Day 152
UPDATE#9
Grower update
Update #9
Actions taken
FinishedUsed the first fully ripe Black Beauty tomato in a sandwich.
The first truly ripe Black Beauty tomato went into a BLT, made with AG Merlot lettuce, of course! (Bacon layer to be added.)
GrowLog
SuccessfulBlack Beauty and Green Zebra Tomatoes Started Hydroponically and Finished Outdoors
Grow log by lynnee · Original thread
9 visual updates10 photos18 replies
View recapCrop🍅Tomato
VarietyBlack Beauty, Green Zebra
MethodAeroGarden seed starting, AeroGarden hydroponics
EquipmentAeroGarden Farm 12XL
Plants4
AudienceAdvanced
What you can learnA strong transition diary from seed starter to hydroponics and outdoor pots, including transplant survival, feeding, early harvest, ripening cues, pests, and taste.
Actions:2 Transplant2 Harvest1 Nutrients1 Finished
Useful practices
- move surplus indeterminate tomatoes outdoors
- keep water and fertiliser even
- harvest some fruit early to reduce plant load
- ripen harvested fruit on a countertop
- use gloves when pruning tomato vines
Problems encountered
- four indeterminate tomatoes overcrowded one Farm
- risk of blossom-end rot
- slow growth during a cool summer
- heat ended the outdoor plants
- tiny white pests and chiggers
*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.
Conversation
A
The Black Beauties look so cool! How do they taste?
L
They're absolutely delicious! Low acid, very sweet. My husband, who usually prefers higher acid tomatoes, loves these as much as I do.
Day 143
UPDATE#8
Grower update
Update #8
The Black Beauty tomatoes that I brought indoors a few weeks ago have ripened on the kitchen countertop. If you compare today's photo (tops and bottoms) with the one in my previous post, you can see how the green bottoms turn red with ripening.
Conversation
L
8/26/23 This project is now officially ended. There were a couple of 90 degree temp days in the last couple of weeks that finished off the outdoor Black Beauty and Green Zebra plants. Today I brought in all the remaining tomatoes--a trayful--to finish ripening indoors.It was high time to take the plants down, because the Black Beauty had a lot of tiny white critters on it. Also, I'm getting bitten by chiggers that I think were jumping onto me from the tomatoes. (I get blisters from chigger bites, and of course the bites itch for days. Now the chiggers won't have that launching pad.)
Day 127
UPDATE#7
Grower update
Update #7
Actions taken
HarvestPicked several Black Beauty tomatoes and moved them indoors to ripen.
Yesterday I brought in some of the Black Beauty tomatoes, in hopes that they will ripen faster on the kitchen countertop indoors. Also in hopes that relieving some of the burden on the plants will produce larger tomatoes.Tops up and bottoms up!🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅
Day 114
UPDATE#6
Grower update
Update #6
Look what happens when you handle Black Beauty tomato vines! It washes off fairly easily. I usually wear gloves to prune tomatoes, even the dwarfs, because my hands smell like tomato vines afterwards if I don't.
Conversation
M
I’m glad it doesn’t dye you for a long time like walnuts do!!
Day 112
UPDATE#5
Grower update
Update #5
Actions taken
NutrientsFed the outdoor tomato transplants with dissolved Miracle-Gro on a roughly weekly schedule.
Here's a photo of the two transplants. Black Beauty is on the left; Green Zebra is on the right. If you enlarge the photos on your display, you can probably see the developing tomatoes. The GZs are mostly nestled in the foliage in the lower part of the plant.I've been giving these MiracleGro fertilizer dissolved in water on a more or less weekly basis. The summer has been cool, so the plants are growing slowly.
Conversation
M
They both look super healthy!!
Day 112
UPDATE#4
Grower update
Update #4
Actions taken
HarvestPicked the first Black Beauty tomato early and finished ripening it indoors.
The first Black Beauty tomato from the outdoor transplant! These black tomatoes are ripe when the bottoms turn from greenish to black or red (photo below, top right). The tomato is big, and is very sweet (low acid). Both my husband and I give it a full thumbs up! This tomato arose from a double blossom, which is why it has the ugly, netty bottom. I had to slice the tomato vertically to be able to core it. I harvested the tomato early to let the plant concentrate on newly set fruit. It ripened nicely on the kitchen countertop. Thank you, maskedsonnet, for introducing me to Baker Creek heirloom seeds!
Conversation
M
It’s so pretty!! I’m glad it was tasty too
Day 63
UPDATE#3
Grower update
Update #3
The outdoor Black Beauty tomato has set fruit (2)! Now I have to keep the fertilizer and water going evenly, to avoid blossom-end rot.
Conversation
M
That really is a little beauty!! I can’t wait to hear how it tastes!
U
Last year I bought a bottle of rot-stop to treat blossom end rot: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OWB63O It's a foliar spray. End rot seems to be the result of calcium and magnesium not being transported through the plant properly. This product puts the calcium and magnesium directly where needed. The problem was it left a little sticky residue on the leaves which I wasn't happy with on an indoor plant. Should be less of a concern for your outside plants.
L
Now I'm wondering how to tell when it's ripe? I guess that it will be ready when there's a little give to the flesh.
L
Thanks for the Rot-Stop link, @fsullom! I ordered some.
Day 16
UPDATE#2
Grower update
Update #2
Actions taken
TransplantTransplanted two overcrowded indeterminate tomatoes into outdoor soil containers.
Four indeterminate tomatoes in a Farm was clearly too many, so I transplanted two of them outdoors to soil. We've gotten so much rain, I don't feel guilty about using outdoor water, but I put them into pots because those use less water than plants placed in the ground.I have no idea whether these will survive, but it's better than going straight to the compost bin! [/a]
Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update
Update #1
Actions taken
TransplantTransferred two Black Beauty and two Green Zebra seedlings from a Harvest Seed Starter into a Farm 12XL.
After only 10 days in a Harvest Seed Starter, all four of my indeterminate tomatoes looked like they were ready to go into an Aerogarden. Here they are, transplanted to a Farm 12XL.The two on the left are Black Beauties, the two on the right are Green Zebras. All of the Black Beauties germinated, and the seedlings look quite robust.