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No Tomato blossoms yet


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  #1  
Old 12-10-2009, 12:03 PM
EarlyPan EarlyPan is offline
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Default No Tomato blossoms yet

Hi,
I'm new to indoor gardening. I've got three different types of tomato plants growing in an ebb-and-flow and they're doing very well but no blossoms. What would be an expected seed to blossom time? I'll try to send a picture.

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Old 12-10-2009, 03:32 PM
txice txice is offline
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In general I think tomato plants will "mature" in about 60 to 80 days. I believe this time frame in considered to start from the time the sprout emerges rather than when you initially sow the seed. This time frame will probably also vary depending on actual type of tomato and the conditions in which they are being grown.

For point of reference my tomato plants are 47 days old (that's from the time the seed was initially planted - though they germinated within a week so it's safe to say 40 days from seedling) and I don't have any blossoms yet. You can see them on the back row of the container in this pic taken last night for what ever comparison purposes it might serve.
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Old 12-10-2009, 03:38 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EarlyPan View Post
Hi,
I'm new to indoor gardening. I've got three different types of tomato plants growing in an ebb-and-flow and they're doing very well but no blossoms. What would be an expected seed to blossom time? I'll try to send a picture.
I guess it would dependent on the variety of tomato's you were growing, though it would be mostly dependent on your nutrient solution and weather it was formulated for fruiting plant, or the growth stage of plants. The plants in the picture are still seedlings compared to how big tomato plants get. I would not expect blossoms until they reached 1 to 2 feet tall.
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 12-10-2009 at 03:41 PM.
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Old 12-10-2009, 05:56 PM
Amigatec Amigatec is offline
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I agree are these determinate or indeterminate? What varieties?

Also what nutes are you using?
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  #5  
Old 12-10-2009, 06:42 PM
EarlyPan EarlyPan is offline
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Default No Tomato Blossoms yet

The tomatoes with no blossoms are 42 days from first sprouting. They are Celebrity, Short stem, and Purple Ball variety, all of which I have grown successfully in my greenhouse. The support mixture is half Zeolite and half Pearllite. The nutrient solution, which circulates for 30 minutes of each 120 min. is 300 ppm Nitrogen, 6oo ppm Phosphate, and 300 ppm Potassium. The first phto was from Nov. 18. A new photo shows the plants three days ago still with no blossoms. The lighting is 5000 degree cfl at about six inches. Most recently I have dug 30 grams of 0-30-0 garden fertilizer into the frontmost container (Celebrity)
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Old 12-10-2009, 07:46 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Quote:
Zeolite
That is a new on on me. Though I am not sure I have the right material but acording to Wikipedia
Zeolite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It says it's an "aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents" and it also reads " Zeolites have a porous structure that can accommodate a wide variety of cations, such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and others. These positive ions are rather loosely held and can readily be exchanged for others in a contact solution." These things make me wonder if it will bond with the elements in the nutrient solution. I would also wonder if it were pH neutral.
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The nutrient solution, which circulates for 30 minutes of each 120 min. is 300 ppm Nitrogen, 6oo ppm Phosphate, and 300 ppm Potassium.
I use commercially manufactured nutrients myself, but I do know it takes more than 3 elements to make a complete nutrient solution. All of witch need to be water soluble or the plants wont be able to make use of them. "The composition of the nutrients is important and there are over twenty elements that are needed for a plant to grow. Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are absorbed from the air and water."

Nitrogen (N)
Phosphorus (P)
Potassium (K)
Magnesium (Mg)
Calcium (Ca)
Sulphur (S)
Iron (Fe)
Manganese (Mg)
Zinc (Z)
Copper (C)
Boron (B)
Molybdenum (Mo)

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The lighting is 5000 degree cfl at about six inches.
I don't know a lot about using artificial lighting because I am using natural light. I would need to look into lighting for tomato's. Depending on the variety, tomato's are usually a continuously fruiting plant and should be using lighting for both (vegetation and fruiting) stages of plant growth (I'm sure).
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Most recently I have dug 30 grams of 0-30-0 garden fertilizer into the frontmost container (Celebrity)
I am not sure what you mean by digging it into the front most container. Though regular garden fertilizers meant for plants growing in soil are lacking essential elements and micro elements, and are not fit for use in hydroponics. They also may not be in a water soluble form, making what is there not usable to the plants. All of which leads to a very imbalanced nutrient solution.
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Old 12-10-2009, 08:15 PM
EarlyPan EarlyPan is offline
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Default No Blossoms Yet

Sorry, I made a mistake. I used half zeolite and half pearlite, not zeolite. Also I don't know whether any of the three tomatos are determinite or not.
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Old 12-10-2009, 08:28 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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I think you mean Perlite. That I am familiar with although, it doesn't work to well in flood and drain systems because it floats. Though even at half and half if the zeolite bonds with the elements in the solution it will make them unusable to the plants.

Quote:
I don't know whether any of the three tomatos are determinite or not
Determinate varieties of tomatoes, also called "bush" tomatoes, are varieties that are bred to grow to a compact height (approx. 4 feet).

Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes are also called "vining" tomatoes. They will grow and produce fruit until killed by frost and can reach heights of up to 10 feet although 6 feet is considered the norm. They will bloom, set new fruit and ripen fruit all at the same time throughout the growing season.
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 12-10-2009 at 08:35 PM.
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  #9  
Old 12-10-2009, 08:47 PM
Amigatec Amigatec is offline
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You should only try to grow a determinate type in Hydroponics. The biggest problem I see is the CFL light you are using. It is not near bright enough or close enough. Tomatoes like a lot of sunlight. CHL's are good for seedings, but all not set fruit.

Also the nutes need to be made for hydroponics. Soil nutes will not work very well.

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