Tomatoes, tomatoes and... habaneros?

Lauren Shisler

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Well, I have been dawned the task this year by my family to try growing some tomatoes! And some habaneros upon request of my brother. ( maybe ill dry them and make crushed habaneros flakes! )

I'm heading down to my farmers market to grab some baby tomato plants and various other goodies...maybe a handful of cookies too ;)

But! How do you guys do your own personal gardening? Favorite methods for growing tomatoes? Tip tricks and pix?

Love to hear if you guys have a green thumb too!
 

Starfox

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I just had some Jalepeno, Birds Eye and some chillies called "Chilly Willy"(google them :D) seeds arrive so I'm all for any chilli advice too. I did grow them years ago but that was fairly basic.

Also I like to keep tomatoes simple but I never grow them in large quantaties. I might have 3-5 tomatoes in pots and these get watered daily unless it rains, while the tree is growing I fertilize weekly/fortnightly with a high N fert and once the fruit start to develop I switch to a high P fert stopping the fertiliser a week or two before they are ready.
Don't have any on the go so you reminded me I must get cracking. I do have a large chunk of tomato buried in a pot so hope the seeds come up soon and are viable.
 

aml1014

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My biggest tip on tomatoes is water the sh#t out of them, they love to drink when it's warm.
Also I grow lots of peppers and chili's of different varieties since I live in the new mexcio where they thrive. Big tips on them is give them as much full sun as possible, and to let them wilt slightly between waterings. It takes some practice to not let then wilt to much but with both of those techniques you'll have MUCH hotter habaneros.

Aaron
 

JoeR

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I am going to try to grow tomatoes through the winter this year in my new greenhouse... Hopefully I can.

Last year, I put a tomato in a 5 gallon cat liter bucket... I put a 3" drainage layer of pumice in the bottom and when It finally died I noticed the roots preferred the drainage layer... So this year I'll try some in bonsai soil too.
 

Lauren Shisler

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Well these are what I came home with!
image.jpeg image.jpeg

Tomatoes: brandy masters, Sakura, big beef and sunrise bumble bee

As for peppers : chocolate habaneros and apparently.. Ghost peppers.
. Big tips on them is give them as much full sun as possible, and to let them wilt slightly between waterings. It takes some practice to not let then wilt to much but with both of those techniques you'll have MUCH hotter habaneros.

Aaron
That's actually interesting. I wonder why a little under watering makes a hotter pepper...but! A tip I will try out this year!
 

michaelj

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The best way to grow habaneros is to buy a habanero. Seed packs are anywhere from a buck-something to three bucks. A single habanero from the grocery store is a few cents, and it's full of seeds that will germinate.
 

Lauren Shisler

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The best way to grow habaneros is to buy a habanero. Seed packs are anywhere from a buck-something to three bucks. A single habanero from the grocery store is a few cents, and it's full of seeds that will germinate.

I thought about that. But I'm still a sissy when it comes to the idea of starting with seeds.

One of these days I'll experiment with them :)
 

JoeR

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The best way to grow habaneros is to buy a habanero. Seed packs are anywhere from a buck-something to three bucks. A single habanero from the grocery store is a few cents, and it's full of seeds that will germinate.
I have always thought about that, I just figured they were GMO. Do all peppers, like bell peppers, germinate from the store?
 

michaelj

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All? That I cannot say. Most do. I've grown seeds from all sorts of tomatoes, peppers and beans from the grocery store. Even potatoes and pineapples.
 
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