Author Topic: Tomatoes?  (Read 15078 times)

Tomatoes?
« on: 13 June, 2011, 01:06:08 pm »
How are your's growing...

We trying them for the first time - have 6 or so mixed variey plants in one largish pot with cane supports.  Probably too dense - will see how it goes.  Have pinched out side shoots, and now started supplementing with fertilizer.  Some plants now have second flower stem (truss?)...
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #1 on: 13 June, 2011, 02:30:08 pm »
Growing black ones this year (black brandywine and black russian). Raised fourteen from seed and gave ten away.
Will be repotting them this afternoon into their final pots but won't feed them until they've got four sets of flowers as that's the advice I was given.

I usually end up with lots of green tomatoes at the end of the season. Wonder what colour unripe black ones will be?

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #2 on: 13 June, 2011, 02:49:40 pm »
Grey ?
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #3 on: 13 June, 2011, 02:51:40 pm »
Sounds far too dense to me. I've never managed more than one plant per bloody big pot, & even so, they've usually ended up packed with roots. I usually stick 'em straight in the ground, a few feet apart.

I'm currently wondering whether to throw away a few plants, sacrifice something else in the garden to make room, or give them away. I have a total of 7 plants, of which 4 are planted out & 3 in pots which they're rapidly outgrowing.

Advice I've had is to be heavy on potassium, mean on nitrogen in the feed. Just throwing random fertiliser at 'em has always worked well in the past, though.

Advice on pot sizes
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/vegging-out/pot-sizes-tomatoes_14393.html
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #4 on: 13 June, 2011, 04:51:26 pm »
Sounds far too dense to me. I've never managed more than one plant per bloody big pot, & even so, they've usually ended up packed with roots. I usually stick 'em straight in the ground, a few feet apart.

I'm currently wondering whether to throw away a few plants, sacrifice something else in the garden to make room, or give them away. I have a total of 7 plants, of which 4 are planted out & 3 in pots which they're rapidly outgrowing.

Advice I've had is to be heavy on potassium, mean on nitrogen in the feed. Just throwing random fertiliser at 'em has always worked well in the past, though.

Advice on pot sizes
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/vegging-out/pot-sizes-tomatoes_14393.html

I think so...  See what happens, either we'll be surprised with the yield, or get four weedy tomaotes...
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

Regulator

  • That's Councillor Regulator to you...
Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #5 on: 13 June, 2011, 05:34:11 pm »
I've got 8 different types on the go this year.  Six are heritage types and in the polytunnel.. The two outdoor ones are bog standard Moneymaker and Golden Globe.

I want to see which will grow besst on the allotment.  At the moment all of them are ahead, with 4 of the 8 already having fruit on them.
Quote from: clarion
I completely agree with Reg.

Green Party Councillor

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #6 on: 13 June, 2011, 06:01:45 pm »
First two ripe ones picked yesterday, they are Sungold, a cherry tomato that crops well and are always early. The other varieties have a long way to go yet, especially the Brandywine heritage variety which produce huge (1-1.5 lbs) fruit with thin skins. I think we have two other varieties, San Marzan? and Shirley.
Have yoy tried rooting sides hoots for a late crop? I always seem to miss a few that I don't find until they are 6-8in long. Just dib a hole in the border with a pencil and pop the shoot in and they almost all will root providing a few late trusses of fruit.

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #7 on: 13 June, 2011, 07:22:07 pm »


Behold the pot of many plants...  ;D

In there somewhere are Gardeners delight, Italian plum, and moneymaker...
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

LindaG

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #8 on: 11 July, 2011, 11:33:47 am »
I seem to have some yellow tomato plants, about a foot high.  Is it worth planting them on, do you think, or is it too late in the season?

My own tomato plants are only just starting to fruit, they've been in grobags for simply ages.

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #9 on: 26 July, 2011, 03:00:56 pm »
I think it's too late, but (1) I'm not an expert & (2) maybe we'll have a good autumn. I eventually got reasonable  crops off a couple of plants which were trampled almost to nothing in July 2008, but very late.

I have loads of green tomatoes, but none of 'em ripe yet. Gardener's Delight, Sweet Million, & one unknown, which sprang up on its own. Self-sown from a previous year, I presume.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #10 on: 26 July, 2011, 03:20:18 pm »
Loads of little green squash balls.  Nothing apparently ripening yet :(
Getting there...

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #11 on: 26 July, 2011, 04:56:57 pm »
Mine are starting to ripen, I have also started to strip some of the lower leaves, up to the first truss at the moment. The cucumbers are doing marvelously well, I have to keep giving them away, but granddaughter has guinea pigs and they get the leftsovers.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #12 on: 28 July, 2011, 06:14:32 pm »
I have many green marbles but no sign of ripening. Since previous toms ripened as late as November, I'm in no rush.

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #13 on: 02 August, 2011, 09:49:29 pm »
First signs of ripening - at last.

Loads 'n loads of green ones.

Eaten some of my potatoes, with my green beans. Tasty.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Regulator

  • That's Councillor Regulator to you...
Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #14 on: 02 August, 2011, 11:41:00 pm »
We had the first of our tomatoes last week.  Funnily enough, they were from the 'outdoor, just water them a bit and don;t do much else' plants.  The 'cosseted' polytunnel plants have lots of fruit but none are ripe yet.
Quote from: clarion
I completely agree with Reg.

Green Party Councillor

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #15 on: 23 August, 2011, 09:45:06 am »
I've had to put masking tape on one of my toms. It's almost the size of a tennis ball and something was using it as a late night salad bar while it takes bloody ages to ripen. Whatever (snail?) is doing it has moved onto a more sacrificial one, so that's ok.


corshamjim

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #16 on: 23 August, 2011, 07:06:04 pm »
I half-heartedly put a dozen or so donated tomato plants in the ground on the allotment.  I haven't paid them a great amount of attention but we're getting just a few very nice little sweet tomatoes from them.  I can see how it's important to keep them watered, as some of them have rather rough skin in places where presumably they haven't grown evenly.

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #17 on: 23 August, 2011, 07:42:05 pm »
They're all taking bloody ages to ripen. Sun, we need sun!
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

nicknack

  • Hornblower
Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #18 on: 23 August, 2011, 09:43:19 pm »
Mine are nowhere near ripe but I went round brother's last week to water his crop while he was away and managed to pinch a good number of excellent marmande and some plum toms. He must get more sun than me.
There's no vibrations, but wait.

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #19 on: 27 August, 2011, 05:58:56 pm »
We've never grown our own before and have just had the first few ripe tomatoes.  I never knew that tomatoes could be this sweet... loads of flavour   :thumbsup:

How do the likes of Tescos manage to get hold of of offerings that are pale reflections in taste terms..?
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #20 on: 29 August, 2011, 07:24:48 pm »
By selling varieties selected for yield, keeping, ease of handling, appearance & low production cost.

Flavour? What's that?
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #21 on: 06 September, 2011, 01:58:14 pm »
People's rough estimate of ripe to unripe as a %?

Our's ~ 2%.  Hopefully won't run out of warmth and ripening conditions...
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

corshamjim

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #22 on: 06 September, 2011, 06:35:09 pm »
People's rough estimate of ripe to unripe as a %?

Oh gosh, I don't know.  Including the few I've picked already about 20%  I guess.  Some of mine have badly cracked skins though as I've not bothered to water them regularly.

LindaG

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #23 on: 06 September, 2011, 06:39:50 pm »
Not one red tomato. Dozens of green ones tho. Need to get them fried at the Whistle Stop Cafe praps. The sun has now gorn by looks of things :-(

Re: Tomatoes?
« Reply #24 on: 11 September, 2011, 03:11:05 pm »
All green here as well, apart from the odd rogue red one.
Green tomatoe and apple chutney this year I thinks.