Tomato newbie

Supercell

The odd one of mine is starting to ripen outside, and gets quickly nabbed by my wife or son! Theres loads of them so I'm hoping when the mass ripening happens later that I'll get a look in My father has some Gardeners Delight in his greenhouse which are bright red already.

CorsendonkX

martinn123 wrote: »

Bumper crop, thanks to the weather

Just starting to ripen, anyone picking yet??

I went for cherry toms this year so they started ripening two weeks ago but the bloody blackbirds keep eating them. I must be losing 2 out of every 5 that ripen and I have to pick them as soon as they start to ripen which is not what I want. I never seen it so bad for bird damage.

redser7

Been eating them since the first week of June. These ones were Maskotka, sown back in February. Great early variety that gives tons of large cherries on a semi bush plant.
Also harvesting sungold and Rosada for the last few weeks. It was hard work nursing them through the cold and dark months of late Winter and Spring but definately worth it.

Mo60

redser7 wrote: »

Been eating them since the first week of June. .

Mine are only just beginning to form fruit.

How did you keep yours protected earlier in the year ?

redser7

Some I grew on under fl. lights for a few weeks and then I had to grow them on window sills. Very messy and exhausting at times.
But I'm in the process of putting a greenhouse up out the back so should be much easier next year

martinn123

Nearly there, first fruit starting to turn Red

Couple of weeks, and I will be up my neck in Toms, Yipee:D

Marzipan85

Outdoor tomatoes are looking a lot more normal. The fruit are growing in the right order, whereas indoor one are skipping certain flowers and growing fruit lower down the truss, if that makes sense. Also, the outdoor ones have much sturdier stems and trusses.

Also included pic of my first indoor pepper.

rgiller

martinn123 wrote: »

Nearly there, first fruit starting to turn Red

Couple of weeks, and I will be up my neck in Toms, Yipee:D

Looks like you've trimmed back all the shoots apart from ones carrying fruit/flowers. Is this the right way to do it? I've done some trimming but was worried about removing too many leaves and leaving the plant unable to photosynthesise enough to power the fruit on. Any advice welcome here!

Supercell

I'm very curious about the windy string i see in some of the pictures, what's that all about? I stake mine with bamboo canes but am intrigued by the string!

CorsendonkX

Supercell wrote: »

I'm very curious about the windy string i see in some of the pictures, what's that all about? I stake mine with bamboo canes but am intrigued by the string!

Its the way they train non bush tomatoes in the commercial glasshouses, gives the fruit better support than canes and you twist the string around the plant as it grows.

yellowlabrador

Supercell wrote: »

I'm very curious about the windy string i see in some of the pictures, what's that all about? I stake mine with bamboo canes but am intrigued by the string!

Instead of using a cane, you can tie a string at the bottom of the plant and then tie the string to a support above and wind the plant round the string as it grows. With a cane, the plant can topple over with wind or it can be harder to secure as the stem might not be straight.

Supercell

Thats really interesting, I'm definitely going to give it a try next year. Is it as strong as a bamboo on a breezy day?. Some of my tomatoes are now about 2 metres high and the bamboo's are definitely feeling the strain!

redser7

They are indeed. Jute would be a traditional string to use, but natural fibers can rot and break. So use strong but soft man-made string just to be sure.

martinn123

Supercell wrote: »

Thats really interesting, I'm definitely going to give it a try next year. Is it as strong as a bamboo on a breezy day?. Some of my tomatoes are now about 2 metres high and the bamboo's are definitely feeling the strain!

+ 1 on the Jute, you secure the string to a frame above, or the frame of the Glasshouse, tie a knot around the bottom of the plant.
As it grows, wind the plant around the string, about once a week, as the string will flex in the wind its not as rigid as a bamboo, works great.

rgiller

rgiller wrote: »

Looks like you've trimmed back all the shoots apart from ones carrying fruit/flowers. Is this the right way to do it? I've done some trimming but was worried about removing too many leaves and leaving the plant unable to photosynthesise enough to power the fruit on. Any advice welcome here!

Any advice here lads?

martinn123

rgiller wrote: »

Any advice here lads?

Topic being discussed here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057014062

scroll down to post#13. and chip in.

Marzipan85

Hi all,

It's the end of August now and tomatoes are still green. If I leave them outside and will they eventually ripen? Or should I just pluck off the big ones and let them ripen on a warm windowsill? Any advice let me know.

Below are two pics of the two lowest trusses on my (cherry) tomato plants.

Thanks
M

redser7

Don't pick them. Leave them on the plant. Nip out any new trusses or existing flowers and hoe that the set fruit ripens. They keep going till the frost gets them

Marzipan85

Hi again,

Redser, or anyone who can advise, how do I know if the frost has affected my plants? Will the plant start to wither? Think the weather forecast said there would be a bit of frost last night. If plants do succumb to frost, do I then cut off trusses and bring indoors? (most tomatoes are still green, a few have started to change colour)

Thanks,
M

redser7

Ah you will know. The foliage and stems will blacken and/or turn to mush.
If they just get a little burnt on he edges you can take off damaged foliage. But try protect them by bringing them under cover. You can also use fleece but that only gives so much protection.

hairynipple

Done well this year, constant minding them though. I must say they are well worth the 5 minutes work a day. Beautiful taste off them.

inocybe

my first year growing tomatoes in a polytunnel, and it was great. But I've been following this thread, and it's like I've been a month ahead of the pictures here. So my first crops were nice and early, but very definitely Autumn came early to my poly. I'd say the tomatoes have been in decline for at least 2 weeks, and are practically finished now, I've had to pull a lot of them out. I expected to be harvesting at least to the end of September. Everything else is finishing up as well, still a few courgettes, practically no more French beans.
It's a bit disappointing when I'm seeing pictures of lovely healthy, green leafed tomato plants. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I kept everything a bit too dry over the last month, and triggered an early autumn.
Should my crops be finished?

redser7

It depends on the varieties you grow. Some run out of steam quicker than others.
But like you say, yours sound like they were ahead of most people's and just got plum tired out. Next year, you could sow some plants later than your first ones to give yourself a good spread and a longer season.

rgiller

Finally, just in the last week or so, tomatoes I started in a propagator from seeds in March have started to ripen. I've got them all outside (no greenhouse), some in a raised bed and some in pots, all dug in with the seaweed mulch from a tomato planter bag and fed weekly with tomato feed. The ones in pots are ripening quicker than those in the ground but the ones in the bed have more and bigger fruits. They taste great, by the way!

First time growing tomatoes and I'll definitely give it a go again next year - maybe try some cherries next time

redser7

Great. When the weather does start to get frosty you can pick the green toms and bring them inside to ripen. It is warmth more than light that ripens them. Some people place them in a box or drawer with a well ripened banana to help them ripen.

rgiller

I've heard that what you want to use is a ripening banana (ie a green one) as this emits the most amount of ripening gas. Apples work too

Marzipan85

Hi all,

Tomatoes are pretty much fully grown now and are ripening. I have been a little more infrequent with watering and they are starting to split. I'm wondering should I hold off on watering them, or should I continue to water them regularly? just thought that maybe they are splitting because they can't absorb any more water.

M

redser7

Definately cut back on watering. From September growth has slowed down a good bit so you cut back watering more and more. Some varieties are more prone to splitting than other so google your variety. Something that lasts ages on the vine gets my vote. Maskotka and rosada were good for me. Sungold was rubbish and hey would split as soon as you looked at them.

david75

Hey

I tended these bastards daily. And gave up at the last hurdle.
Busy with work and going away.
Came back to find the plants all broken off their supports and bent broken and hanging almost on the ground.
Yet they still managed to give me ahuge (and weirdly continuous) crop.
No idea how. Guess it was from just constant care for three or four months starting off.
Won't be bothering with tomatoes again. 3 months looking at a tiny seedling then 4 months looking at this giant beanstalk type thing that seems to grow about a foot a week!
Mad

redser7

Thing is you made a few beginner's mistakes David. If you sow earlier next year and pot on correctly and also choose a good early variety you can be eating ripe tomatoes in June and all through the summer. It seems like a chore because it's your first time around and your results were not great.
Trust me, try Maskotka next year and sow your seeds in February. It's actually a semi-bush plant that doesn't grow too big and doesn't need staking (well maybe just a short bamboo down the middle to hold up heavy branches. But there is no pinching or pruning needed. Lovely slightly large cherries and anyone can grow these plants. I wish I had photos of my plants and teh Rosada plums, dripping with fruit all summer. I have pounds and pounds of them in the freezer for sauces and soup. And believe me, it wasn't rocket science. And with the mild autumn I'm still harvesting bowlfulls each week.