What you can learnA valuable cautionary diary about matching tomato height to equipment, correcting canopy damage, and recognising possible seed mislabeling through fruit traits.
Actions:2 Nutrients1 Pruning1 Finished
Useful practices
selecting compact tomato varieties for low-height units
pruning light-burned and shaded growth
adding measured nutrients and calcium-magnesium supplement
evaluating fruit appearance and flavour against the expected cultivar
recording seed-source uncertainty for future purchasing decisions
Problems encountered
the selected variety was too tall for the Sprout
leaves and stems suffered light burns and shading damage
the seeds may have been mislabeled or mixed with another variety
one ripe fruit became mushy
the harvested tomatoes were bland
*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.
Day 83
UPDATE#13
Grower update
Update #13
🔧Actions taken
✓FinishedEnded the grow after concluding that the fruit probably did not match the labeled variety.
Ended this today! The one that turned red first became mushy, so it doesn't look like the tomatoes would darken over time. I'm not sure what type of tomato this is, but I think the seeds I got were mislabeled or mixed up with another variety.The tomatoes themselves are rather bland - not sweet, not acidic. Store bought tomatoes have more flavor than whatever these were.
Here's my self-survey:Plant Grown: Inkspot TomatoGrow Method: AeroGarden SproutTime to Germinate: 7 daysTime to First Harvest: 82 days (since germination)Time to Last Harvest: 82 days (since germination)Plant Spacing: 1 per SproutFinal Height: 10 inchesWould I grow these again? No.Lessons Learned: I don't think I'll be buying any more seeds from Bunny Hop Seeds, I have not been happy with any of them.
Some of them definitely are not ripe, but I would have expected the darker part to form before the tomatoes starting changing color. I'll keep an eye on them and see if anything changes.
I saw and purchased one at my local Walmart too. $69! First grow was microgreens using the seed tray. Successful! Like the idea of using for a tomato, will see what happens next ...
If you're planning on growing tomatoes, just be careful to pick a variety that stays short enough - the Inkspot Tomato is a bit too tall for a Sprout, but if you want a recommendation, I grew the Orange Hat Tomato before and was really happy with it
I have some Tiny Tim Tomato 🍅 seeds, but after reading your recommendation and a bit of research, I ordered some Orange Hat Tomato seeds! Thank you! dTYNMm
Day 54
UPDATE#9
Grower update
Update #9
🔧Actions taken
✂️PruningRemoved overgrown, light-burned, and shaded growth to fit the tomato into the Sprout.
So as it turns out, I've realized that I mixed up my plans for my tomatoes. I meant to grow the Rosy Finch in the Sprout, and the Inkspot in my iDOO. This one is too tall for a sprout without pruning...I've been meaning to clean it up but I haven't had time, so I finally did it tonight. Here is the before and after. You can see the burns from the lights and other parts of the plant that died from not enough light:
I've never seen a tomato plant do this before, so it will be interesting to see what happens. It was shooting up a higher stem as well, but I cut it back before I took this picture.
If you get one, I would definitely recommend the newest Sprout model from AG over the older models. It's quieter, sleeker, and has less issues with algae related to the front viewing window.
If you have a local Walmart, you might check their Garden Department. We went to one of our local Walmart stores last weekend, one that online claims to have no AG Sprouts in stock, but there were about 6 on a shelf just inside the store from the outside Garden area. But, I must say, this is a common thing with our Walmart stores up here. Many times I have checked online, traveled to a store half way across the county, then, a few days later, I spot the item on a shelf at our closest store. Sigh. Anyway, they are still $69 with the seed starter tray included, at our store. Hmmm...maybe I should start some early Christmas shopping...