NutrientsAdded four millilitres each of FloraMicro, FloraGro, and FloraBio.
FinishedAdded one millilitre of peroxide.
Starting my Black Cherry and Sun Gold tomatoes in one side of the Farm XL. I had six AG cherries in this for awhile, two didn't thrive and the last four were terminated a few days ago.I've tried these in the AG before, the sprouted and grew, but they overwhelmed the other things I had in the AG. They are alone and unafraid now.3 seeds in each of two AG sponges Sun Gold Hybrid (Burpee Seeds) Heirloom Black Cherry (Burpee Seeds)4ml of FloraMicro, FloraGreen and FloraBio1ml peroxide