In article ,
Mohamed wrote:

Hi,

I have a hybrid tomato genotype that I need fruits and seeds from; however it
is currently not flowering, and looks rather "sad." I intend to add some
fertilizer (it gets a weekly regime of fertilizer in small doses); however, I
read somewhere that Bloom Boost (don't know which brand exactly) is supposed
to promote flowering - which I can then hand-pollinate to obtain seeds, so as
to not lose this genotype. Any thoughts and/or suggestions would be greatly
appreciated.

Thank you
Mohamed Yakub





Tomatoes need 6-8 hr. of direct sunlight daily. If you are growing it
inside, it will be tall and thin as it is reaching for the sun. If you
are growing this inside, you should invest in a grow light.
Nitrogen will encourage vegetative growth in plants, not flowers and
fruit. What you need is bone meal (P) and wood ash (K), or an organic
0-10-10. The middle number (P) is the most important for flowering.

Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners
by Suzanne Ashworth, and Kent Whealy
http://www.amazon.com/Seed-Growing-T...deners/dp/1882
424581/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271968573&sr=1-1

p. 155-156
Tomatoes are inbreeding plants. Most modern tomato varieties have
totally retracted styles. Such flower structure severely limits (and may
totally preclude) any crossing between these varieties. Three groups of
tomato varieties have been found to have protruding styles, however:
currant tomatoes, L. pimpinellifolium; all of the potato-leaved
varieties of L. lycopersicum', and any fruit formed from double blossoms
on beefsteak types of L. lycopersicum. Potato leaved tomatoes have
rampant vines and smooth-edged leaves that resemble the leaves of a
potato plant.

Although not all tomato varieties have been examined. most modern
varieties available commercially will not cross with one another due to
their retracted styles. Seed savers should therefore have no problem
with cross-pollination when growing one currant tomato (or one
potato-leaved variety) and any number of modern varieties with styles
that are covered by their anther tubes. Caging can be used to prevent
crossing when more than one variety of L. pimpinellifolium or more than
one potato-leaved variety of L. lycopersicum are grown in close
proximity. Double blossoms, commonly seen in amongst the early flowers
of beefsteak tomatoes, often have exposed stigmas, making them more
prone to insect cross-pollination. Seeds should not be saved from double
fruits for this reason.
----
Lightly brushing the plant with your hand several times a day, is more
than sufficient, and it will make the plant stronger.

Now comes the problem. You say that this is a hybrid plant? F1? The
seeds that come from hybrids most likely won't give you a plant like
they came from. I've seen it happen with Juliet tomatoes, but it is
rare. They won't reproduce to form.

I'll look back in to see if you have other questions. Otherwise, you may
want to come over to rec.gardens.edible for varying opinions.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html