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Vivacious and Homeslice Slicing Tomatoes in Farm 12XL Gardens

Grow log by lynnee · Original thread

9 visual updates10 photos14 replies
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CropTomato
VarietyVivacious, Homeslice
MethodAeroGarden hydroponics
EquipmentAeroGarden Farm 12XL, Aerovoir
Plants2
AudienceAdvanced

What you can learnA complete slicing-tomato comparison showing pruning, root sensitivity, nutrient correction, pollination, taste testing, a second solo crop, rejuvenation pruning, and final termination.

Actions:5 Pruning2 Solution1 Planting1 Nutrients1 Watering1 Finished1 Harvest
Useful practices
  • use tepid water during root work
  • prune lower and spindly growth
  • grow slicing cultivars one per Farm
  • shake flowers for pollination
  • cut back overheight plants to stimulate another crop
  • ripen green tomatoes on a countertop
Problems encountered
  • two slicing plants overcrowded one Farm
  • Vivacious reacted poorly to exposed roots and cold water
  • pollination was neglected
  • plants grew into the lights
  • R&Rs and nutrients were sometimes infrequent

*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.

Day 266
UPDATE#9
Grower update

Update #9

Actions taken

PruningPreviously cut back the plant when it exceeded the light and garden footprint.
FinishedEnded the plant after it began dying back.
HarvestCollected remaining green tomatoes during termination for countertop ripening.

L By lynnee

The Homeslice is definitely my favorite slicing tomato for now. My Farm 12XL plant was neglected, with infrequent R&Rs and nutrient supplements, but it produced a lot of ripe tomatoes.When it started growing into the lights and outside the garden's "cylinder", I cut it back and it produced a bunch more tomatoes.Finally the plant started dying back, having clearly reached the end of its lifespan. I terminated it some days ago, and found a bunch more good-sized green tomatoes. These are now ripening on my kitchen countertop. 11/21/2411/24/24 The ripe tomatoes at the left are Homeslices from my previous harvest. They keep for many days if never refrigerated.I'm going to start another Homeslice soon. It will keep H in slicing tomatoes for several months, once it starts producing.
Day 239
UPDATE#8
Grower update

Update #8

Actions taken

PruningHacked back the overheight Homeslice plant.

L By lynnee

The Homeslice grew up into the lights, so I hacked it back about a week ago. It's still producing, even though it has been neglected, with fewer than usual R&Rs.It has produced a few dozen small slicers with good flavor. They keep well on the kitchen countertop. I love having these available to use instead of the pale Romas that come with Hello Fresh meals!
Conversation
P
pfunnyjoy

Looks a very healthy plant!

Day 184
UPDATE#7
Grower update

Update #7

Actions taken

PruningPruned the solo Homeslice plant the day before the update.
SolutionPerformed a reservoir rinse-and-refill on the solo Homeslice.

L By lynnee

The solo Homeslice tomato plant got a pruning yesterday, and an R&R today. It has a lot of developing tomatoes. Probably it would have more if I hadn't forgotten to shake the plant to pollinate the flowers until a week or so ago!
Day 154
UPDATE#6
Grower update

Update #6

L By lynnee

Homeslice tomato plant after 26 days. I considered taking off the huge lower leaves, so that the plant would direct energy higher up. However, it seems a bit early to perform major pruning--those lower leaf stems are very thick and sturdy.
Conversation
U
Unknown

If I remember correctly, the homeslice I grew had a very stout and stalky growth habit.

Day 94
UPDATE#5
Grower update

Update #5

L By lynnee

These tomatoes are finishing their ripening on the countertop. (Two Vivacious fell off the plant.) The tomatoes are about 2" across. One Vivacious looks slightly red, but that area is actually deep orange. Viv is a yellow tomato.It seems like they took forever to ripen, but the seed packets say you can harvest Vivacious about 70 days from transplanting; and Homeslice, 63 days after transplanting. Allowing 4-5 weeks for the seedlings to develop to the transplanting stage, the plants are more or less on schedule.
Conversation
L
lynnee

Both the Vivacious and Homeslice tomatoes passed the taste test with my husband. I think I like the Homeslice better, but the Vivacious is more productive. I'll get some new plants started before long, as I have only 2 Farms and 3 Bounties planted at the moment.(H and I caught a nasty GI virus from a visitor a couple of weeks ago, and it took a while to clear. We're both fine now.)

L
lynnee

Today, at 133 days, I terminated the Homeslice and Vivacious plants. There were quite a few green tomatoes still on the vines, so they are now on the kitchen countertop for ripening.The Homeslice seems to have a stronger tomato flavor than the Vivacious, but both varieties produce a pretty, smallish, slicing tomato with excellent color and texture.

Day 60
UPDATE#4
Grower update

Update #4

Actions taken

PruningRemoved excess foliage to separate plants and improve air circulation.
NutrientsAdded eight millilitres of AeroGarden nutrients after a low reading.
WateringRefilled the external water reservoir.

L By lynnee

Today I pruned the tomatoes to take off excess green growth, separate the plants, and provide air circulation. They tested at 300-something ppm, so I gave them 8mg of AG nutes and refilled the aerovoir. They have used up about half a gallon of water since the procedure.If you look closely, I think you can see the tomatoes in the photo.
Conversation
L
LoveSalads

After Enlarging the pic I counted at least 8 Tomatoes and lots of flowers. Looks like you are well on the way to many Fruits to enjoy. Nice looking plants.

L
lynnee

At long last, the Homeslice and Vivacious tomatoes have begun to ripen. In a few more days, it'll be tasting time!

Day 59
UPDATE#3
Grower update

Update #3

L By lynnee

58 days. The Farm 12XL isn't really big enough for two slicing tomato plants! I'm going to prune these (Vivacious and Homeslice) again tomorrow. Both have set a few tomatoes, so I'm keeping them until the tomatoes are big enough to taste. Then, if we like them, I'll restart them as solo plants in a Farm 12XL.
Day 47
UPDATE#2
Grower update

Update #2

Actions taken

PruningPruned both plants by removing lower leaves and weak growth.
SolutionPerformed a reservoir rinse-and-refill with tepid water.

L By lynnee

Today I pruned the Homeslice and Vivacious tomatoes. I took off lower leaves and spindly growth. At 47 days, both have lots of blooms. Vivacious has set some fruit, but it's too tiny to photograph.Vivacious doesn't like having her roots exposed during an R&R, and she really hates cold water. So today the plants got tepid water during their R&R. Maybe they'll get some minerals from the water heater.
Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update

Update #1

Actions taken

PlantingStarted Vivacious and Homeslice tomatoes in a Farm 12XL.

L By lynnee

Today I started Vivacious and Homeslice tomatoes in a Farm 12XL. Others here have grown both varieties successfully. Hopefully I can duplicate that success!
Enlarged photoClick outside the image to close