The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Growing => Fruit => Topic started by: Tullywood Farm on August 19, 2009, 12:39:27 pm

Title: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: Tullywood Farm on August 19, 2009, 12:39:27 pm
I wonder if anyone else has had a bad crop of tomatoes this year.

I am wondering if it is lack of sunshine?

Mine were the worst ever - last year was terrible too, the year before I made so much chutney and sauce as I had far too many tomatoes.

Anyone and advice?  Similar problems?

Julie
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: Lizmar on August 19, 2009, 01:37:19 pm
Yes Julie my plants are the same - no ripe tomatoes yet and the fruits are really small.  Even the bushes didn't grow as tall - usually I am nipping the tops to slow them down and to get a good crop, but not this year.  I thought we had enough sun to get them going the beginning of July, but they didn't bother themselves.
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: Rosemary on August 19, 2009, 02:35:46 pm
Ours are poor too - in fact this very morning, Dan said, in a fit of pique, that he wasn't growing tomatoes next year.
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: northfifeduckling on August 19, 2009, 10:03:35 pm
I honestly can't complain, but I must say that the previous years were absolutely miserable! I planned putting them into the greenhouse this year  (which is still unfinished  ::)) I first kept quite a few plants in the caravan, then covered them under tomato tunnels, so there are actually some big fruit on them and the odd one now turning orange. I think it just was not hot enough for outdoor toms at the crucial time.  I'll grow them in a proper polytunnel and greenhouse any time! You can always make green tomato chutney - or remember Fried Green Tomatoes  lol ? :&>
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: clumbaboy on August 19, 2009, 10:47:09 pm
It must be a bad year for tomatoes, even mine in the greenhouse are poor, very small fruit. My father has an allotment and nearly every outdoor tomato plant has succumbed to some disease or other, all the potatoes are suffering with blight as well, even the resistant types, some very upset gardeners there!!
:chook:
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: Troubled Waters on August 20, 2009, 09:12:04 am
hmph. Just commented on this in the vegetables bit.  My outside toms have all died off and the unripe fruit rotting on the vine.  Mum's were the same. she said they went really quickly and looked like they had been sprayed.  Ones in greenhouse are fine but taking an age to ripen. Must be the wet weather and lower temps than usual.

The spuds all died off really quickly too and not such large crops.  Did anyone else suffer with bad spud crops?
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: Tullywood Farm on August 20, 2009, 09:54:11 am
I was really upset as I had gone out and bought lots of new varieties  :'(
striped green, yellow, orange, plum orange - all of them in the greenhouse,
I have had half a dozen tomatoes, and none of them have grown taller than 2 1/2 ft.

Usually there trying to take the roof off the greenhouse by now!!! ;D

Julie
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: sabrina on August 21, 2009, 03:27:43 pm
My plants have done very well on growth but the tomatoes are still green just had a few red ones. Getting worried thats all I am going to have
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: JD on August 23, 2009, 03:03:38 pm
Very disappointed in my spuds this year a really poor crop. So bad might give them a miss next year.
JD
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: doganjo on August 23, 2009, 03:14:05 pm
My plants have done very well on growth but the tomatoes are still green just had a few red ones. Getting worried thats all I am going to have

Mine are the same - and not many of them either.  I might just have enough for one jar of green tomato chutney ::)
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: Sassy1 on August 29, 2009, 10:11:55 pm
Tried some different varieties this year, quite a few tomatoes, but the caterpillars have made short work of most of them. NEVER had caterpillar problem before. Potatoes were good, but around here no one has had any success with carrots - even in pots!
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: doganjo on August 29, 2009, 11:05:55 pm
Oh, my carrots are good!  One lot of potatoes had scab but scraped it off and they were fine, haven't tried next type yet.
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: HappyHippy on August 30, 2009, 09:31:26 am
I didn't have any tomatoes this year, but hoping my crop next year will be ok.
My carrotts were cr*p, didn't even get 1 !
The tatties were ok (grown in old compost bags) got about 1Kg per seed tattie (but only planted 4 due to lack of space!) no signs of blight on them either (maybe the bags stopped too much water getting into them?)
My onions, shallots & garlic are going great & nearing harvest. Peas were a little dissapointing, turnips good (but a few split, perhaps the rain?) My beetroot, spring onions and leeks are looking good, but my very promising row of mixed salad seedlings were descimated in one night by the slugs ! Grrrrr
Also very poor results from the strawberries (2nd year) but they did put out loads of runners, so I've got plenty more for next year  ;)
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: kevkev57 on September 19, 2009, 10:13:12 am
Same here in Belgium. Late to ripen and the bushes are sick looking.

Kevin
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: r+lchick on September 29, 2009, 04:15:58 pm
Mine are in the greenhouse and they are just ripening up now.  They are a good size but not very many.  I read about green tomato chutney but gave them a second chance and now they are ripening very well.  I also cleaned all the white off my greenhouse to get maximum light. (Obvious I know).  But for months I had very good plants, loads of flowers but no fruit.
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: spitfire on September 29, 2009, 09:08:09 pm
Mixed results with us- new polytunnel so still experimenting but just ripped out the last of the toms- rotted away losing most of the tiny green tomatoes- managed to get one batch of green tomato chutney- will tell you in 3/12 if its worked or not.... potatoes seem to be fine- small amount with blight but otherwise nice eating- carrots- well out of the 100 seeds planted- we'll be lucky to harvest 7.
hey ho- global warming at its best- maybe we should be planting rice for next year?!! ;D
Lynne
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: sabrina on October 03, 2009, 04:36:03 pm
Any red ones we have had I have kept and made a sauce to store in jars. The green ones were made into chutney and I still have a few smaller ones turning red. My butternut squash has improved and just maybe we might get a few. I thought of trying winter cabbage in the pollytunnel  as I doubt with our weather they would come to anything outside. My biggest failure has been my leaks, after reading more about them I have already started sorting out a bed for next Spring with rotted horse manure as it says leaks are a very greedy plant. anyway its been a fun experience and I am looking forward to next year already.
Title: Re: Tomato plants not doing great?
Post by: Snoopy on October 06, 2009, 06:52:20 am
The only thing we had success with here in Ireland this year was
Salad Leaves, Herbs, Apples and potatoes
everything else was very poor compared to previous years :(