Tomato Growing Thread 2012

Well, I came home from work (burnt to a crisp working in the sun all day) and had another (proper) look in the polytunnel - and things aren't looking too bad. I fed them with Tomorite a couple of days ago, and they have perked up significantly; one plant has lost a largish low leaf presumably due to getting buffeted by the polytunnel in the wind, so I whipped that off; and whilst looking, I then saw the extent of the side shoots that were coming out - no wonder I am not seeing any movement on the fruit front, the cheeky blighters have happily been extending their foliage and stems - needless to say, I have now whipped off all the side shoots

The yellowing and the brown spots haven't gotten any worse, and unless I am kidding myself, I actually think they are looking happier.

 

We're on! I reckon you are in with a good chance though, as mine seem more than happy to be getting taller and making leaves, and the only flowers I have seen so far only have a couple of blooms on them.

 

Stop feeding them fc. You need to stress them a little to change their habit from vegatative growth to reproductive. The more fertilizer and water you give them the more leaves and top growth they make. Once they start producing flowers their habit changes and they put their energy into producing fruit rather than leaves

 

Jenny, you put yours outside already if memory serves, that should trigger then into flowering. Once you get flowers they take 6 weeks or more produce ripe fruit, but a lot depends on the weather. Once the fruit reach their full size they need heat to ripen so you are at a bit of a disadvantage over someone with a polytunnel.

In the old days of tomato growing (before they were imported from spain) the early crop was obviously the most valuable, so growers built 'ripening' boxes, which was a sealed crate with a heater and ethylene gas. If you can keep the fruit at 75 deg F they will ripen even in the dark - you can try the shoebox method which involves putting a few fruit in the box with a banana (which gives off a small amount of ethylene) - but fc is reading this too and could try the same trick, I suggest this is all too much of a faff so allow them to ripen on the truss

 

You are safe Jenny, I won't be faffing about with bananas in boxes - I have barely enough time to get round all my plants with a watering can as it is

The bad news is that I have a wee baby tomato on one of my plants - so I might just be in with a chance.

 

Look (carefully) - a wee tomato!



Incidentally, after taking this photo I whipped off the side shoot that is sitting vertically in this image (I gleaned that it was the side shoot by the absence of the truss). I am going to have to go through and recheck and re-tie the lot over the next couple of days.