And we are off to the races...

[wykvlvr]

Or rather the tomato growing. I got my seeds from Dan and planted one of the F2 crosses he sent. I currently have limited space for grow outs so I only planted 36 peat pellets using one of those square seed starter kits sold in big box stores... For ID purposes my tray is labeled A,B,C,D,E,F, across the front then rows are 1 to 6 from front to back.

I planted the seeds on 12 Aug and had seedlings by 17 Aug! The seedlings were scattered around the the tray so I am assuming the early germination is something from the seed its self and may be something I want to follow. I moved all those early seedlings to one side of the tray so I could track them easier as they grow. Those will be A#, B#, or C#. D# is for those sprouting but not all the way up yet and E and F will have my plants with the slowest germination.

I am really looking forward to watching these grow.

[wykvlvr]

33 of my 36 pellets sprouted and they are all starting to grow their first set of leaves.

[SeanInVa]

Wonderful! Which cross are you working on first?

[wykvlvr]

172X - F2 I felt the F2s would be a good choice to play with now, we would get to see how they do inside during winter and I may even be able to get some F3 plants going before I need to start spring transplants... I plan on starting the 175X -F2 in a month or so once I get these moved to cups and growing good.

[dfollett]

Start lots and cull heavily. Good luck.

They should mostly stay small. You should see about 25% carrot leaf. That cross has both Red Robin and Pinocchio Orange in its pedigree along with some very diverse colors and stripes. Hopefully you will find something interesting.

[wykvlvr]

I wondered about carrot leaf I have one that is a bit odd looking have it marked in my notes to watch...

[wykvlvr]

I seem to remember reading that many small seedlings “caught up” with others size wise once they had grown up a bit more. It will be interesting to see how these two middle seedlings develop... especially the one on the right...

[wykvlvr]

Another shot of my little shortie. I think those would be called short internodes... it is still the smallest in the tray while being among the most developed. While most are still growing their 2nd set of leaves this one is on its third.

[dfollett]

They certainly are short internodes.

[wykvlvr]

Moved 18 of my seedlings into cups on 18 Sept. That short one pictured above is still small I think I may have a carrot leaf in the ones I kept but it needs to grow some more before I can be sure.
Today I started another 36 seeds of 172X -F2 hoping to find another shorty...

[HL2601]

Thanks for posting that short internodes pic. I think it will help others to see what to look for! I wish you good luck with finding some new interesting fruits!

[wykvlvr]

Your welcome, I need to get an updated photo of that plant. I also have a possible potato leaf and 2 possible carrot leafs in that batch. So of course I planted more seeds from the cross...

I had the seedlings sitting in front of a south facing window until I got the second light set. Moved Micro Tom under the second light and put the growing on seedlings under my first light. I can already see some that will be culled if their growth doesn’t slow down. I had to rearrange the tray so all the tall plants are at the back so they didn’t shade the shorter one.

And since my seeds for Silvery Fir Tree are now here I think I will plant a few for help identifying possible carrot leaf seedlings. Grin those will go in a small 10 pellet tray.

[wykvlvr]

Some surprises in my 172x F2 seedlings. Is this carrot leaf or just finely cut normal leaves...




then of course I went hmm is potato leaf possible?

and E2 is almost 3 inches tall but still the shortest of the seedlings

[HL2601]

I think the first pics definitely are carrot leaf. Can't see the PL possibility enough close up to determine...may just be a rugose rl that is less serrated. The EF looks good-I planted several this summer that looked initially promising, but all very suddenly got tall. One to watch for sure!

[dfollett]

Heidi is right. You have carrot leaf. I don't know enough to say for sure about the PL. I've seen serrated potato leaf talked about but don't know where that line is drawn. Keep us posted on your progress.