Testing a new tool

Today we potted up several of our new crosses into 2 gallon containers, many may need to move up later in the season but also some may never fill it out completely. With the 2026 tomato season beginning to ramp up, the small seedlings have been gradually getting bigger boots. Most of these hitting 4 inch rootrimmer pots which have been my favorite so far with years of trials.

Now with full size tomatoes crossed into micro tomatoes the F1 get to be quite large and quite quickly as well. The purchase was made for a tool to tie up plants quickly and reliably from amazon. The 18 inch plastic plant stakes were installed and tied together using this new tool. Being a cheaper option some quirks were found, staple holder would pop out when squeezed. Some minor tweaks later and the machine was running flawlessly. After a couple perfect tie ups confidence came and the first oopsies occurred, the tool chopped the plant in half. Lesson learned on making sure the gap was large enough to accommodate both the plant and stake prior to squeezing the handle.

Many of our tomato trays have been moved to the high tunnel to harden off, the first seeded trays are now recovering from a fungal explosion causing high losses. The later trays have been moved as well with perfect looking plants. The last trays to be seeded have just been finished and placed under lights for germination, hope to move these out to greenhouse by end of May. Many staple varieties are being grown to fill the pantry while several others are grown for the genetic diversity for new crosses.