We have tomatoes on the hydroponic garden!

[Mike Nolan]

I've spotted at least 5 so far, not quite as big as a ping pong ball yet. I think they're all on the Better Bush plants, I haven't spotted any on the Defiance plants yet, though there are lots of blooms on it. (But it is a slower tomato, though it was transplanted several weeks earlier than the Better Bush.)

Based on some net research, I've started shaking the plants at least once a day, that may have been what it took to shake loose some pollen. 😀

The photo looks strange because the red/blue lights were on.

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[skeptic7]

Congratulations! I never thought about pollination of hydroponic tomatoes. You don't have to take a little brush and go from flower to flower to pollinate?

[RiversideLen]

Sounds great, Mike!

[Mike Nolan]

Given the jungle that's growing, using a brush or the little vibrator that Aerogarden sold on every bloom would be very tedious, I'm not sure I can even reach them all! I ran across a video where the idea of shaking the plants was suggested, and that seems to have worked.

Tomatoes are supposed to be self-pollinating, as each flower has both a male and female part, but they probably rely on wind at least as much as on pollinators to move the pollen around. I've got a fan going on the plants during the day but I think shaking them may be more effective, so that's now part of my daily routine. I've been needing to add between a gallon and a gallon and a half of water every day for the past month or two. So I shake them several times a day now, including just before and after I check the water level. Then I go do some exercises on the home gym equipment that's also downstairs. 🙂

[navlys]

Can't wait ti hear how these tomatoes taste!

[Joan Simpson]

Congratulations on your tomatoes Mike.

[Mike Nolan]

It'll probably be 3-4 weeks before those Better Bush tomatoes start to ripen, I'm also quite curious as to how they'll taste. I haven't spotted any more, but the 5 I spotted over the weekend were probably there for several days before I focused in on them. Still lots of blooms on the other variety (Defiance) but haven't spotted any fruit yet.

I'm still making up my list of seeds to start late next month for the outdoor garden, but I will be dropping First Lady II and adding Defiance to the list. I need to find some more Italian Heirloom seeds, I haven't seen any in a couple of years at the garden stores, but I haven't made the rounds of the garden stores and other seed racks yet. I may have enough for 2025 but they're probably 2022 seeds so the germination rate may be lower. I also need to order leek plants from Johnny's.

[Mike Nolan]

I did spot one Defiance tomato today, still about pea sized, but if there's one, there should be more soon.

[Mike Nolan]

Found several more tiny tomatoes and a couple of not-so-tiny ones, including this one hiding in the forest:

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[Mike Nolan]

I picked a lovely 2.15 ounce tomato this afternoon, not sure yet how we're going to use it.

[Joan Simpson]

Yay Mike that's wonderful!

[Mike Nolan]

I'm hoping this is the first of many, otherwise these will be really expensive tomatoes!

[Mike Nolan]

We wound up using the tomato in tacos. Although it was fully red, Diane thought it could have stood another day or two of ripening, that's part of the learning curve. But it smelled and tasted like a tomato.

[Italiancook]

Mike, I'm happy for your tomato experiment being a success. Where there's one tomato, there are usually more.

A fruit and vegetable market I used to frequent sold hydroponic tomatoes. Even in the summer, they were many times better than the fresh ones they sold. Well worth the price. I took a platter of sliced hydroponic tomatoes to a funeral repast. The tomatoes received several compliments.

[Mike Nolan]

I spotted a couple more pea-sized tomatoes today, I'm going to keep a log of what I pick, though I'm not really sure if the first one was a Better Bush or Defiant, kind of hard to trace the vines in the middle of that jungle.The first 6 I spotted are now bigger than a ping pong ball but I don't really expect them to show signs of ripening for another few weeks.

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