[Ina]

Put your toms in a drawer along with an over ripe banana and they will turn red or put a yellow banana in and it will take a bit longer. They ripen due to the gas given off by bananass and the bananas ripen from the gas given off from the toms .

Please be warned - this really only works if you have a drawer! 

Or else - somebody hasn't told my tomatoes that this is supposed to work... I've been trying it for years (no, not with the same tomatoes over several years!  ), and since I don't have a drawer, I put them into a closed polythene bag. Either this doesn't work, or I'm just too impatient...

Actually, I also read some years ago that just the banana skins have the same effect. (I think I read that in Russia they do this, because otherwise they'll never get their tomatoes ripe in some areas...) Which is why my tomato plants are always "decorated" with banana skins that are rapidly turning black!

[deepinthewoods]

paper bag not polythene.

[Ina]

Ah - why not? I would have thought polythene keeps it in a lot better? 

But I'll give it a try - thanks for the tip!

[deepinthewoods]

cos you still need oxygen. or something .i think.

[Ina]

Probably. Mind you, the poly bag wasn't exactly sealed... It's just that it's easier to follow progress through plastic!  Maybe it works better in the dark, too. Who knows? 

[smallacre]

Hi we did pull a row of late potatoes today we had some for dinner they taste lovely. We have another 14 rows in the ground I am wondering if we should leave them in longer or pull them all out and be safe with the wet weather coming.
Cabbages are still doing well.
We are Dorchester Dorset

[Lesley Silvester]

The problem with leaving them in the ground is if we get a freeze and you can't dig them out.  I know it shouldn't happen this early in the year but the weather isn't being exactly predictable any more.

[Odin]

Some nice tackle there Mr Small Acre. Just been viewing one of them Ransome potato diggers with a view to mounting it on my 885 (similar to yours). I have another ten rows to lift and dry but the ground is so wet, we had two tractors on the Ransome 2 row potato lifter. One to operate the potato lifter as normal and the other tractor for traction just to help pull it all through the mud.
Reference the rest of the veg', I think the slugs and grubs have moved in so as not to drown. 

[MAK]

I would have thought that if the spud yield is not going to increase if you leave them in the ground. Getting them up whilst you can is the best option. We ploughed ours up in August. The technology used was pretty basic but has been used for many years a simple. One row at a time ploughed up by Ox or tractor.

[smallacre]

Hi I think you could be right we are meant to have a couple of dry days ahead so the focus will be on getting them out as today we had quite a chill in the air and some very sleety rain. I will let you know how we get on.
Odin we picked the spud lifter in a local clear out not sure if it definatly ransomes but with a bit of fabricating it fitted the ransomes tool bar.
Its good to see how other people manage with there equipment.
thanks for the reply

[Lesley Silvester]

MAK, as the bottom picture is clearly a tractor, are you saying the top one is an ox.

I would have thought that if the spud yield is not going to increase if you leave them in the ground. Getting them up whilst you can is the best option. We ploughed ours up in August. The technology used was pretty basic but has been used for many years a simple. One row at a time ploughed up by Ox or tractor.

[MAK]

Sorry - I was trying to say that the same tool to lift spuds was used with oxen. I have no idea how old the tractor is butmy neighbours all worked with oxen before they got this machine. Seems very effecient in that it lifted all spuds with little spoiled. Quick in dry light soil. 

[Odin]

Will you just look at that weather ! You couldn't possibly be on the continent or planet as me ?
Dry crumbling soil .... yes, I seem to remember that once upon a time .   

[MAK]

Yes Odin - we had to stop picking up the spuds before lunch as it was too hot ( 34 in the afternoon) - but the spuds were small due to little rain. Mind you we have had loads of rain this month - so much that the cellar ( spud store) is wet.
 

[twizzel]

My boyfriend is a farmer and works for a big potato grower digging the spuds. They still have 70 acres left in the ground to dig in what is becoming impossible weather conditions. They normally finish digging 2nd week of September if it's a good dry summer, so nearly 2 months behind and still spuds in the ground, it's awful. They haven't dug anything for over 10 days, and when they did last have a day digging they were only filling trailers half full, otherwise they sunk in the mud... at one point this year they had 5 tractors and a winch trying to pull 1 trailer of spuds out of the field