I have been gardening for a long time and grew up on a farm my whole life, when I saw your video on how to plant tomatoes I knew I had to try it because my tomato harvest in the past years was poor to say the least and I knew how to plant deep and take care of the plants. This year I bought healthy plants from a greenhouse that were protected from the early frost and cooler temps, I dug my hole and put all the ingredients in like you said and watered, and in one month my plants went from 12” to 4 ft tall! Today is July 3rd and my plants are 6ft tall and loaded with fruit, staked because they are so tall and loaded. I owe that to you, you opened our eyes to something different and an outlook on different methods for organic gardening that make sense and work, thank you again Murdock, happy 4th.
You are very welcome 🤗 I love when a plan comes together. When given the right goodies at the right time.....the plants are more than happy to show you what they can do. Now comes the even better part of my Mad Scientist plan......... You get to teach someone else the tricks ❤️. Pretty soon everyone will be eyeballs deep in maters lol 🤣 Good job Patriot Gardner 💪😎
Did you try "supercropping"? I started last year and the results were amazing. Plant really responded with amazing amounts of fruit. Of course all that food below to support it did its job too.
Great videos love when you put out the videos,I grew my tomatoes the way you explained a few months back and they’ve have done so well iam here is Vancouver BC where iam out in the country it takes a while for my tomatoes to start growing so I put a few lite in my un heated green house in the morning till the sun hits the green house seems to be helping I’ve got lots of flowers and fruit is forming now thanks again love everything you share on planting
Brandywine is the best tasting tomato. I am a professional grower/farmer/biocultivator; corals, animals, mushrooms, plants. you might also enjoy, for an heirloom, Black Krim. it is most people's other favorite next to BRANDY and it cranks til frost so a winner in production capacity. Baker's Creek tested it to have the highest nutrition of all tomatoes they tested from their catalogue, which probably explains the optimal taste to humans in situ...
Both two of my absolute favorites. I liked the Brandywine pink but found it wasn't quite as sweet and the flesh was more solid/juicy ratio. The Brandywine Heirloom is by my opinion, perfection of both sweetness and texture of fruits flesh. The only downside with the Brandywine heirloom is the growth rate and I have found it it is a bit more susceptible to early blight than some of the other varieties but well worth the extra care it takes to get to the point of getting those delicious and perfect fruits. I feel very honored to have a professional grower comment on my channel. Thank you very much ❤️❤️❤️
The black krim is also one that takes a bit more love but the fruits are out of this world 🌍❤️ Did extremely well here with shade in Arizona. I found this one liked an additional 10% perlite in the mix........was touchy with the watering. Liked it a bit more on the dryer side. I've got a variety right now "Garden leader Monster" that has not failed to live up to its name. I've got multiple twins ranging from 1-3 lbs 😳. I'll have to let you know on the final taste as fruit is now ripening......bot reeealy big plants and fruits 🍅
You talked about the square bottom solo cup. I just bought one size smaller cup and it slips right in and suspends the larger cup. Hope that helps .Thank you for all your good ideas !!
I get the red 18oz cups. I cut a big triangle out of the bottom from the corner to the center. Then buy the clear 16oz cups to set it in. There’s about a 3 in gap between the cups. No stones or marbles needed in the bottom. The root system will fill the bottom cup eventually and the stem will be as thick as your thumb. This is my 1st year doing the red cup thing. I just made a few adjustments to what everyone else was doing. Turned out pretty good.
It's the beauty of the double cup system. Using the round bottom 18 oz cups inside a square bottom 18oz cup gives you about the same but a bigger growing vessel. How do you keep the soil in place with one triangle hole in inner cup?
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 I just hold the cup at the bottom, fill it with potting soil. Yes a little will fall out but I moisten the soil 1st so it’s real clumpy. Not much falls out.
Thank again Murdock! Could you do a Rabbit Pellet fertilizer test on tomatoes? I would love to see if it helps. You have so many seedlings to work with and I'm climbing over my plants in my tiny space. Maybe it will help some become more self-sufficient? Love your videos!
Thanks for the info! Zone 7 here, tomatoes are growing but the seed starting process could have been better- appreciate the great tips. Would Love to see an in depth garden tour video of your outside space. Thanks again!!
Thank you for the very nice compliments ❤️ I'm in zone 9 so we are pretty much a few degrees from bursting into flames 🔥. Lol 🤣🤣🤣........ I'm gonna do an outdoor garden walk in September when I can get things in the ground........ Right now is the off season for us here in Arizona.....but we got 8 months of gardening only a month away! I have some really neat stuff to share in this years fal garden vids.
That’s great I use Kellogg brands and I have compost and earth worm castings all you mentioned I’ve been using them 😊👍👩🌾 thank you for the tips and advice 🙏🏻♥️
I started tomato seedlings using the double solo cup method and only used Jiffy organic starting soil before I learned about the mixture you use. What can I do to ensure adequate feeding now that I have started out on the wrong foot? How often do I fertilize before transferring them to my garden?
You can start feeding at two weeks....use half strength (less is more when they are babies) I like the 5-1-1 Alaska fish emulsion....they do do. You can use a slow release 5-5-5 pellet food as well.....just half as much. If you have access to bunny 🐇 poo 💩.....that is nature's gold for the garden.....you can add a bunch in each cup (it's a cold fertilizer so it won't burn them) And that will do good for about 30 days same as the slow release organic fertilizer. If you choose to use the Alaska fish emulsion, it's half strength, about 1-2 oz per red Solo cup every two weeks until transplant.
I’m new to your channel, do you need to use a heatmat or just air temp of what degree? Thanks I have tomato plant from seed and they are only 3-4 inches tall only. They are 5-6 weeks old
The grow room stays right at 75 degrees Fahrenheit and about 50 to 65% humidity.......... I don't use heat mats but if your souls and areas are below 65-70 fahrenheit.....a heat mat would help. Do not let temps go above 80 degrees. If you are using UV tubes like I am, make sure that your distance from the plants is only about 3 inches from their tops.....this is critical for proper photosynthesis to occur. At that age you can feed them with 1/2 strength fertilizer........I like the Alaska fish emulsion 5-1-1. The plants seem to like it. Anything below 65° and the tomatoes will grow but they are going to grow extremely slow......they like that 75-85 range for fast growth. Hope this helps ❤️
I would let them get at least one set of true leaves first.....they won't notice that small . I use Alaska fish emulsion at 50% strength after two or three weeks....then every two- three weeks till transplanting. I never use it full strength.
hello...what was the small bottle, with the red cap ? just wondering... I have over a hundred tomato plants...growing in solo cups...there 4" tall...doing great...In my little 8x8 green house...my goodness, i think their growing a 1/4" a day...First time with green house and solo cup method...ENJOYED steve.....
Maybe the cinnamon......it is a wonderful tool in the garden to prevent gnats, fungus and mold growth and prevents dampening off of your seedlings. Just a sprinkle after seeding and you never have issues. Good to hear it's working well. Most people are replying they are getting the biggest tomato Stars they've ever had in their lives.....it works. Glad you liked the video 📸
Without knowing what's available for you to choose from I will say that looking for that OMRI listing on the packages will help ensure you are getting a quality product. Another suggestion is a visit to the local nursery. They are usually really good at pointing out comparable products. Black gold and tree frog brands are also really good.
So if you don't use lights just natural lighting how long will it take for the tomatoes to pop thru the soil been in soil for 8 days now do I need to toss them Start over
Not necessarily. They can take up to a week or so and are temperature sensitive....... Make sure they stay above 70 degrees. I had some pop up 2 weeks later once for some reason.
Love your videos but I have a question about the solo double cup method of growing tomatoes. Do you keep the bottom of the first cup that has no holes filled with just enough water to provide watering of second cup with holes or do you water as needed? Thank You!!!
Just water as needed. Do not use the bottom cup as a watering vessel. This will cause your soil to go anaerobic meaning completely void of oxygen and kill your seedlings. 2-3 oz per watering is all that is needed.
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 This aspect of the double-cup method is so confusing to me! So, fill the outer cup with 2/3 oz. of water which will be wicked up into the soil via the holes on the inner cup, correct? After that is there an approx. length of time which I wait for the soil to wick the water? After the wicking time, I pour out the excess water? OR… do I leave the excess water in at all times as long as it is sitting below the level of the holes of the inner cup?
Pretty much. The only time I went for a less rich mix was with the strawberries. I added a bit more peat moss and potassium to that mix (dried and ground banana 🍌 peels) The bean 🫛 family's being mostly nitrogen inducers (they pull nitrogen out of the air and inject it into their soil) don't need as rich of a mix either. They do better being fed about 30 days down the road with some rabbit poo 💩 or fully composted chicken manure....but just a small amount. It's the other nutrients besides the nitrogen they will be after. The cucumber 🥒, the tomatoes 🍅, the broccoli 🥦, cauliflower, stuff like that are big time heavy feeders. Some folks say that having a starter mix already enriched at germination can stall or prevent it totally........maybe in certain cases or very sensitive kinds, but for the heavy feeders they love it..... The difference is so significant I will include it in my indoor growing video coming soon 👍😊
Did you print or say where to get square-bottom Solo cups? If so, I missed it. I am in a wheel chair and can’t go in and out of lots of stores easily and am 86, so knowing exactly where to go would be extremely helpful. I grow in containers. Thank you for the information and for the videos!😊
It depends on when I start them. If I am starting them for directly after Frost, I will start them four to six weeks prior. That's about as much time as I can keep them indoors before they are just way too big. By six weeks they are 24" tall and have stems the diameter of a finger lol 😆. It's timing......... Typically folks find their last frost date and count back 4-6 weeks. That gives you the perfect start date ❤️. At that age, after transplant you should begin to see blooms within 2 weeks....... I do start them in the red Solo cups. I actually have a video on starting tomato seedlings.
I am shocked at how many people don't know what organic means. The lack of pesticides and everything else is dismissed as a 'scam'.. so silly. I worked at Whole Foods Market for many years, and it was a very awesome time. Best job ever. Made it to the Bulk Foods specialist and this was 2002-2010, long before Amazon made their claim of it, then alot changed. It used to be that any good had to be pesticide free, and all natural for 7 years and then it could be labeled as organic. Hence the brand "SEVENTH GENERATION" .. however now, I see it takes only 3 years, and there is some kind of label that says "organic transitioning".. all dismissed as a scam by many. Sad. Thanks for the great vids. Our seed catalogs have all been used and half our things are here.. Trees, nearly 20 varieties of tomato, 14 tree and bush types and the Improved 25x10x6.6ft QuicTent greenhouse.. gonna be a great year of gardening!
They forgot the flavor of the Brandywine airline as well lol. Although they are both good the brand new wine pink is only a 7 out of 10...... The heirloom variety a 10/10
Sir is it necessary to use a heating pad? I grow in my shop and keep indoor temperature around 75 and use a LED grow light.This is my first time to grow indoors. I have been gardening for 40 years outdoors. I got where I couldn't afford the transplants anymore and really didn't like the way they were being grown.
I am a new subscriber and I have watched 3 of your videos on growing tomatoes....they all give the soil mixes and they are all different in some ingredients so I am thoroughly confused....if I get all ingredients I will be spending over $100. that is not counting seed and solo cups....as much as I want to go with this, I can't condone this amount for 30 tomato plants. any suggestions?
Sometimes mixes get modified a bit.....but the one shown in the video is written down. Sorry if it seemed a bit confusing. $100 for 30 plants seems like a good trade if your purchasing new materials, seed and soils. The only alternatives I could think of directly out of a bag would probably be more expensive. If you had access to your own compost your own potting soil and your own organic matter to mix up, that would save you the money on the medium.
I like your setup. My setup I was thinking of doing would be to use your cup method inside a tote with a grow light above it. I have a lot of room in a shop outside that’s insulated so it never freezes. But I was thinking if I used totes and put down a few inches of soil and then put the solo cups ontop of the dirt the roots could grow out of the cup and into the dirt. Would that avoid the issue of roots growing out and thinking they ran out of room? Idk indont have room in my house really so was thinking if I used totes I could put serane wrap over the top to reduce air flow and use grow lights. I got heat mats I could use. I could just sit cups on a bench but it’s a big shop cause it’s a quansahut so there’s a lot of air flow or volume cause it goes up 20 plus feet.
Another question is have you tried biochar or charcoal that you’ve inoculated? If you break it up into smaller sizes it might work similar to perlite or something helping give space for aeration. Maybe you already have a video about biochar.
You need to check. Not all big ag uses synthetic fertilizer. I know some farmers in my valley are organic or natural and never spray pesticides or herbicides. Others they spread manure onto the fields so it’s natural manure but I’m not sure if the feed was 100% organic so I suppose the manure may have somethings in it? But I did want to say that. Everyone thinks farmers never use manure and it’s like every farmer I know uses manure. Sometimes turkey manure even cause we’re near turkey plants. One farmer were friends with used several truck loads of dead fish. Utah lake in Utah for some reason the state killed the fish one year maybe invasive species and the fish was collected and composted. I’m not sure what poison was used so it’s not organic but one example of lots of fish fertilizer. I’ve honestly never seen affordable fish fertilizer for farmers to use haha cause even waste fish is probably more valuable being converted to fish feed.
I remember in high school picking weeds in ffa for one farmer. He sold hay turned into pellets that were weed free. I think he was labeled natural not organic but that was years ago and I can’t remember. Horses going onto forest service land need certified weed free hay I believe in Utah which is why that one farmer didn’t use herbicides to remove weeds.
If it's organic yes....just make sure it's buried 4-6 under the plant in the hole....you probably don't want direct contact with the roots......you want them to grow and find it 👍
I'm completely new to this. I've invested in what seems to be a good grow light. I've already planted some micro dwarf seed and romaine lettuce, some hot peppers and strawberries. but I cant seem to find a full walk through of light heights, or how to grow beginning to yield indoors. everyone seems to up the solo cups to large pots and I cant do that as I have only 18" 60 worth of space. I could create more but would need to spread lights. I currently use (6) 4' 42 watt full spectrum Barrina t8 lights for the before mentioned space. if anyone can help id be so appreciative as im so concerned with the world right now. I wish you did a video for this type of person just looking to grow a salad in their kitchen lol. your videos are awesome im marathoning them now. keep it up and ill be a botanist before know it.
T5, t8 and the UV tubes should be no more than 3" from plant tops......that's across the board for all the plants using UV tubes. Only when using led or vho (very high output UV tubes) would you go further. Hid (high intensity discharge lamps like high pressure sodium and metal halide are 14-24" depending on temps and plants. For you and lettuce 3" is perfection from tops of plants. Make sure to incorporate a small fan in your growing space to help circulate the air. This will prevent disease pests and also help circulate the carbon dioxide and oxygen around the growing chamber helping to improve growth.
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 wow thanks. My lights are are barrina t8 42w (x6) full spectrum grow leds. My issue is also frequency of watering, can I grow them in the 16oz solo double cups in currently using or do I need to transplant to bigger pot? Currently I’m growing (8) types of hot pepper. A bunch of Romaine lettuce, Roma tomato, Red Robin tomato, kaleidoscope carrots, cucumber, mint both spearmint and peppermint, parsley, chive, bunching onions, and I’m preparing seed for strawberries. I jumped right into deep end and now fear I don’t know my next step. Started on 1/28/24 so I have quite a bit to go. Any help would be appreciated and amazing. I’ll be watching the channel looking out for new videos. And I’ll keep notifications on for when you do post. Thanks again.
Because watering from the top down draws oxygen to the main primary roots and the secondary roots that form inside the cups. If I wanted to do it that way I would just set the cup inside of a tray but then I wouldn't get the exceptional root growth
cut that soil mix 50 50 w sand. tomatoes are originally from the seaside western andes northern Chile to mid Ecuador from sea level to 10 k FT. they are native to sandy loam with low rainfall (henceforth fungal prone) and bottom watering from underground rivers flowing down the mountains or riversides and wetter micro climates....50% that 50% sand
I will do so and actually throw a couple cups in a video to do a comparison on it. 🤗 That's one of the reasons why I like the double Red Solo cup method, it allows for free draining. I also add extra perlite in there to make sure it is free-flowing.
Why do you use so many different soil mixes? Why not just go with one high quality organic potting soil, add some perlite, castings, compost, and fertilizer?
For the exact same reason that you cannot feed the exact same thing to all different critters. Everything has a little bit of a different dietary difference especially when it comes to plants and nutrients. We're one plant requires tons of nitrogen, others will require loads of phosphorus or magnesium. Certain soils and certain soil types do better for certain plants. You can't plant an orchid and potting soil can you? Why not? Because that plant requires a specific soil type just like all other plants. Can you get away with growing in one regular medium, I guess you could, but I'm looking for extraordinary results not ordinary or lower than normal.
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 I have a good sized allotment in the UK, I have grown organically for decades but with a lower income now I have not been feeding the soil as much, (mainly relying on seaweed liquid) as I want to and it definately needs it as you say, I have been planting 20 or more tomatoes to get enough to eat/save for the rest of the year, and single stemming them. Your strong multi stemmed plants make more sense and I will be trying this, concentrating on fewer, properly fed , less restricted plants.I realise I have inadvertently been stopping their early growth several times using pots. I love the videos. Thank you.😁 I agree about L and R being meaningless.
It's never too late to do it the way it's supposed to be done and enhance your environment ❤️ The sooner we can get away from big AG and chemical based farming.....the sooner our soils and gardens can heal. The difference of an organic soil vs a chemical fed soil is so extremely different I always tell folks to take a look for yourself....it's not an opinion, it's fact. When you see the chemical fertilizer fed soils you will notice almost all micro life in the soil is gone. Take a look at a scoop of organic garden soil and it is teeming with thousands of organisms all working towards a beautiful place. Chemical fertilizers kill most of them and without them your garden suffers. There is a natural way....the way it's supposed to be created by father in which the food is healthy and supportive of life around you as it was intended, or there is the chemical version in which someone in a lab coat decided dead soil is totally ok. Personally I choose the natural way. It's better for me, the environment, all my animals and my neighbors. It's cheaper and the plants do better. To each their own...........but theirs always room for improvement and we are always open arms when folks leave the dark side 🤗. Try one big pot and grow it completely organically......then grow the same plant next to it using the fertilizers.........you will taste, see and feel the difference ❤️
I have been gardening for a long time and grew up on a farm my whole life, when I saw your video on how to plant tomatoes I knew I had to try it because my tomato harvest in the past years was poor to say the least and I knew how to plant deep and take care of the plants. This year I bought healthy plants from a greenhouse that were protected from the early frost and cooler temps, I dug my hole and put all the ingredients in like you said and watered, and in one month my plants went from 12” to 4 ft tall! Today is July 3rd and my plants are 6ft tall and loaded with fruit, staked because they are so tall and loaded. I owe that to you, you opened our eyes to something different and an outlook on different methods for organic gardening that make sense and work, thank you again Murdock, happy 4th.
You are very welcome 🤗
I love when a plan comes together. When given the right goodies at the right time.....the plants are more than happy to show you what they can do.
Now comes the even better part of my Mad Scientist plan......... You get to teach someone else the tricks ❤️. Pretty soon everyone will be eyeballs deep in maters lol 🤣
Good job Patriot Gardner 💪😎
Did you try "supercropping"? I started last year and the results were amazing. Plant really responded with amazing amounts of fruit. Of course all that food below to support it did its job too.
Best video I’ve seen on solo cup seed starting. Thanks Patriot and keep leaning to the right!
Great videos love when you put out the videos,I grew my tomatoes the way you explained a few months back and they’ve have done so well iam here is Vancouver BC where iam out in the country it takes a while for my tomatoes to start growing so I put a few lite in my un heated green house in the morning till the sun hits the green house seems to be helping I’ve got lots of flowers and fruit is forming now thanks again love everything you share on planting
Just come across this video, ive started my tomato's, wish i had seen this first. Thank you, just subbed
Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺
Brandywine is the best tasting tomato. I am a professional grower/farmer/biocultivator; corals, animals, mushrooms, plants. you might also enjoy, for an heirloom, Black Krim. it is most people's other favorite next to BRANDY and it cranks til frost so a winner in production capacity. Baker's Creek tested it to have the highest nutrition of all tomatoes they tested from their catalogue, which probably explains the optimal taste to humans in situ...
Both two of my absolute favorites. I liked the Brandywine pink but found it wasn't quite as sweet and the flesh was more solid/juicy ratio.
The Brandywine Heirloom is by my opinion, perfection of both sweetness and texture of fruits flesh.
The only downside with the Brandywine heirloom is the growth rate and I have found it it is a bit more susceptible to early blight than some of the other varieties but well worth the extra care it takes to get to the point of getting those delicious and perfect fruits.
I feel very honored to have a professional grower comment on my channel. Thank you very much ❤️❤️❤️
The black krim is also one that takes a bit more love but the fruits are out of this world 🌍❤️
Did extremely well here with shade in Arizona. I found this one liked an additional 10% perlite in the mix........was touchy with the watering. Liked it a bit more on the dryer side.
I've got a variety right now "Garden leader Monster" that has not failed to live up to its name.
I've got multiple twins ranging from 1-3 lbs 😳.
I'll have to let you know on the final taste as fruit is now ripening......bot reeealy big plants and fruits 🍅
I’ve grown the black krim I agree I agree
Another great video. Thanks Murdock 👏🏼
Hello!
My pleasure!
Love your 'right' comments... great channel. Thanks for all of the good info!
You talked about the square bottom solo cup. I just bought one size smaller cup and it slips right in and suspends the larger cup. Hope that helps .Thank you for all your good ideas !!
Happy Tomato’s happy life
Randy wine a is great one🎉
Now I'll be on the hunt for square bottom solo cups😂
Square-bottom Solo 18 oz. cups sold at Walmart and Target - probably others - they are the closest to me.
I did my tomatoes the same looking good.
I get the red 18oz cups. I cut a big triangle out of the bottom from the corner to the center. Then buy the clear 16oz cups to set it in. There’s about a 3 in gap between the cups. No stones or marbles needed in the bottom. The root system will fill the bottom cup eventually and the stem will be as thick as your thumb. This is my 1st year doing the red cup thing. I just made a few adjustments to what everyone else was doing. Turned out pretty good.
It's the beauty of the double cup system. Using the round bottom 18 oz cups inside a square bottom 18oz cup gives you about the same but a bigger growing vessel.
How do you keep the soil in place with one triangle hole in inner cup?
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472
I just hold the cup at the bottom, fill it with potting soil. Yes a little will fall out but I moisten the soil 1st so it’s real clumpy. Not much falls out.
Thank again Murdock! Could you do a Rabbit Pellet fertilizer test on tomatoes? I would love to see if it helps. You have so many seedlings to work with and I'm climbing over my plants in my tiny space. Maybe it will help some become more self-sufficient? Love your videos!
Great suggestion!
Rabbit pellets below planting hole have really created impressive results on my squash. The control squash is 1/4 the size.
Rabbit poo 💩 is probably in my opinion the best fertilizer there is ❤️
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 best garden I have ever had. Even my seed strawberries are going crazy. Way better than the ones I killed last year.
Excellent 🎉🎉🎉 I subscribed to your channel 😀🙏 Great method, thank for sharing your wisdom..
Thanks for the info! Zone 7 here, tomatoes are growing but the seed starting process could have been better- appreciate the great tips. Would Love to see an in depth garden tour video of your outside space. Thanks again!!
Thank you for the very nice compliments ❤️
I'm in zone 9 so we are pretty much a few degrees from bursting into flames 🔥. Lol 🤣🤣🤣........ I'm gonna do an outdoor garden walk in September when I can get things in the ground........ Right now is the off season for us here in Arizona.....but we got 8 months of gardening only a month away! I have some really neat stuff to share in this years fal garden vids.
That’s great I use Kellogg brands and I have compost and earth worm castings all you mentioned I’ve been using them 😊👍👩🌾 thank you for the tips and advice 🙏🏻♥️
Do you have problems with fungus nats and how to keep from having them? Thanks
Mosquito bits are the secret
Could you please tell me the soil brands and mixtures you’re using in the solo cups? Thank you Sir.
I started tomato seedlings using the double solo cup method and only used Jiffy organic starting soil before I learned about the mixture you use. What can I do to ensure adequate feeding now that I have started out on the wrong foot? How often do I fertilize before transferring them to my garden?
You can start feeding at two weeks....use half strength (less is more when they are babies)
I like the 5-1-1 Alaska fish emulsion....they do do.
You can use a slow release 5-5-5 pellet food as well.....just half as much.
If you have access to bunny 🐇 poo 💩.....that is nature's gold for the garden.....you can add a bunch in each cup (it's a cold fertilizer so it won't burn them)
And that will do good for about 30 days same as the slow release organic fertilizer.
If you choose to use the Alaska fish emulsion, it's half strength, about 1-2 oz per red Solo cup every two weeks until transplant.
Thank you very much🙏@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472
What size Solo cup are you using here... hard to tell from here. :) Thanks!
I’m new to your channel, do you need to use a heatmat or just air temp of what degree? Thanks
I have tomato plant from seed and they are only 3-4 inches tall only. They are 5-6 weeks old
The grow room stays right at 75 degrees Fahrenheit and about 50 to 65% humidity.......... I don't use heat mats but if your souls and areas are below 65-70 fahrenheit.....a heat mat would help.
Do not let temps go above 80 degrees.
If you are using UV tubes like I am, make sure that your distance from the plants is only about 3 inches from their tops.....this is critical for proper photosynthesis to occur.
At that age you can feed them with 1/2 strength fertilizer........I like the Alaska fish emulsion 5-1-1.
The plants seem to like it.
Anything below 65° and the tomatoes will grow but they are going to grow extremely slow......they like that 75-85 range for fast growth.
Hope this helps ❤️
What type of fertilizer should I use to feed the plants also can I separate when they don’t have there true leaves yet
I would let them get at least one set of true leaves first.....they won't notice that small .
I use Alaska fish emulsion at 50% strength after two or three weeks....then every two- three weeks till transplanting.
I never use it full strength.
hello...what was the small bottle, with the red cap ? just wondering... I have over a hundred tomato plants...growing in solo cups...there 4" tall...doing great...In my little 8x8 green house...my goodness, i think their growing a 1/4" a day...First time with green house and solo cup method...ENJOYED steve.....
Maybe the cinnamon......it is a wonderful tool in the garden to prevent gnats, fungus and mold growth and prevents dampening off of your seedlings. Just a sprinkle after seeding and you never have issues. Good to hear it's working well. Most people are replying they are getting the biggest tomato Stars they've ever had in their lives.....it works.
Glad you liked the video 📸
thank you...@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472
Love your videos! Kellogg brand is not sold in my area. Is there another brand you might recommend?
Without knowing what's available for you to choose from I will say that looking for that OMRI listing on the packages will help ensure you are getting a quality product.
Another suggestion is a visit to the local nursery. They are usually really good at pointing out comparable products.
Black gold and tree frog brands are also really good.
At Smart & Final they have clean type solo cups, I'm able to see the water level.
So if you don't use lights just natural lighting how long will it take for the tomatoes to pop thru the soil been in soil for 8 days now do I need to toss them Start over
Not necessarily. They can take up to a week or so and are temperature sensitive.......
Make sure they stay above 70 degrees. I had some pop up 2 weeks later once for some reason.
Love your videos but I have a question about the solo double cup method of growing tomatoes. Do you keep the bottom of the first cup that has no holes filled with just enough water to provide watering of second cup with holes or do you water as needed? Thank You!!!
Just water as needed. Do not use the bottom cup as a watering vessel. This will cause your soil to go anaerobic meaning completely void of oxygen and kill your seedlings.
2-3 oz per watering is all that is needed.
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 This aspect of the double-cup method is so confusing to me! So, fill the outer cup with 2/3 oz. of water which will be wicked up into the soil via the holes on the inner cup, correct? After that is there an approx. length of time which I wait for the soil to wick the water? After the wicking time, I pour out the excess water? OR… do I leave the excess water in at all times as long as it is sitting below the level of the holes of the inner cup?
Do you use this same mix for all your seedlings
Pretty much. The only time I went for a less rich mix was with the strawberries. I added a bit more peat moss and potassium to that mix (dried and ground banana 🍌 peels)
The bean 🫛 family's being mostly nitrogen inducers (they pull nitrogen out of the air and inject it into their soil) don't need as rich of a mix either. They do better being fed about 30 days down the road with some rabbit poo 💩 or fully composted chicken manure....but just a small amount. It's the other nutrients besides the nitrogen they will be after.
The cucumber 🥒, the tomatoes 🍅, the broccoli 🥦, cauliflower, stuff like that are big time heavy feeders. Some folks say that having a starter mix already enriched at germination can stall or prevent it totally........maybe in certain cases or very sensitive kinds, but for the heavy feeders they love it..... The difference is so significant I will include it in my indoor growing video coming soon 👍😊
what do you put in your soil to recharge it with nutrients in spring?
Did you print or say where to get square-bottom Solo cups? If so, I missed it. I am in a wheel chair and can’t go in and out of lots of stores easily and am 86, so knowing exactly where to go would be extremely helpful. I grow in containers. Thank you for the information and for the videos!😊
I got mine at Safeway
How many weeks before you put the tomatoes outside in the ground? Do you start them in the red solo cup?
It depends on when I start them. If I am starting them for directly after Frost, I will start them four to six weeks prior. That's about as much time as I can keep them indoors before they are just way too big. By six weeks they are 24" tall and have stems the diameter of a finger lol 😆.
It's timing......... Typically folks find their last frost date and count back 4-6 weeks. That gives you the perfect start date ❤️.
At that age, after transplant you should begin to see blooms within 2 weeks....... I do start them in the red Solo cups. I actually have a video on starting tomato seedlings.
I am shocked at how many people don't know what organic means. The lack of pesticides and everything else is dismissed as a 'scam'.. so silly. I worked at Whole Foods Market for many years, and it was a very awesome time. Best job ever. Made it to the Bulk Foods specialist and this was 2002-2010, long before Amazon made their claim of it, then alot changed. It used to be that any good had to be pesticide free, and all natural for 7 years and then it could be labeled as organic. Hence the brand "SEVENTH GENERATION" .. however now, I see it takes only 3 years, and there is some kind of label that says "organic transitioning".. all dismissed as a scam by many. Sad.
Thanks for the great vids.
Our seed catalogs have all been used and half our things are here.. Trees, nearly 20 varieties of tomato, 14 tree and bush types and the Improved 25x10x6.6ft QuicTent greenhouse.. gonna be a great year of gardening!
Happy Birthday America🎉🎆🧨 Have a great 4th Patriot Murdock...TQ 4 SHARING & SHOWING all ur SECRETS😎 🍅💚🌶️ WWG1WGA🇺🇸
PINK "FLUTED" it is a reference to the ridges or "flutes" on the top. ferry morris I guess had a worker type in the wrong name for the printer....
They forgot the flavor of the Brandywine airline as well lol. Although they are both good the brand new wine pink is only a 7 out of 10...... The heirloom variety a 10/10
Do you ever take one of the two out of the cup and transplant it into its own ?
Yes. If I get two really nice ones I will split them up sometimes.
I try to sow only one seed per cup most of the time.
HALALUYAH THANKS BELOVED
Sir is it necessary to use a heating pad? I grow in my shop and keep indoor temperature around 75 and use a LED grow light.This is my first time to grow indoors. I have been gardening for 40 years outdoors. I got where I couldn't afford the transplants anymore and really didn't like the way they were being grown.
I am a new subscriber and I have watched 3 of your videos on growing tomatoes....they all give the soil mixes and they are all different in some ingredients so I am thoroughly confused....if I get all ingredients I will be spending over $100. that is not counting seed and solo cups....as much as I want to go with this, I can't condone this amount for 30 tomato plants. any suggestions?
Sometimes mixes get modified a bit.....but the one shown in the video is written down.
Sorry if it seemed a bit confusing.
$100 for 30 plants seems like a good trade if your purchasing new materials, seed and soils.
The only alternatives I could think of directly out of a bag would probably be more expensive. If you had access to your own compost your own potting soil and your own organic matter to mix up, that would save you the money on the medium.
I like your setup. My setup I was thinking of doing would be to use your cup method inside a tote with a grow light above it. I have a lot of room in a shop outside that’s insulated so it never freezes.
But I was thinking if I used totes and put down a few inches of soil and then put the solo cups ontop of the dirt the roots could grow out of the cup and into the dirt. Would that avoid the issue of roots growing out and thinking they ran out of room?
Idk indont have room in my house really so was thinking if I used totes I could put serane wrap over the top to reduce air flow and use grow lights. I got heat mats I could use. I could just sit cups on a bench but it’s a big shop cause it’s a quansahut so there’s a lot of air flow or volume cause it goes up 20 plus feet.
Maybe I’ll experiment and use your two cup method in one tote snd then use another tote with a little soil and just one cup with holes.
Another question is have you tried biochar or charcoal that you’ve inoculated? If you break it up into smaller sizes it might work similar to perlite or something helping give space for aeration. Maybe you already have a video about biochar.
You need to check. Not all big ag uses synthetic fertilizer. I know some farmers in my valley are organic or natural and never spray pesticides or herbicides.
Others they spread manure onto the fields so it’s natural manure but I’m not sure if the feed was 100% organic so I suppose the manure may have somethings in it?
But I did want to say that. Everyone thinks farmers never use manure and it’s like every farmer I know uses manure. Sometimes turkey manure even cause we’re near turkey plants. One farmer were friends with used several truck loads of dead fish. Utah lake in Utah for some reason the state killed the fish one year maybe invasive species and the fish was collected and composted. I’m not sure what poison was used so it’s not organic but one example of lots of fish fertilizer. I’ve honestly never seen affordable fish fertilizer for farmers to use haha cause even waste fish is probably more valuable being converted to fish feed.
I remember in high school picking weeds in ffa for one farmer. He sold hay turned into pellets that were weed free. I think he was labeled natural not organic but that was years ago and I can’t remember. Horses going onto forest service land need certified weed free hay I believe in Utah which is why that one farmer didn’t use herbicides to remove weeds.
Hi😊
Hi there 👋
Can you use 10 10 10 fertilizer in the hole?
If it's organic yes....just make sure it's buried 4-6 under the plant in the hole....you probably don't want direct contact with the roots......you want them to grow and find it 👍
I'm completely new to this. I've invested in what seems to be a good grow light. I've already planted some micro dwarf seed and romaine lettuce, some hot peppers and strawberries. but I cant seem to find a full walk through of light heights, or how to grow beginning to yield indoors. everyone seems to up the solo cups to large pots and I cant do that as I have only 18" 60 worth of space. I could create more but would need to spread lights. I currently use (6) 4' 42 watt full spectrum Barrina t8 lights for the before mentioned space. if anyone can help id be so appreciative as im so concerned with the world right now. I wish you did a video for this type of person just looking to grow a salad in their kitchen lol. your videos are awesome im marathoning them now. keep it up and ill be a botanist before know it.
I've got one in the works for indoor gardening.....we are trying to get it all put together.
T5, t8 and the UV tubes should be no more than 3" from plant tops......that's across the board for all the plants using UV tubes.
Only when using led or vho (very high output UV tubes) would you go further.
Hid (high intensity discharge lamps like high pressure sodium and metal halide are 14-24" depending on temps and plants.
For you and lettuce 3" is perfection from tops of plants.
Make sure to incorporate a small fan in your growing space to help circulate the air. This will prevent disease pests and also help circulate the carbon dioxide and oxygen around the growing chamber helping to improve growth.
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 I will absolutely watch it.
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 wow thanks. My lights are are barrina t8 42w (x6) full spectrum grow leds. My issue is also frequency of watering, can I grow them in the 16oz solo double cups in currently using or do I need to transplant to bigger pot? Currently I’m growing (8) types of hot pepper. A bunch of Romaine lettuce, Roma tomato, Red Robin tomato, kaleidoscope carrots, cucumber, mint both spearmint and peppermint, parsley, chive, bunching onions, and I’m preparing seed for strawberries. I jumped right into deep end and now fear I don’t know my next step. Started on 1/28/24 so I have quite a bit to go. Any help would be appreciated and amazing. I’ll be watching the channel looking out for new videos. And I’ll keep notifications on for when you do post. Thanks again.
Since you use the double solo cup method, why are you not watering from the bottom?
Because watering from the top down draws oxygen to the main primary roots and the secondary roots that form inside the cups. If I wanted to do it that way I would just set the cup inside of a tray but then I wouldn't get the exceptional root growth
@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 I guess I just don't understand the purpose of the second cup. Is it to catch any run off?
I was with you until you started cutting the tomato seedlings. Why not tease them out if the soil and give each a chance?
cut that soil mix 50 50 w sand. tomatoes are originally from the seaside western andes northern Chile to mid Ecuador from sea level to 10 k FT. they are native to sandy loam with low rainfall (henceforth fungal prone) and bottom watering from underground rivers flowing down the mountains or riversides and wetter micro climates....50% that 50% sand
I will do so and actually throw a couple cups in a video to do a comparison on it. 🤗
That's one of the reasons why I like the double Red Solo cup method, it allows for free draining. I also add extra perlite in there to make sure it is free-flowing.
Why do you use so many different soil mixes? Why not just go with one high quality organic potting soil, add some perlite, castings, compost, and fertilizer?
For the exact same reason that you cannot feed the exact same thing to all different critters. Everything has a little bit of a different dietary difference especially when it comes to plants and nutrients. We're one plant requires tons of nitrogen, others will require loads of phosphorus or magnesium. Certain soils and certain soil types do better for certain plants. You can't plant an orchid and potting soil can you? Why not? Because that plant requires a specific soil type just like all other plants.
Can you get away with growing in one regular medium, I guess you could, but I'm looking for extraordinary results not ordinary or lower than normal.
@@murdocksmadnesspatriotgard5472 I have a good sized allotment in the UK, I have grown organically for decades but with a lower income now I have not been feeding the soil as much, (mainly relying on seaweed liquid) as I want to and it definately needs it as you say, I have been planting 20 or more tomatoes to get enough to eat/save for the rest of the year, and single stemming them. Your strong multi stemmed plants make more sense and I will be trying this, concentrating on fewer, properly fed , less restricted plants.I realise I have inadvertently been stopping their early growth several times using pots. I love the videos. Thank you.😁 I agree about L and R being meaningless.
I've been using chemical fertilizers for the last 60years of my gardening, I guess I'm doomed not to be a great gardener. Alf
It's never too late to do it the way it's supposed to be done and enhance your environment ❤️
The sooner we can get away from big AG and chemical based farming.....the sooner our soils and gardens can heal.
The difference of an organic soil vs a chemical fed soil is so extremely different I always tell folks to take a look for yourself....it's not an opinion, it's fact.
When you see the chemical fertilizer fed soils you will notice almost all micro life in the soil is gone. Take a look at a scoop of organic garden soil and it is teeming with thousands of organisms all working towards a beautiful place.
Chemical fertilizers kill most of them and without them your garden suffers.
There is a natural way....the way it's supposed to be created by father in which the food is healthy and supportive of life around you as it was intended, or there is the chemical version in which someone in a lab coat decided dead soil is totally ok.
Personally I choose the natural way. It's better for me, the environment, all my animals and my neighbors. It's cheaper and the plants do better.
To each their own...........but theirs always room for improvement and we are always open arms when folks leave the dark side 🤗.
Try one big pot and grow it completely organically......then grow the same plant next to it using the fertilizers.........you will taste, see and feel the difference ❤️