I planted a little 40 cell tray of tomatoes today (4/10/26) with each cell a different breeding line. Included a few crosses with both the Obligate Outcrossing and the Profoundly Promiscuous tomato groups. I think I’ll keep this as it for transplants and then do the rest by direct seeding.
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I’m growing 7 plants that are my seed from last year’s plants, from Purely Promiscuous tomato 2024 seed. As I recall they were all orange fruit plants. Be curious if they segregate at all this year or look the same.
Relatedly, also growing 9 plants from William’s Mission Mountain grex, 8 plants of Wildling, and 1 plant Galapagos improved.
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How intensively is everyone culling their tomato seedlings? I think I will keep all of my obligate outcrossing tomatoes to ensure decent pollination but i figured if most/all of us are selecting for early emergence that i should be more selective with the profoundly promiscious tomatoes. Some are noticeably larger than other seedlings that are just starting to pop through the soil.
I guess i just need a little reassurance because i have a difficult time thinking about pinching the little plants, even though i know it helps adaptability progress at a faster rate. This is my first year growing gts seeds so a little guidance is helpful, even if im pretty sure i already know the answer 
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I normally let everything vegetable grow and focus on controlling the pernicous weeds like canada thistle and white top. Last year I actually culled the obligate outcrossing but just for trueness to type. Must have promiscuous type flowers. Must show signs of self Incompatibility such as a organza bag test that shows inability to self.
Also depends on how many seeds you got and seedlings you started how many you can afford to cull.
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I cull seedlings that come up real late, across the board. The late ones tend to be off too. I had some pepper seedlings pop up late and I watched them for about a week, to see. One just didn’t have cotyledon leaves(??), only a teeny stem that did nothing. One couldn’t shed the seed coat off the cotyledons.
In the tomatoes I had some late ones pop up (two seeds per pot) just last week. So they didn’t come up for a month in conditions where like 97% came up fine and timely.
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Ahh yes, i totally forgot to mention that i will be culling any tomatoes out of the obligate outcrossing that dont have the promiscious type flowers 
another reason to keep em all!
Thanks for that reminder. Perhaps I’ll prioritize planting the large ones first and depending on the available garden space, i will cull or keep the little plants as well.
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Oooh interesting about the pepper plants. I’ll keep that in mind and make sure to pay attention to how the late ones develop…
A month difference in germination is certainly a justifiable reason to cull them little late bloomers!
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More tomato questions!
Okay, so since i wintersowed all of my tomato plants they are already essentially hardened off… so im wondering if i should plant them in the ground when they all have a pair of true leaves (most of which already do, besides the late bloomers) or wait until they are a bit larger so i can bury them deep when transplanting to encourage more root growth. Nighttime temps are around 8-10c(46-50f) so i think that is safe for maters?
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If it’s past your last frost than you could do either. If you’re right around maybe last frost date you may want to keep half or some amount left in whatever container they are in, as back up just in case.
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Ooh even though im past last frost date i like the idea of leaving some as back up just in case! I’ll plant the big ones, and save the smaller ones. Thanks 
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I started these profoundly promiscuous seeds back on April 8th. Every seed came up (I wasn’t sure what to expect with the seed site saying expect moderate germination!), and only one died from damping off due to me trying to soften the seed coat to remove it (I’ve since just put the humidity dome back on to let them do it themselves more naturally). This is my first time using a soil blocker and it definitely seems to be a good option for tomatoes.
I will be potting up as soon as I have more lights to put them under at which point I expect to see them really take off!
(You can see a few of the GTS peppers there, too, but those will go in their own thread.)
On April 13th I planted 15 of the Lofthouse direct seeded tomatoes with the recommended radishes and turnips as nurse plants. That’s a bit early (4 weeks before average last frost), but my plan is to do some each week up to the 2 weeks before mark and see what I can get away with. So far some of the radishes and turnips have come up, but no tomatoes (which is probably good at this point). I planted in a line where the soil goes from a lot of extra organic matter to basically pure sand, so it will be interesting to see how the plants in each area differ in growth. Also the first few are between blocks of peas, so I will also see if that impacts their growth (assuming they come up).
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I hope your direct sown tomatoes pop up soon! I did the same on April 8th but i forgot to interplant em with radishes. Your skill blocking makes everything look so nice and neat!
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Sounds like I’ve missed something… What’s the radishes and turnips deal?
On the EFN page for the direct seeded tomatoes ( Lofthouse Direct-Seeded Tomato – Experimental Farm Network Seed Store ) it says
Sow seeds directly in the garden about two weeks before your average last frost. Inter-plant with radishes and turnips as nurse companions — they lure flea beetles, buffer frost, and shade out early weeds.
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After mention of direct sown tomatoes i thought i should check on mine and sure enough m.. lots n lots have popped up! I sowed em in a small plot and now im thinking i shouldve spread it out a bit because i was not expecting such a high rate of germination. Funny enough, i did forget to interplant any radishes/turnips along side but last year i had a bunch of radish plants go to seed in the same area so i have volunteers all around the tomatoes now anyway haha! They are a bit larger than the mater seedlings but im sure thatll change soon enough.
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I direct seeded six packets of Obligate Outcrossing also known as Self Incompatible (SI) strain Lofthouse promiscuous project tomatoes today. I sorted out three packets I had saved and then when I checked the mailbox there were three from Joseph. I planted them in two relatively short rows in two different gardens. The rows were short because I had to dig out the weeds and grass in the first garden and hoe the second before I could plant. I just hand seeded- didn’t get the seeder out. Packets were: DS SI Earliest cherries, DS SI largest fruit from week five of harvest red and black skin on top, DS SI third picking, S-4 a farmer favorite, disease tolerant from Kentucky, A25-37 a farmer favorite fruity orange, and J44-8 a farmer favorite sibling group orange fruity beefsteak- but the latter Joseph said has poor germination. I may direct seed some more tomatoes next weekend, but I used up the SI seed I believe. I consider today April 26th to be 20 days to last frost on May 15th which I find to be a fine time to direct seed tomatoes. Sometimes they germinate and start growing before last frost but often they germinate right after the last frost. I should add that I’ve never used a nurse crop in my 10 years of direct seeding- but it seemed useful for Joseph last year. I reckon I use weeds sometimes if I can’t keep up with them.
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Aahhh shucks, i totally forgot im supposed to plant before the average first frost. I shouldve been planting during the end of March!
I guess i unintentionally added a bit of a nurse/cover crop. Not only with the self seeding radishes from the year prior but i sprinkled a mix of lentils, cowpeas, mung beans, clover and hairy vetch a few weeks ago after weeding my rows because i didnt want the weeds to take over before i started transplanting various seedlings. Ill just cover em in mulch as i go before planting my beans, lettuce and basil between my tomato plants.
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Two of the direct-seeded tomatoes are emerging! My average last frost is May 15th so we’ll see how they do. I’m planning on starting some more this weekend as well.
I “up-cubed” the indoor promiscuous tomatoes and they have been progressing nicely.
If even half of the tomato plants I’m growing this year do well I am absolutely going to have to get more canning jars 
Some others that should really be uppotted soon as well (I’ve just been giving them liquid fertilizer instead):
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Wanted to add here that I had a minor issue with my tomatoes. Missed watering and didn’t catch it right away. Interesting that the ones that barely noticed or handled it best were the Goingtoseed tomatoes (my saved seed from last year’s), Mission Mountain grex, Wildling, and some others from William.
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I seeded my promiscuous tomatoes outside in seed trays in a cold bench mid-april and they germinated in masses 10-14 days after. The weather is already pretty warm, so I’ve learned I could probably try two weeks earlier.
Since so many germinated at the same time, I wonder how I should cull. I will cull those that germinate slightly later, and will prioritize those with strong growth, but what else to look for at this stage?
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