Back to the Roots Cherry Tomato Organic Windowsill Planter Kit - Grows Year Round, Includes Everything Needed For Planting

The cherry tomato kit worked great for me and my toddler! We followed the directions pretty closely with a few exceptions.First, all of the eight seeds we planted ended up germinating. It took awhile to grow after germinating because the window we placed them in front of wasn’t directly south facing. Due to this, we ended up shifting the seedlings to pots outside eventually where they flourished.In terms of watering, while seedlings were indoors we did find that we needed to water less than recommended by the directions. I think this is due to the slight lack of sun and minimal air flow. Definitely pay attention to the moistness of the soil when deciding when and how much to water. After planting outside in full sun, the tomatoes did need more water.We ended up attempting to grow all of the seedlings. So, when the directions stated to remove a certain amount of seedlings, we just transferred them to a different pot. This meant we did buy a vegetable fertilizer to use with these plants since the kit only comes with fertilizer for one plant.Once transferring the plants outside in pots, they grew strong very quickly. A few of them did get eaten by animals while small but five ended up growing to maturity.Regarding the quality of the tomatoes, we just ate our first tomato and it was so flavorful! We picked it soon after it started turning color and finished the ripening process indoors. This worked wonderfully and it was one of the most flavorful tomatoes I’ve ever had.100% would recommend this kit.

First, I have to RAVE about this brand in general! They were founded in Oakland, CA to help combat urban food droughts/food scarcity and they donate a kit to needy areas each time you tag them w/ your purchase (so tag them! :D), but even more importantly, each of these jar kits (the tomatoes and pepper plants--had both) come with EVERYTHING (and then some) that you need to grow a plant from seed to produce all on your windowsill/near a growing light source! The instructions and steps are easy enough for kids 7+ to do on their own and even younger kids can manage w/ supervision (my 3 year old was able to follow all of the super easy directions just fine!). Great for teaching kids about responsibility prior to committing to a pet or teaching about the life cycle/ where food comes from. Ours (this year) sprouted up in less than a week (I think 3-4 days, tops) and have already been thinned down to our final selection (though honestly I planted the other sprouts into different containers w/ externally-purchased dirt because who doesn't love copious amounts of tomatoes??). Includes 2 fertilizer spikes and some of the best product support I've ever encountered in the gardening industry, hands down! If you're wanting to get into some gardening but have never tried or are looking for a SUPER low-maintenance project, look no further than Back to the Roots! (they also have an oyster mushroom kit we haven't opened yet, that looks super promising!)Cannot rave about this brand enough--seriously, between their STELLAR products (including counter-top hydroponic kits) and their amazing plants (the seeds ALWAYS sprout and they give EXTRA!), as well as their super accessible approach, you really can't go wrong with Back to the Roots (no, I wasn't paid/compensated in any capacity--I just really fkn love this brand!!!!!!! I've already reached out about becoming a brand ambassador teehee!)Hope this helps!

I had high hopes for the Back to the Roots Cherry Tomato Grow Kit, but honestly, it was a big disappointment—especially for the price. The kit seemed convenient at first, but I quickly realized I could have put together my own setup for much less. The growth was underwhelming, and overall, it just didn’t feel worth the cost. If you’re considering this, I’d recommend saving your money and starting your own DIY tomato plants instead.

This kit has given the most temperamental seedlings I’ve ever tried to sprout, but it’s for the same reasons that I have been so hesitant to grow strawberries in the first place as this is just one of the unfortunate cons of growing them; the seedlings are incredibly delicate and can even break from watering without a mist or direct soil absorption(pools of water have high surface tension and I’ve watched them rip off leaves and even break stems of the little babies) and dry out faster than the soil itself so just watering when it looks like it needs it isn’t enough but they don’t like their roots too soggy so you can’t over do the waterings. Aside from the ups and downs in the beginning, I have been able to keep up a very happy plant which I have named shortcake or shorty, depending on how you know him. His story is one that would put you to tears, his mother abandoned him thinking he was dead and in her grief began to care for new children in his home, some lovely wild flowers, but what didn’t kill him made him stronger. How could his mother just replace him, a beautiful strawberry plant that gives back the love given to it, with some flowers that just takes from everyone for their own vanity?? He wasn't having any of it so he hiked up his roots and grew tougher than all of his siblings, however it was never to be able to say he won the race against them but to take back the motherland in their honor. He kicked all of the new babies to the curb (all on his own mind you, his mother never had to do any pruning, just cleanup) and took up his position on his throne, honoring his brethren who had fallen before the Great Coir War. It has been many moons since the war and he was no longer that warrior, he has since settled down on his deserved land and decided he would produce offspring. He is still young and has just started trying for kids but he already has four children on the way with a few more coming soon, however it is a little difficult to know how large a family he will end up having as he has always preferred the community feel of a big family and enjoys the large opportunity for support and strength in them, but cold weather may hinder his ability to reproduce since he had spent most of his youth fighting for his land rather than settling down and having kids in summer like everyone else. He has not shown signs of slowing with change in temperature and has actually seemed to prefer the bright sunny cold windowsill over the bright sunny warm one it was a few months ago so I would definitely recommend experimenting with some sort of cold stratification as that may help the seedling stage go quicker and easier.UPDATE!! HE AND HIS CHILDREN ARE TAKING OVER! I kid you not I am hand pollinating (it helps with sweeter and bigger strawberries) at least 3-5 new flowers every other day and have had to create little tourniquets for the fruiting stems because of the weight of so much unripe fruit. I’ve noticed each fruiting stems usually tries to grow about 5 strawberries and I’ve got about 4 stems so far, not including the little flower spike that has yet to try to bud. The first strawberries from Shortcake were really alien looking because of the lopsided pollination so be sure to fully brush against all angles of the stigma of the flower if you are hand pollinating but if you have outdoor plants, then the bees will do that work for you. My biggest tip is to make sure they are always soggy footed. They are crazy easy to tell when they need water because the stems get really flaccid and the bush itself looks a little sparse but after an hour of watering, the plant perks itself back up very nicely.