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Green Zebra Tomatoes in Farm Plus and Farm 12XL Gardens

Grow log by lynnee · Original thread

11 visual updates15 photos34 replies
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CropTomato
VarietyGreen Zebra
MethodAeroGarden hydroponics
EquipmentAeroGarden Farm Plus, AeroGarden Farm 12XL
Plants4
AudienceAdvanced

What you can learnA detailed indeterminate-tomato experiment covering cleaning, seedling separation, crowding, repeated pruning, relocation, blossom-end rot, ripeness cues, and taste.

Actions:6 Pruning2 Nutrients2 Transplant2 Harvest1 Equipment1 Planting
Useful practices
  • limit indeterminate tomatoes to one or two stems
  • remove shaded and tangled leaves
  • top tall branches
  • relocate to a taller Farm
  • reduce foliage when fruit stops ripening
Problems encountered
  • severe crowding
  • indeterminate vines exceeded available space
  • bumpy shoulders
  • possible blossom-end rot
  • slow ripening
  • spindly unhealthy upper growth
  • poor internal fruit filling

*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.

Day 96
UPDATE#11
Grower update

Update #11

L By lynnee

The pruning did it! Today (Day 95) there was a ripening Green Zebra in the Farm 12XL! It's about the maximum size for a GZ. You can tell that it's ripe or "breaking orange" by the yellow cast underlying the green. It also has a very slight "give" when you press it. The tomatoes look green when ripe--the on-the-vine photo makes it look far more yellow than it is.It's more or less on schedule at 95 days from seed, given that things grow faster in AGs. If you add 30 days as a rule of thumb for time to transplanting, the harvest is supposed to be 78 days from transplanting.I showed it to Ray just before he was going to bed, and he wanted to eat it right away. I made him wait until morning, when he'll enjoy it more and it will be a tad more ripe!
Conversation
S
Sher

I get tickled at Ray's enthusiasm for your tomatoes, lynnee. They look good! I am looking forward to hearing how they taste.

L
lynnee

Years ago, Ray found a stall (The Peach Farm) at a local farmer's market that sold nothing but varieties of heirloom tomatoes. He and the owner chatted a lot, and Ray became a tomato connoisseur of sorts. That's how he developed a taste for GZs. The Peach Farm used to sell a lot of its GZs to local high-end restaurants, and the remainder would sell out quickly at the farmer's markets. (All that changed with the pandemic.)People love GZs or hate them, because they're quite acidic. I ate one, and that was it for me, so I don't know what they're supposed to taste like. I have grown GZs on the back patio in a raised garden that Ray said tasted right.When I cut the AG GZ, only half had pulp and seeds, though that half looked perfect. Ray's verdict was that the GZ tasted like a mild, less acidic GZ, and that the half without seeds was pithy. (Sorry, I didn't think to take a photo of the cut tomato.)I've been expecting to have to adjust nutrients to improve the flavor, but the first step was to grow GZs hydroponically in an AG at all!

S
Sher

Thanks for the update lynnee. I loved the background info! I could almost see the stall and Ray and the owner chatting about all the tomatoes. Great mental picture!

Day 90
UPDATE#10
Grower update

Update #10

Actions taken

PruningPerformed a major pruning to retain growth from the main stems and reduce unproductive foliage.

L By lynnee

Finally, I figured out that the main reason NOT to grow indeterminate tomatoes in an AG, is that they are vines that need extra space. I think that I'll definitely be able to grow GZs successfully in the Farm 12XL--where they currently reside.Professional growers keep indeterminate tomatoes to a single stem, which is probably a wise practice for indoor AG gardeners, too. Indeterminate tomatoes keep producing tomatoes along the stem, so pruning the branches encourages the plants to concentrate on tomatoes rather than leaves.I forgot to photograph the GZ garden before I pruned the plants yesterday (day 89). I did a radical pruning because the big GZ tomatoes on the plants were NOT ripening, and the leaves at the tops of the plants were spindly and unhealthy looking. (You can see from the photo that the leaves near the lights are not looking all that great.) The plants had produced many, many branches from the main stems, and only a few of the branches were even producing flowers. There was zero fruit set above the nonripening tomatoes, so the plants were probably overburdened with foliage and existing tomatoes.The pruning may or may not harm the plants. I wanted to retain only growth from the main stems, but ended up with two stems on each plant. All four stems have produced tomatoes that are still developing without problems (fingers crossed).
Conversation
S
Shawn

I wish I were able to grow tall pepper plants. All mine are short and I can not figure out why. Look at those tomatoes.

L
lynnee

Maybe your room temperature is outside the optimal range for peppers? Or maybe your pepper varieties are just shorter ones? I've noticed that my Mocha Swirls are quite a bit shorter than the poblanos and banana peppers that were started at the same time. The AG green peppers and jalapenos usually stop growing shortly betore they reach the lights in my 24" gardens, but it takes them quite a while to get that tall. I think that removing the low-growing flowers and the early leaves that are no longer getting much light is supposed to encourage plants to stretch up, as is raising the lights. Who knows?

S
Shawn

lynnee I purposely planted peppers that should grow up to 36" for the XL and sadly they are now where near that

L
lynnee

That's weird!

Day 77
UPDATE#9
Grower update

Update #9

Actions taken

HarvestRemoved a second tomato with probable blossom-end rot.

L By lynnee

This is the suspicious tomato. The dark spots have enlarged a little since it came off the vine, and the central line has gone from white to dark. Hopefully the banana will encourage the tomato to ripen, although it is probably too green.EDIT: A second tomato had to come off because of probable blossom end rot. I put it with the one above, to see what it will do.
Day 76
UPDATE#8
Grower update

Update #8

Actions taken

TransplantMoved the Green Zebra plants from the Farm Plus to a taller Farm 12XL.
HarvestRemoved one large unripe tomato showing possible blossom-end rot.
NutrientsAdded AeroGarden nutrients, CalMag, and KoolBloom after the move.

L By lynnee

Day 76. Relocated the Green Zebras from the 24" Farm Plus to the 36" Farm 12 XL (recently vacated by the Mini Munch cucumber). The GZs look okay, but not great. They took an extra beating during the transfer, because the water level indicator from the white Farm Plus bowl would NOT connect to the black Farm 12 socket. I had to shift the white Farm Plus deck to the black Farm bowl to complete the transfer. (The original plan was to drain the Farm Plus bowl, then transfer it together with the Farm Plus deck and tomatoes to the Farm 12 XL.)I removed one big, unripe tomato, because it looked like it was considering blossom end rot. The plants had already been cut back to keep them inside the Farm Plus. We'll see whether they produce any new branches or blooms, now that they have more space. 24 ml AG nutes, 10 ml CalMag, 5 ml Koolbloom.
Conversation
S
Sher

Fingers crossed, lynnee !

Day 69
UPDATE#7
Grower update

Update #7

Actions taken

PruningPruned each Green Zebra to three strong stems.
PruningRemoved the growing tips from the tallest branches.

L By lynnee

Day 69. I pruned the Green Zebras to three strong stems each--they should have been pruned to two strong stems much earlier. I also took off the growing tips on the tallest branches. I hope that I didn't take away too many leaves, but tomatoes are usually pretty resilient.As you noticed, Sher , most of the developing tomatoes are lobed. This is "bumpy shoulders", I think, and is usually caused by uneven temperature or other generally less-than-optimal growing conditions. The tomatoes should taste okay, I think. Some of the tomatoes are striped, but they're a long way from being ripe enough to harvest. They're still green and hard, instead of slightly yellow-green and slightly yielding.
Conversation
S
Sher

lynnee , many tomatoes are naturally lobed. I thought that was just the way they grew. They look great to me! P.S. that is normal. Take a look.

L
lynnee

Thanks, I feel better about it now!

Day 55
UPDATE#6
Grower update

Update #6

Actions taken

PruningRemoved lower shaded leaves and tangled middle leaves.

L By lynnee

Day 55. Today I pruned the Green Zebras to improve air circulation. I took off the lower leaves that weren't getting light, and the middle leaves that were getting tangled up.There are several tomatoes developing--one is already about half the adult size.
Conversation
S
Sher

They look lobed rather than round. Interesting!

L
lynnee

They do, don't they! Husband Ray is a Zebra connoisseur, so he can tell us whether they taste the way they're supposed to. I hope that the shape doesn't indicate future blossom end rot, which my outdoor plants developed after they'd been fruiting for a while.

S
Sher

A little bit of Calmag will prevent blossom end rot.

Day 50
UPDATE#5
Grower update

Update #5

L By lynnee

Day 50. Tomato! Lights can be raised another 12" or so.
Conversation
S
Sher

The tomato was the first thing I spotted -- even before seeing your arrow! Congratulations on the new firstborn!

S
Shawn

It is so exciting!

Day 42
UPDATE#4
Grower update

Update #4

Actions taken

PruningRemoved all but the two plants that were developing flowers.

L By lynnee

Day 42. The Green Zebra plants were too crowded, so I removed all but two that were developing flowers. Didn't try to save the discards, because it's too early to move them outdoors, even in California.I'm really excited to see an open blossom before the plant reached the lights in the Farm 24! These are indeterminate vines. Before and after, with flower location circled:Closeups of flower buds on second plant, and open flower on first:
Conversation
S
Sher

They look like they appreciate the extra room. And YAY for the flower and buds!

S
Shawn

You do so well with your plants and these are no expcetion

Day 12
UPDATE#3
Grower update

Update #3

Actions taken

PruningRemoved one weak seedling.
TransplantSeparated paired seedlings from the remaining pods.

L By lynnee

Day 12. At least one seed germinated in every pod, but one pod had a real weakling that I discarded. I separated the two seedlings from the other pods. It was a little late for this, as some seedlings had roots growing out of the sponge. We'll see whether they all survive!
Conversation
S
Sher

lynnee, if even a piece of the root was attached, they will probably do well. Here's hoping!

S
Shawn

They should still do fine. Turn the pods every other or couple of days so they each form a soft root ball. I do that to help contain roots. While they still can combine, not as bad.

L
lynnee

Trying to contain the root balls is a good idea for this project, because I may need to transfer some or all of the plants outdoors. Once they're started, they will probably produce a few tomatoes even if I can't make them work in the AG. 🍅

Day 1
UPDATE#2
Grower update

Update #2

L By lynnee

These are some zebras that I grew on our patio several years ago.
Conversation
S
Shawn

Following

S
Sher

Another wonderful tomato project to follow!

Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update

Update #1

Actions taken

EquipmentDisassembled and cleaned the grow deck and bowl in a dishwasher.
PlantingPlanted two Green Zebra seeds in each of four pods.
NutrientsAdded twelve millilitres of AeroGarden nutrients.

L By lynnee

Today I started a serious Green Zebra Tomato project. This is an indeterminate, so it will take 4 months or more. It'd be better to do it in a Farm XL, but hopefully the Plus will give it enough room. The grow deck and bowl were taken apart and thoroughly cleaned in the dishwasher, in hopes of starting the project off right! I planted 2 seeds in each of 4 pods to start. Added 12 ml AG nutes, because I always start my new gardens that way.
Conversation
C
campingcorgis

This will be fun & interesting to watch!

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