Micro Project

[EdieJ]

Well phooey. I still have more seed thank goodness so I will start more but that's almost 2 weeks lost

[Nan6b]

Start more but don't give up on the original seeds yet. Increase the temperature if you can.

[Gthegardener]

I would love to participate in the project!

[NarnianGarden]

Big or small, short or tall, if it is toms, I like them all...

[EdieJ]

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Yellow Patio plants. Red Robins are waiting their turn to be transplanted. I need to get a couple of lights. These guys got big faster than I had anticipated they would!

[Rajun Gardener]

FYI Everyone. The Project will be on Sean's site, here's the link. Feel free to post about it here too, we like pictures!!!
https://www.tomato-talk.com/forum/the-m ... et-started

[SeanInVa]

It's still going! Here are some I pulled from one of Dan's crosses. 125X is the cross, and these here range in weight from 41g to a whopping 145g! I pulled some a little early as we've had several summer showers the last few days and the cracking has really started to set in on some of the indeterminates.

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[GoDawgs]

I have just gotten into micros this spring, doing one Red Robin and three Whippersnappers (Dreikäsehoch from Farmer Shawn). The reason was that I wanted to get a real early start on the tomato season and have some to munch before the regular sized tomatoes kicked in. My front porch gets enough sun and there are days warm enough down here in winter to occasionally let them leave the windowsill for a breath of fresh air. They were started in January and are still producing. I've been pruning off the old cluster stems and now they all have new foliage and flowers, ready for their third time around. Maybe fourth. Who's counting?

Right now I have a Jochalos and LIlle Lise started so I'll see what those are like. There just might be a new plant addiction starting.

Come spring, I believe I'd like to participate in the micro project if there's room\ and it's still going.

[wykvlvr]

Right now I have a Jochalos and LIlle Lise started so I'll see what those are like. There just might be a new plant addiction starting.

Come spring, I believe I'd like to participate in the micro project if there's room\ and it's still going.

Yes the little ones are addictive aren't they?

I think the micro project will be going on for a few more years at least. Some of us are still making F1 crosses to indet tomatoes to bring in more diversity as well as working with lines started by others. The next few years should be very interesting in the micro tomato world. I know of some new varieties are being released this fall and I am sure there will be more to follow. Giggle I already have spots set aside for Inkspot from Bunny Hop Seeds...

[SeanInVa]

Indeed, the project is really just getting started. I expect we have, at a minimum, 5 years ahead of us. While Dan's crosses are the primary input to the project at the moment - we are not bounding ourselves there, we are encouraging more breeders (professional and hobbyist alike) to work on crosses and contribute!

[wykvlvr]

[mention]Labradors[/mention]
This thread will get you started

[GoDawgs]

A question... If one is growing out a variety for the project, how many plants does one need to grow? If it's a lot I might have space limitations or at least need to know how much room I need to clear to do it right.

[wykvlvr]

I know some can do 100s of seedlings at one time but I have limited space also. My current project grow out is a single 36 pellet tray. I figure while I can't do massive grow outs like some others every plant I can grow is one more chance to find something special.

[SeanInVa]

A question... If one is growing out a variety for the project, how many plants does one need to grow? If it's a lot I might have space limitations or at least need to know how much room I need to clear to do it right.

It depends what you're growing, to be honest. If you are growing F2s, you want to start as many as you can feasibly keep up with. We're recommending at this stage (F2), you cull heavily. Take no prisoners lol! You will likely observe a wide array of phenotypes/gene expressions. Some will be desirable, some will not be. As an example, I started 72 150X F2 last fall. I went through a couple "hard cull" stages. By the time spring was rolling around, I was down to perhaps 15, then 10, and of those ultimately I identified 4 that I saved seed as "micros" and two more I saved seed from for personal experimentation (multi-flora, but 18" tall, etc). I have a few others I saved seed from earlier on - but are not tagged for any real purpose.

Also, do not underestimate the time/work involved in trying to keep track of this many plants. I thought it would be easy - and it would be if they were say, F5s - as you're mostly comparing same-to-same. At F2s, there is so much variation that it's just super tedious trying to note all the differences.

At the F3 and higher stages, 5-10 plants is likely plenty, even though you will still be seeing some variation and likely still need to cull.

We have seed available at both the early F2/F3 stage, and also some at the later F5,F6 stage - so whatever might fit your space/interest/lifestyle.

Right now, the project is mostly comprised of crosses Dan Follett has made, which means the "micro" input is primarily from the original "mmf" he worked on for Chris K, which was a Red Robin x Rose Quartz Multiflora. We have other people starting to work on their own crosses and seed from them will be available, hopefully, sometime early next year. For example, [mention]wykvlvr[/mention] has at least one project she is working towards while also growing some of Dan's crosses.

If you, or anyone else, are also interested in breeding, or at least giving it a go - you are welcome to contribute into, or otherwise tap into, the project. While Dan's crosses were the initial (and currently, primary) inputs - that was just to kick-start things. The ultimate goal is diversity!

[wykvlvr]

Grin I am currently watching two tomatoes grow that should be an Aztek x Large Barred Boar cross... Really impatient for those to ripen so I can try growing out a few seeds...

[Rockoe10]

I would like to give it a go. I have yet to do a cross of my own, but plan to next year. I have many ideas jumping around.

What I am confident in is growing out plants for further culling and seed saving/contributing.

[Spike]

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Quite a while back I tried to be a part of a dwarf tomato project? I think it was dwarf anyway. But a different forum was started, Tville had some issues and I lost links etc. BUT LOOKIE! This must be a mico tomato cause it is as tall as my bic pen! And OMG I HAVE A BABY TOMATO!!!

[MissS]

@Spike If you want the link to the dwarf project, I can give it to you. Just give me a PM and a taste of that tomato growing there.