The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Fruit => Topic started by: chairmanphil on February 24, 2012, 01:35:43 pm
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what have you got up yet? this is mine effort;
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/Tomatoes/philsphone007.jpg)
anyone doing any better? :farmer:
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Very impressive! :thumbsup:
Here are ours:
(http://gb.fotolibra.com/images/previews/503322-packet-of-tomato-seeds.jpeg)
:D
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Very impressive! :thumbsup:
Here are ours:
(http://gb.fotolibra.com/images/previews/503322-packet-of-tomato-seeds.jpeg)
:D
:D very good! i had them last year lol!
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i dont even have seeds yet, usually buy baby plants though as its easier...
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Too early still here so mine are pretty much like Dan's but with different writing ;D Not long now though
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Mine have gone in today as well as most of the other first sowings I do, little greenhouse is full. My new polytunnel cover should arrive on monday so revving up for a busy weekend next weekend as I have my new veg patch to fill and it is huge.
I have planted - moneymaker, gardeners delight, roma, beefsteaks and some i have never heard of. I can never have enough tomatoes as I like to make sauces and freeze it for the winter months.
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Mine have gone in today as well as most of the other first sowings I do, little greenhouse is full. My new polytunnel cover should arrive on monday so revving up for a busy weekend next weekend as I have my new veg patch to fill and it is huge.
I have planted - moneymaker, gardeners delight, roma, beefsteaks and some i have never heard of. I can never have enough tomatoes as I like to make sauces and freeze it for the winter months.
sounds like a fine plan! i love having loads of toms in summer. i grow pomadoro alot as you get so many fruits per plant!
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mine are all growing butnot quite as well as yours...maybe a few days behind you ;D
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mine are all growing butnot quite as well as yours...maybe a few days behind you ;D
they did well today, full sun most of the day!
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doing better than mine. probably because i didnt notice my propagator wasnt working till last week. :dunce:
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I have Big Red (beefsteak) and roma (plum) on my window sill. Actually, I have pots of compost on my window sill but I'm sure they'll be through soo with all this sun streaming in.
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this is how my tomatoes and my MK3 hilux look today! 8)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/Tomatoes/2012-02-29-092.jpg)
very pleased with both lol! :D
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this is how my tomatoes and my MK3 hilux look today!
Arrgghhhhh!!!!! :o
i thought you guys and gals would be way ahead of little old me! got some great broad beans too.
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone009-7.jpg)
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Chairman Phil - when are you going to pot on your tomatoes ? - they are beginning to look a bit crowded and will have run out of nutrients. Probably sour grapes because I won't be sowing mine for another couple of weeks ;D ;D ::) I have just sown my chillies and put them in the propagator, but it will be a few days before anything shows :chili:
The broad beans are looking good - that's my job for today, sowing broad beans.
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Chairman Phil - when are you going to pot on your tomatoes ? - they are beginning to look a bit crowded and will have run out of nutrients. Probably sour grapes because I won't be sowing mine for another couple of weeks ;D ;D ::) I have just sown my chillies and put them in the propagator, but it will be a few days before anything shows :chili:
The broad beans are looking good - that's my job for today, sowing broad beans.
this saturday i am going to pot them in square 4" pots which should do them for a month or so. i am soaking red and blue corn at the moment and i think they are going in this weekend too. they have just started leaning the last couple of day so i think you are absolutely right! got some raspberry dry roots to put in too! i will get some pics up while it is all going on! :thumbsup:
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Can you reduce the size of your pics before you put them up (by at least half). They take up more room than the screen.
i will have a word with my tech support
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How do you reduce the size?
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I sowed my chillies on Monday and the first one is up today. I sowed my broad beans a couple of days ago and it will be ages before they appear if previous years are an indicator. I have sown various flowers for my new front garden and they are starting to pop up.
Today I will sow some small container type early tomatoes, but will leave the main crop until mid-March.
Apart from the broad beans I have started everything in the propagator - windowsill space will soon be at a premium (our windowsills are not very big).
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i cheated and planted some primroses in the new garden today to give it some instant colour because it was very boring out the back of the new house.
my chillis have been in a week and some varieties are doing really well others have done nothing so far...
i have just picked up some sweet pea seeds for phase 2 of back garden prettying up they will go on the windowsill this weekend...
next week i start on my borrowed garden allotment project hopefully so lots more veg to think about for there!!!
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You've got me all fired up, off to get mine planted! :)
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You've got me all fired up, off to get mine planted! :)
off to the land to plant and have a fire after lunch service is over. had a cracking day so far! think i am going to leave the tomatoes for another week where they are. Bob Allen the farmer next door has the most wonderful toms every year and he said wait till you can see some root coming out from a plant or two before potting them on and i don't have any root showing anywhere. the whole idea of getting then started this early was from his advice so i am going to go with this bit too! :thumbsup:
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doing very well but can't get photobucket to play fair tonight! >:(
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So. Immediately after I posted that post, I sowed lots of seeds for toms, lettuce, and stuff. Can't remember what. But loads of it. I now have enthusiastic seedlings pushing their way up and am quite delighted, and wouldn't yet have done it were it not for the inspiration. Fabbydoo. :thumbsup:
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So. Immediately after I posted that post, I sowed lots of seeds for toms, lettuce, and stuff. Can't remember what. But loads of it. I now have enthusiastic seedlings pushing their way up and am quite delighted, and wouldn't yet have done it were it not for the inspiration. Fabbydoo. :thumbsup:
glad to help! my boy and i have really cracked it this year. we have been working all winter and are so far ahead of last year it is brilliant! just getting the nettles brambles and periwinkle out now while the ground is easy to turn has been so good! can't wait, will be courgettes in the greenhouse soon! :thumbsup:
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Fantastic, well done. Periwinkle is a bloody nightmare, we really struggled with it in our last house. As for the bramble......!
You're right putting in the hard work now, and getting things sown early. It's a mistake I make every year, and swear I won't again. Annually. The weather here in Central Scotland is very temperate, I did a huge amount in the garden today, and am feeling the optimism of Spring. Bring it on! :)
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Oh god!!!! - feel way behind. Have just done tomato seeds yesterday :-( Planning to do courgettes and some beans next weekend I think - oh - and some lettuce
Hope I'm not too late
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Oh god!!!! - feel way behind. Have just done tomato seeds yesterday :-( Planning to do courgettes and some beans next weekend I think - oh - and some lettuce
Hope I'm not too late
nah, you will be fine, i am in competition with the farmers wife. so we have a little incentive to do we as fast as possible! courgettes first batch will go in this weekend i think along with the cucumbers too!
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Its way too cold here yet....still the odd patch of snow in full shade and floating ice on most ponds!!!
It is often too cold, too cold, too cold....oops why havnt you got plants ready!
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Its way too cold here yet....still the odd patch of snow in full shade and floating ice on most ponds!!!
It is often too cold, too cold, too cold....oops why havnt you got plants ready!
where are you Mel?
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Its way too cold here yet....still the odd patch of snow in full shade and floating ice on most ponds!!!
It is often too cold, too cold, too cold....oops why havnt you got plants ready!
:D :D Same here ::) But I don't sow my courgettes or climbing beans until the end of April otherwise they get too big before I can plant them out.
This is such a different year though that I am wondering about making some earlier sowings just in case it stays mild. We have had no frost this week at all - but then of course there is plenty of time for that to change :-\
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I think it's worth taking the risk. Here in Fife the weather is very clement. I'm going to plant my courgettes this weekend, the mice are the biggest risk. Got to buy more pea seeds, though, the bloody mice.....!!
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I think it's worth taking the risk. Here in Fife the weather is very clement. I'm going to plant my courgettes this weekend, the mice are the biggest risk. Got to buy more pea seeds, though, the bloody mice.....!!
always worth the risk, if they don't make it just get more seeds and if they do you are 4 weeks up on the first fruit. just stay positive!
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got them potted out now and all have taken, got a pic that i will put up later. they are looking so good!
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sorry if anyone was following this thread, had a terrible week last week with a death in the family amoung other things, but it would seem that i have potted them on at just the right time and all is doing well!
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone009-9.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone008-11.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone007-11.jpg)
what do ya think?
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Absolutely LOVELY :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Mine haven't even germinated yet!!! We are growing Gardeners Delight this year..... in the NEW polytunnel :D
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Absolutely LOVELY :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Mine haven't even germinated yet!!! We are growing Gardeners Delight this year..... in the NEW polytunnel :D
will be interesting to see how they compare to others like yourself come august eh?
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meant to take a pic today but got so carried away i forgot. how is everyone doing with theirs? my sun belles are about 9" high
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doing well in the sunshine;
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone005-13.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone002-15.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone001-13.jpg)
seems like a good idea to plant them so early as we are having such a warm march. really has been in like a lion and out like a lamb!
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I only planted my seeds last weekend :o lots of catching up to do I guess!
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imho,
they are way too leggy, should be in a 5'' pot minimum, each! grow tomatoes fast pot those seedlings up so only the top leaves are above the soil. each of those hairs on the stem is a root in waiting. pot them up. actually just try a few, what can u lose? and then do a comparison.
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imho,
they are way too leggy, should be in a 5'' pot minimum, each! grow tomatoes fast pot those seedlings up so only the top leaves are above the soil. each of those hairs on the stem is a root in waiting. pot them up. actually just try a few, what can u lose? and then do a comparison.
nice one, will have a go with some tomorrow. i am open to all opinion, that is the whole point of this. to find out the best ways to do it. mine have always been a bit leggy in the past so now i know why lol! will see what happens soon enough!
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tis only logic mr chairman, if you want 20lbs of fruit off that plant, it needs 20lb of something to make em with.
peeeersonally i would put each one into an upended growbag. and then try to ORGANICALLY over feed it, bin the miracle grow chemical shite, u need strong manure tea.
then watch em go ;)
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I was going to start mine last w/e but had family over so this week it was. I got everything ready BUT now weve got winter again. Its struggling to 5degrees, blowing a gale and dripping splashes of what feels like ice through the air. Ive not even put the sheep out today
(Phil, Im up in the mountains in eastern Germany)
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I was going to start mine last w/e but had family over so this week it was. I got everything ready BUT now weve got winter again. Its struggling to 5degrees, blowing a gale and dripping splashes of what feels like ice through the air. Ive not even put the sheep out today
(Phil, Im up in the mountains in eastern Germany)
summer has gone here too, back to 12 degrees and dropping off and back to early spring next week. ::)
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they are all so big now, will take some photos tomorrow as we are moving them about a bit!
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had a bit of a prune today and spaced them out a bit better. could do with the frosts going away so i can get them in the greenhouse!
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deepinthewoods is having photo hell so he wanted me to upload this shot of his first tomato babies!
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone001-15.jpg)
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thank you chairmanphil, this one was sown (not by me!) in early february, its a moneymaker i think and is in a 15lt bucket, and just about to set its first truss. its been potted up 3 times from the 3'' into a 5'' and then into the bucket about 2 weeks ago, the best tip i can offer for tomatoes is get them into the biggest pot you have, as soon as they are about 5inch tall or on 2 sets of true leaves. i think its something to do with the tap root having an uninterupted travel from the start. if the taproot goes deep the plant just takes off. the aim is to promote the growth of nodes cos thats where the truss develops from, i think the taproot growth and the nodes are related, making the plant concentrate mainly on root growth from the start, seems to encourages the plant to branch and grow densely rather than leggy.
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I'm so behind. Only have 4 plants in at mo. just planted another 4 hopefully not too late to ripen fruits.
All photos on this thread put my pidddly things to shame ::)
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http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HkTiq_WSEoc/SphmTANJAjI/AAAAAAAAAAM/kEmZK11A-z4/s1600-h/IMG_1081.JPG (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HkTiq_WSEoc/SphmTANJAjI/AAAAAAAAAAM/kEmZK11A-z4/s1600-h/IMG_1081.JPG)
just found this, showing the stem root system.
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makes sense when you see that eh?
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yup. im trying the same thing with my courgettes for the first time this year, they got leggy cos i forgot them for a few days so theyve gone into some 10'' deep pots(like the ones young roses come in), so about 6'' of stem is buried, 1 has died of the 6 but the rest are thriving. i should think a leggy cucumber could be saved this way too.
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]This is really interesting, just looked at the clip.
Not so much this year but usually plant early indoors to give plants longer growing season to mature. Sometimes they get leggy and need extra support and don't thrive as they should.
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I have had two come up this week,golly I am behind though they would have been ruined outside,we had a sharp frost two days ago and it murdered a tray of morning glory and quite a few runner beans.I may have to cheat this year and buy some plants just to catch up though I only have the one greenhouse ready at the moment :-\
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I was running out of space in the house so put about twelve tomato plants in the greenhouse on Saturday. Hope the nights stay relatively mild.
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We are still far too cold, I buy plants so that I do not get carried away with far too many seeds.
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so i planted some up today, up to the leaves as suggested but completely forgot to take a photo so i will do some more tomorrow and get it on film for your delectation. they sure seem to look a little small but if it makes more tomatoes then it is good practice. :thumbsup:
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been at it all morning, got some great photos to show the work but got to go and deliver some gluten free bread and baba ganosh to the deli so will have to wait till later. they look much better and far less leggy. :thumbsup:
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(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone002-17.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone003-13.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone004-13.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone005-14.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone006-12.jpg)
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next year i am going to do it all differently just like this year! :D
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Many years ago before we had a smallholding we once grew tomatoes which were very much taller than yours Phil by the time it came round to planting out time. So we took them down to our allotment and dug a long trench, filled with lovely manure etc. We laid the tomatoes down along the trench so just a couple of pairs of true leaves were above ground. They rapidly grew a huge root system along the whole of the buried stems, and eventually made some very sturdy plants, with a very heavy crop.
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Chairmanphil your little tomatoes on the shelf in your last photo are still doing better than my biggest tomato plants ::) I was very proud of the little chaps till I saw your photos :(.
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Chairmanphil your little tomatoes on the shelf in your last photo are still doing better than my biggest tomato plants ::) I was very proud of the little chaps till I saw your photos :(.
they are a weird little variety, mureno or something like that. they are a strange shape very pointed at the end. and they have a kinda tiger stripes pattern. nice taste but tough skins and the plants are always a little on the small side but the yield is good and great to cook with. learning loads about tomatoes here!
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planted out a load more of them today, used the same technique as before. they are starting to look very good now! while i was working on them i noticed i got my first courgette up too. all coming together now!
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keep potting the courgette up as well, to stop it getting leggy m8
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keep potting the courgette up as well, to stop it getting leggy m8
will do, the courgettes involve crookneck squash and 3 different pattipans. they grow very well in my soil and i have been very successful with them in the past.
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/What%20we%20grow/CIMG2010.jpg)
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thats a haul worthy of heligan phil, lovely to see, i tend to eat all my courgettes small with the flower on, yummy.
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Many years ago before we had a smallholding we once grew tomatoes which were very much taller than yours Phil by the time it came round to planting out time. So we took them down to our allotment and dug a long trench, filled with lovely manure etc. We laid the tomatoes down along the trench so just a couple of pairs of true leaves were above ground. They rapidly grew a huge root system along the whole of the buried stems, and eventually made some very sturdy plants, with a very heavy crop.
That's the only way to plant toms FW , all the hairs on the extended stem become feeder roots and for good toms that's what you want .. The more roots initially the stronger the plant will be and then it starts shoving up a teemendous feeder stem for some fantastic toms.
I've just laid in a beefsteak tom in the glasshouse ( Tuesday ) , when we came back home today after a three day break it is over 8 inches tall .
All my indoor germinating toms have now broken through and are about 2.5 inches tall .. There might even be a couple of breakouts in the glasshouse sowings this time tomorrow for the overnight temp has not dropped beliw 48 oF.( I always have have 2x 14 watt bulbs on and a five day candle on at night when we are here )
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what is a five day candle mate?
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so this is what they look like yesterday!
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone027-1.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone028-1.jpg)
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone030.jpg)
got the first fruit trusses forming on lots of them!
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found a pack of gardeners delight seeds today so planted them out and all originals are in large pots now.
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got good fruit trusses on the pomodoro and sun belles. should have flowers in about a week! i have got some photos but can't work photobucket and my OH is out working tonight.
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should have my first flower break very soon. we have has some sun over the last couple of days and it has warmed up the greenhouse very nicely!
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My tomatoes are rubbish this year. Mistake number one was to germinate them in the polytunnel (we currently have no house) - which was too cold for them so they are still very small.
Mistake number two was to put the seeds in pots of seedling compost and not module trays - so now they have germinated they are still in the relatively low nutrient seedling compost. I need to pot them on into something more appropriate.
They are so behind now...... It's hardly worth carrying on.
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My tomatoes are rubbish this year. Mistake number one was to germinate them in the polytunnel (we currently have no house) - which was too cold for them so they are still very small.
Mistake number two was to put the seeds in pots of seedling compost and not module trays - so now they have germinated they are still in the relatively low nutrient seedling compost. I need to pot them on into something more appropriate.
They are so behind now...... It's hardly worth carrying on.
been a strange year for the weather to be sure!
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we are having photo bucket trouble, when we have it sorted then there will be updates but until then............................here is some music!
ah.....we don't have time for the tune.......
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone004-16.jpg)
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ta phil, the next generation is in the bottom black pot. ive taken cuttings from the big one, and theyve just about taken. the big mother plant has a few flowers open so ill start feeding this weekend. ive a bin of stinky water in the tunnel thats had a bucket of neat chicken s..t fermenting in for a fortnight, and ive peed in it a few times for good measure :o
theyre cordon toms, but i havent staked them yet, i know people say stake them straight away but i reckon if you leave it till the fruit forms, the 'trunk' gets thicker and more capable of carrying water. ill stake them as the fruit forms and the plant gets heavy.
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My plants in the greenhouse (unheated) don't appear to have grown since I put them in there. However, the ones in the house which will be going outside in buckets are getting quite big. Must be the heat that's making the difference.
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Yes it's definitely the heat. I notice that on warm days they grow a bit more. Hey ho - it'll soon be summer ;D ;D ;D ;D
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the plants i have in the hothouse are double what i have in the unheated greenhouse.
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Yes it's definitely the heat. I notice that on warm days they grow a bit more. Hey ho - it'll soon be summer ;D ;D ;D ;D
I think that was in March. we are now in autumn.
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got most of them outside now, running out of glass room! all seem to be doing well at the moment!
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i found mt first green fruit yesterday yay!!
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i found mt first green fruit yesterday yay!!
got flowers everywhere, shouldn't have to wait long now.
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:o :o :o mine are no where near flowering.
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i pulled a couple of plants out of their pots today that i had buried when they got leggy. it had strong root stock from every part that was under the soil! as a result of this technique i have so many tomato plants i can do this and not even notice the loss! :D
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they are all doing very well indeed. got my first green fruits appearing! :thumbsup:
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will be doing a bit of the old David Bailey tomorrow so will pop up some shots of my little effots tomorrow night!
by the way my artichokes have gone mad and are massive!
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my artichokes are sulking. hmph
toms are flying tho!
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my artichokes are sulking. hmph
toms are flying tho!
i'll do ya a shot of the chokes too then! :D having a very good tomato year this year thanx to all the tips!
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got very strong winds coming in tonight, hope there are not too many casualties!
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cucumber, i think ive sussed uploading photos phil...
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tomatoe, a bush one.
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nice work mate, they are looking good! i have 6ft pomodoro plants with fruit that is about to turn red. thanx for all the tips with toms DITW, never had such good plants. will be in cornwall end of the month. fancy a cuppa?
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sounds like yours are doing better than mine, pomodoro are lovely cooked. a cuppa sounds great, got a busy month ahead, let me know when your heading down phil.
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Yehay - mine are just starting to flower ;D
7 of them outside & 11 indoors on various windowsills. Still no polytunnel yet :innocent:
Thought I'd better start feeding them now, so been busy doing all the toms, aubergines & peppers - then decided to feed the roses, which are just starting to open. Now it's raining again :gloomy: ::)
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the ones i have outside in shelter are doing the best of all, greenhouse included !
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ust watch out for the dreaded b word. darent even say it....
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ust watch out for the dreaded b word. darent even say it....
wet enough eh?
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and warm.
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oh dear god i hope not! all looking so good!
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well the wind has had a few plants over on their sides. doesn't seem to have done any harm though. all still looking good!
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We have a couple with flowers now, yay! But my 5 year old planted some freebies from Dolmio (a vain attempt to get her to eat tomatoes) and they are about 1cm now with one leaf ;D
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YAY!! At last I feel I've caught up a bit. Here are our tomatoes and a couple of the cucumbers.
The toms are starting to flower in big bunches and a couple of the cucumbers have got little buds with baby cukes behind them.
Everything is growing very fast in the polytunnel. The nicotiana is going MAD!!!
I can barely keep up with the pruning. I love it in there. :love: :love:
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looking good SQ, will take some photos tomorrow!
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cucumbers looking 8) pick one and then try feed it to death!! i put a couple of trowels full of fresh chicken poo in a bucket of rainwater, stir it, then leave to ferment for a week or two. try a good slosh of that once a week.
i know this goes against percieved wisdom but it works.
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I have my "evil brew" just outside the polytunnel. A 220L water butt with a net bag of sheep poo and nettles sitting in the water just waiting to be "unleashed" on an unsuspecting polytunnel.
Pheweee - it STINKS!!!
Usually the cucumbers sit in a dilute solution of that but we try to let them finish the water before we replenish it again......
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ahh but its a good stink, makes the cues taste great!
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going to put the cucumbers in today.
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we have had some terrible storms lately and it has ripped the heart out of the tomato project. anything now well sheltered has been battered and are looking the worse for wear! very disappointing!
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I picked my first tomato yesterday morning :thumbsup: . From a tumbling red cherry. 2 of them didn't make it as far as the kitchen :yum: :innocent:
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I picked my first tomato yesterday morning :thumbsup: . From a tumbling red cherry. 2 of them didn't make it as far as the kitchen :yum: :innocent:
funny that Bert, the only tomatoes i have any success with is my pomodoro crop! anything of any size is struggling big time! :(
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I've got a few green ones.
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i got loads of green ones!
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ive just eaten my first red one. yummy!
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got about 3-4 days to go, red but still a little hard.
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Mine too are looking good Hope the wet weather doesnt ruin them...lost the whole lot of veg plot toms last year all covered in huge green toms...here fingers crossed.
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Mine are only just flowering ::)
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Mine too are looking good Hope the wet weather doesnt ruin them...lost the whole lot of veg plot toms last year all covered in huge green toms...here fingers crossed.
you can harvest them green.
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Lots of tomatoes here,all green though,guess I shall be using them for chutney! :yum:
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We've got loads of flowers and some are turning to tomatoes but with the gloom, cloud and low light levels this year I'm not sure there's time for any further action :(
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the only ones i have had any joy with are the pomodoro plants i put in. they are 7' tall and i have 100s of fruits! the rest have had a torrid time with the weather! >:(
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I have some little green orbs - well my toms do I mean ::) Not sure if they're gonna ripen this year though - maybe lots of chutney making here too :fc: but I do so love chutney anyway ... :eyelashes:
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let us see where we are after a few days of heat and sunshine. could still be a good summer if the rain stays off now!
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I'm also having trouble ripening my Tomatoes. Low light, cooler than it should be, you know the norm for this year :innocent: . So I'm doing a bit of experimenting and have tied bananas to a couple of the trusses to see if it helps ripen them ( I read somewhere it should).The bananas have been in place since last Wednesday with no obvious changes by Friday. Hopefully I will see a change today when I see them ( just hope the change isn't dead because the boss has forgotten to water them :-J ). Will give a progress report when I get home from work this evening :fc: .
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going to pick the first "crop" today, suddenly i have loads of ripe ones!
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I'm also having trouble ripening my Tomatoes. Low light, cooler than it should be, you know the norm for this year :innocent: . So I'm doing a bit of experimenting and have tied bananas to a couple of the trusses to see if it helps ripen them ( I read somewhere it should).The bananas have been in place since last Wednesday with no obvious changes by Friday. Hopefully I will see a change today when I see them ( just hope the change isn't dead because the boss has forgotten to water them :-J ). Will give a progress report when I get home from work this evening :fc: .
Well that didn't work ::) .
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I'm also having trouble ripening my Tomatoes. Low light, cooler than it should be, you know the norm for this year :innocent: . So I'm doing a bit of experimenting and have tied bananas to a couple of the trusses to see if it helps ripen them ( I read somewhere it should).The bananas have been in place since last Wednesday with no obvious changes by Friday. Hopefully I will see a change today when I see them ( just hope the change isn't dead because the boss has forgotten to water them :-J ). Will give a progress report when I get home from work this evening :fc: .
Well that didn't work ::) .
try putting them in the sun! mine have been there about 3-4 days and i have red ones everywhere! :D
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hows the tomatos phil??
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I just had my first 2 red ones & they were delish :yum:
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We've had a glut of tomatoes - we harvested about 40lbs before we went on hols (mostly green) and did lots of chutney etc - yummy :o) ;D
Then when we came back the frames holding up one bay of the toms collapsed (too much weight!) so we had to do another harvest and got another 40lbs - so we are now overflowing with green tomato chutney/ketchup, tomato and cucumber relish, tomato and bacon soup etc etc etc
;D
We still have another bay of toms on the go in the poly! :excited:
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ive done ok too sudanpan, but i didnt want to rub it in to the northeners...
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I had 6 so far, some more to come! :yum: fruit that is - not kilos ;D
Moneymaker only, all the other plants succumbed to blight :'( :&>
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I just counted mine - 3 straggly plants in the same pot just as I got them from someone - I have 16 tomatoes - wee ones - and at last some have turned colour - a beautiful dark plum red. Anyone know what variety it might be?
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no idea, Annie - but good to see you are back :wave: - had filed a missing report on you a few weeks back ;D :&>
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Hi Kerstin, glad to be back, but much more selective in what i post and trying, really, to be a good girl and behave myself :eyelashes: :eyelashes: :innocent:
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just finished another pomodoro harvest. had 100's if not 1,000's this year. been good!
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good stuff m8. :thumbsup:
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ell I've got hundreds of green ones but they are only ripening very slowly.
The taste is a bit disappointing swell. I did Gardener's Delight this year as my friend's GDs were so delicious last year.
But - lots of lessons learnt this year so......
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Disaster struck. Went away for the weekend and came back to a polytunnel full of tomato blight plants :rant:
Glad I left a few in tubs in the yard :relief: but lost 12 plants, beef tomatoes and plum tomatoes :'(
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blight is still puzzling me. why 2 plants in the same tunnel and the ones in the growbags? I would have thought it would get the ones in soil as I had it last year in the other bed ??? ??? :&>
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we lost our entire crop in the polytunnel this year to blight :'( ...not sure how to go about prevention for next year...anyone any ideas??
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I'm just about to spray all mine with bordeaux mixture as it looks like the cukes over the other side of the polytunnel have got a spot of mouldy somethingorother
Good info on RHS website here:
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=217 (http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=217)
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Thanks SQ, wonder if having the poly closed up over bank holiday weekend caused it here. Warm and humid with watering excessively to ensure they didn't dry out while we were away :-\
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pretty sure that lack of fresh air influx plays a big part. :&>
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Yes - I expect that will have played a part.
We don't surface water our tomatoes any more to avoid that problem and I've had the polytunnel side vent open all "summer" but still we have a bit of mould creeping in :rant: :rant:
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watering through the ground just made one difference here, no more split tomatoes. :&>
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pretty sure that lack of fresh air influx plays a big part. :&>
absolutely. no tunnel should be closed ever really. temperature shoouldnt take priority over air flow. much better to have a cooler tunnel and no mould.
also the effect of plant respiration soon leads to a lack of oxygen that stunts growth and leads to the 'greenhouse effect'
my small tunnel has never been closed and i have all the vents open permanantly. ill only start to close them down as the nights average 5 ish degrees.
if you have viable plants left to crop, remove all affected growth, hose the thing down and open all the vents. :thumbsup:
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Thanks all :thumbsup: just new to polytunnel this year. BIG lesson learned -don't close doors! :dunce:
I've left the plants in that have a few unaffected tomatoes but the leaves and stems are all affected badly. Would it be a better idea to just remove the lot or wait and see if the fruits make it?
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theres nothing lost in harvesting green tomatos, often they will ripen if the skins are sound. if the plants have had it i would take off the fruit and ripen indoors, or eat them green.
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Think I'll nip out now and harvest them. Thanks again.
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There's a good bit by Monty Don on last week's Gardener's World (episode 21) which is on BBC iPlayer about this.
His advice is to harvest straight away.
Red ones eat now/freeze for pasata/soup
Green ones - chutney
Affected plants and fruit - burn, bury deep or put into garden waste recycling
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I Did harvest last years green ones but they didnt really ripen (Marmande I think they LIKE the sun) and you can only make so much green tom chutny...'m still eating it
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green tomato mince meat is lovely ! :&> After cutting the foliage the plants (moneymaker) sort of recovered from the blight, some are turning orange, ready to get them all in by the end of the week :&>