2017 Tomato Growing

My first tomato has gone red! am aware this is very late but I have no greenhouse and the plants for scorched early on!

The one behind it is about to go, but there are a fair few more which are green but could turn!

Anyone got any tips for how to ripen the tomatoes? Are they better off the plant and ripen on a windowsill or....? Thank you in advance!

 

Chuffed for you toppington!

I'm picking mine just as they start to ripen, putting on a tray and leaving in the windowsill.. but it's only because mine are being grown away from the house and someone who's using the poly with me has got blight. I found if the first one has ripened and you cut a truss, slowly but surely the rest of the truss will ripen.. but they don't taste as good.

 

Well done Topps

If you can keep rain out of the pots then water with slightly salted water.

 

Many thanks @Linz and @Zigs - I am very very chuffed that one of them has naturally gone red on the plant!!!! Hurrah!!! :D

They are in pots and one is in a tomato/potato growing bag type thing. Will try the salt water later today if it doesn't rain, and see what happens!

 

Them's doing better than my Angelina's

 

Just as Mrs Scrungee was thinking she was dealing with our tomato crop, I came back with today's pickings (and I ran out of 'mushroom' boxes so didn't pick Suncherry toms from 9 plants, nor have I picked all the ripe Tumblers at home)



And we still have all these San Marzino (AKA 'Heinz') toms left, they stay nice and firm for ages, are great for frying as they are firm and don't let loads of juice run out when cooking unlike 'standard' tomatoes, and I've only lost ONE to BER, probably because I've been careful to be consistent with watering and I've been giving them Calcium supplement.



In my polytunnels I've now removed all the beefsteak tomato plants in the rear rows close to the covers, leaving only the plants in the 2 rows either side of central paths. I've also continued removing leaves as

A few beefsteak toms were still green, but it was time to get them out. Intermediate size toms like Shirley and Magic Mountain were stopped at 6 trusses and are continuing to ripen well, and there should be enough to cut just before frosts get in to ripen indoors for several more weeks.

My cherry tomatoes are now right up in the apex of the tunnels and ripening on up to the 8th trusses, so again should continue to provide toms for some weeks, then cut ones ripening over several weeks more.

I stopped my San Marzino (Heinz) at 4 trusses, and it appears as if the vast majority (of the 30 to 40 per plant) will ripen before frosts get inside the tunnels, so next year I'll stop at 5 trusses. These have been a success (for me), in both cropping and as a crop that'll last after picking.









P.S. Splitting of Sungolds has now become a big issue.

 

Me plums are still going, despite being next to blighted Angelinas

And @"M" s San Marzano 2 are still holding on

 

Still no blight.

Today's pickings:

Suncherry (getting pickings of over 30 from some plants)



Magic Mountain, San Marzino and Floridity



Shirley



I've been eating Sungolds straight from the plants to avoid splitting & loss of flavour after picking.

Nearly all the beefsteaks have been turned into pasta sauce & soup, loads of San Marzinos (AKA Heinz) left, which are being used in fry ups:

 

Picked the blighted ones from the greenhouse

 

Etc.

Am I the only tomato grower not to get blight this year?

For the first time ever I didn't bother with any outdoor tomatoes this year, plus kept my spuds far away and downwind of my polytunnels.

 

Lucky g.. scrungee. All but 2 have blight. Even a pepper has succumbed.

Keeping my spuds outside the polytunnel until all toms are out.

Balls just remembered I left a tray of picked toms up there..

 

No blight, but I have been touching a lot of wood