Tomato Growing Thread 2022

Everything is planted out, cordons are strung, fruits are forming. Now it's mainly water, feed and wait.

I'M SOOOO BORED!

 

Preparing soil today and going to use Nutrimate as the base fertiliser, with plenty of garden compost dug in. Will plant the bush, Crimson Crush and Roma, as well as a couple of cordon Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon) still to make up my mind whether I'm going to risk the Whitefly in the greenhouse!? I'm just not devoted enough to examine each plant, every day!!!

 

Not sure crimson crush is a bush variety, at least I hope its not.

 

Glynn,

Just a suggestion. Why not try spraying with neem oil. I use it on chilis and tomatoes and it keeps the aphids, whitefly etc at bay.
It's just a mix of neem oil, washing up liquid and water. It takes about 2 minutes to spray a greenhouseful of tomatoes or chilis and should be repeated every 2 weeks or so. Last year I had an infestation of greenfly and it was cleared up instantly after 2 sprayings.

Ademission

 

If I get white fly they will go outside, the days of white fly everywhere are gone for me, if it attracts it it goes outside.

 

First fruit set on a bloody butcher, 84 days since sowing and 28 days since transplanted to its final pot. The pots are slightly ahead of the border greenhouse ones, I am assuming because they get warmer

 

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They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words - well, with 2 I rest my case!

 

I imagine that for the "puritans" among you I've overplanted the bags! I'll just have to fertilize them more often!

I only wanted 9 but I was let down by a friend I had offered some to a couple of months ago but I wasn't about to throw 3 perfectly heathy tomato plants away! As I had nowhere else to plant them I just put 4 in each bag instead of the more usual three!

 

I stuff two plants into a 30 litre tub and grow each as a double cordon, so I'm all for cramming them in.

My autumn planted garlic is finishing early, so I'm going to bung in some rooted tomato side shoots in the garlic patch (in front of my house front window) and top them after two trusses. Waste not, want not.

 

Any rescue ideas for waterlogged tomatoes planted in open ground? Mr Weasels' colleague's Piglet Willies and Sinister Ministers are in peril!

 

Thanks very much for your thoughts re my nemesis, whitefly! Yes we've taken to putting infected plants outside if possible in light rain, or spraying them with water!
Never come Across Neem oil but will look it up! Thanks!
Crimson Crush : yes you're correct, it is grown as a cordon! Mind you it's also grown as a bush! Yet another opinion suggested that, as it produced so few side shoots it could be grown as a bush! Must be said we bought it as an outdoor, blight resistant variety. So last season, my first with the variety, I grew it outdoors as a bush. I'd never grown a bush variety of any kind before. Found it superb and trouble free! Thus growing it again this year! No blight either, but not on anything else either!!! Tom or potato! Also last year grew Y Ddraig Goch, cordon greenhouse, variety, outside in pots! Great results, growing amongst my potted Salvias! Don't think that's why it was so good either!
This year's stuff, earliest in large final pots, some with 2 trusses, are in cold greenhouse with open door most of time are still whitefly free (famous last words) Later sown stuff (both varieties) still in 3" pots and considering putting them outside in green plastic, trough pots, in a sheltered but bright spot! Need to fork in more garden compost and scattering of Nutrimate that I'm trying this year, but soil very heavy after last few nights of heavy rain. Might wait couple of days??

 

Here are a few pictures of my tomatoes finally planted out in growbags on the balcony.
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