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Post by frogsleapfarm on Jul 14, 2010 14:30:18 GMT -5
I am still learning seed saving techniques. I have OSU and it looks similar to the posts, maybe not quite as much blue. It is the most productive plant in the garden at the moment. What I need to know is this: I want the tomato to be bluer... So do I pick based on the plant with the most blue fruits, or do I just pick the bluest fruit on one plant? No stems or leaves are blue at all. There is a couple inches at soil level that looks purple that is all. But, how does one decide which tomato will yield the bluest fruits next year? Select based on the plant phenotype - pick a random fruit from the plant that has the darkest "blue" fruit.
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Post by ozarklady on Jul 14, 2010 17:50:22 GMT -5
I received a small quantity of the seeds, so I am thrilled to have 3 plants that survived and are fruiting. All are in bright sunlight. I am a bit disappointed that they aren't bluer. But, I will have some seeds to work with now, and can be more selective in the future. Actually, my Old German seedlings were much bluer as babies. They were a dark blue. Alas, I don't think even one Old German seedling survived, unless they are the unnamed ones in the garden that were mixed up. I knew what they all were when I planted them, but didn't make a note of 3 containers of tomatoes! Bad girl, bad! Then hubby "helped" He just grabbed all the tomato seedlings and planted them... These were the leftovers, not the ones with tags in containers:
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jcm05
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Post by jcm05 on Jul 15, 2010 6:08:12 GMT -5
All are in bright sunlight. I am a bit disappointed that they aren't bluer. Ozark, the fruit need to be directly exposed to the sun, not the plant. If the plant's foliage is shading the fruit, then the fruit will not express the blue color. Maybe do some selective pruning to expose the fruit clusters to the direct sunlight.
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Post by frogsleapfarm on Jul 15, 2010 10:32:13 GMT -5
Since expression is environmentally influenced be sure to grow plants in a way that gets light to the fruit. A shaded plant may be a better producer of blue but you wont know if it doesn't get enough light. This was the downside to my two plants per hill arrangement - too much fruit shading. I had to selectively prune around fruit clusters to get a good score on anthocyanin accumulation in the fruit.
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Post by ozarklady on Jul 15, 2010 13:26:04 GMT -5
The photo above is not the OSU blue, although some may be mixed in, since it was the leftovers from my selective planting in the containers.
I looked the OSU Blue over again yesterday, seems they are getting bluer with size of the fruit. I was disappointed that they weren't so blue, but now I see the larger ones are getting alot more blue. Boy are they loaded, there is more fruit than leaves on them!
Are they bad about crossing, as in, should I bag some blooms prior to opening, to insure purity? There are various kinds of tomatoes growing about 10' apart per type.
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Post by ozarklady on Jul 20, 2010 0:11:16 GMT -5
Okay, problem! The most productive OSU is literally loaded with fruit. But, it is reaching for the moon. It is blooming only in the growing tip, so it keeps getting taller, more loaded, and the stem smaller as you go up. I have it caged, but it long ago outreached the cage. The best OSU both in color and production, has fallen over, broken the stalk. I found a stake and put it back up there, but all that fruit is heavy! I need input, can I prune out the growing tip and force it to make suckers and then pick a lower one to begin anew? I hope the fruit get enough sap to go ahead and develop, but who knows? It can't just keep getting taller, thinner, and more loaded!
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jcm05
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Post by jcm05 on Jul 20, 2010 20:10:33 GMT -5
A bent stem is not the end of the plant. It can live through that. Just try to keep the plant off the ground if possible.
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Post by ozarklady on Jul 20, 2010 22:01:16 GMT -5
Thanks, I did put the stake in, and got the stem back aligned as best I could. I checked it today, and only a couple leaves are wilted.
Off the ground? It is over my head with me standing up! I have the weight of all those tomatoes resting on the wooden stake. And I see a nice strong sucker coming up near the base, I am going to let it grow, only it, just in case, as these fruits keep getting heavier, it is beyond repairing again! Duct tape has yet another use! The pink oxheart is also having the breaking issues, I think it is time for some really tall stakes. And alot of the others are tall and blooming like crazy, here we go again!
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jcm05
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Post by jcm05 on Jul 21, 2010 12:32:35 GMT -5
Ok then. That should qualify as off the ground. ;D
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