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Volunteer tomatoes wintering indoors

 
Posts: 106
Location: Fairplay, Northern California
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A month ago I found two tomato volunteers, decided to pot them and keep them indoors till next spring.

They are in quart--sized pots and have grown to about 8 inches. They are in my native soil mixed with  a little potting soil.  I've reactivated my grow light, for their sake, as my south facing windows still don't provide enough light. I set my indoor temperature to about 69 ° F. during the day and 61° overnight.

I'm wondering if I ought to give them a little fertilizer from time to time.  I don't intend to re-pot between now and spring. The little things look good and healthy now but it will be at least 5 months until they can be set out into the garden.

Has anyone tried this?
 
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I overwinter tomatoes in the house in front of a south facing window. I use pots that hold about 2 gallons. I don't fertilize them. Room temperature is whatever the ambient temperature is, which is around 65F. I don't give them any extra light. I'm interested in making a few manual cross pollinations during the winter, and getting seeds from them, so that I get two generations per year on my breeding projects. I only need a few fruits with a few seeds to move the project forward, so I am only interested in survival of the plants, not optimal growing conditions.

 
Jane Reed
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If my tomatoes were in larger pots I'd not be concerned.  Perhaps I should re-pot them after all. They are presently as tall as the pots are deep.
 
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