2015 Tomato Growing

I did give them a dose of ES a couple of weeks back because they were looking ropey but I'll definitely give them another dose.Thank you

Never had such miserable looking tomatoes,they're barely 4ft tall,lot's of dry sets,lucky if they've got 3 trusses.They been grown as I've always grown them,I've damped down ,misted the flowers and they've had plenty of ventilation and been fed.I'm a bit disappointed because this year they've had near perfect growing conditions from other years,lots of sunshine and not such a dramatic drop in overnight temperatures compared to the last couple of years...

I'm over it now I've got that out of my system

 

I agree FC but my tomatoes are doing better than my plants even though they are slow. I need higher temperatures and a lot more sun if the toms are going to ripen.

 

my tomatoes leaves where looking a bit naff good to know they just needed a dose of Epsom salts.

 

After a bad start with them stalling a couple of times my toms are now under way. There won't be a big crop but enough for my needs. 'Sungold' at the back, 'Gourmet' right side and 'Manx Marvels' left. The MM's haven't made into the garden this year, the weather hasn't been good enough.



It's the first time I've grown 'Sungold' and here's the first ripening. In fact the first tom to ripen this season.

 

Looking good @Sheal. Interested in the buckets you're growing your Toms in. Are they specifically for growing plants in ie with drainage holes or did you drill holes in them? If you did put holes in them how did you do it? I want to grow more "hanging basket" type Tomatoes next year and I have quite a few plastic buckets going a begging and no spare hanging baskets. The buckets would be good as they are quite tall and would stop the fruits from ending up dragging on the ground. I'm just not sure if the plastic my buckets are made of isn't too brittle to take having holes put in them if this makes sense. They were really cheap ones. The handles would also be good as a variety I am growing and pleased with (Garden Pearl) are meant to be grown outside (ney chance in Scotland!) so I have then in the greenhouse and been carrying some outside the greenhouse on good days as they do seem slightly more susceptible to botrytis than other varieties that I've grown before. However, we've been eating their delicious fruit for at least the last 3 weeks and they are miles ahead of my Sungold, Gardeners Delight and Moneymaker which were all sown at the same time.

 

they look like the buckets you can buy in b&q

 

I'm surprised at that @fat controller, we've had very little sun up here this spring and autumn. If you look back at my picture of the greenhouse you can see all the condensation inside, it's been so damp here.

Haha @silu! I've had those buckets eight years and as Eddy said above they are B&Q's cheap and cheerfuls, I paid 99P each for them. I made holes in them but it's not easy. I started them off with a braddle then twisted a screwdriver through the holes to make them bigger but I split one in the process so they would be better drilled.

Are the Garden Pearl toms sweet Silu? Perhaps I might give them a try out next year.

 

Thanks @Sheal. The buckets I have were even cheaper than that!! I got them from a car boot, think they were about a fiver but you had to take 10! hence why I have a few spare. I'll see if I can drill through them as I reckon I'd split mine if I used a braddle. A woman after my own heart tho. Bet special Tomato growing buckets cost the earth great ideal Sheal.
Yes the Garden Pearl are lovely and sweet. I was actually given a packet of seed and thought I'd give them a try. To be honest I doubt I'd have tried them had I not been given them as I'm rather loathed to try gimmicky type things garden wise.
I sowed 14 seeds and got 13 plants! They stood up the best to getting cold when I transferred them to my unheated greenhouse. The Sungold really suffered with twisted and deformed stems, likewise Moneymaker and Gardeners delight were badly knocked back.
I only had 6 hanging baskets so planted the rest in the greenhouse border which was a bit of a mistake as these ones grew quite big width wise rather than height wise and the branches/ fruits being on the soil have had a bit of botrytis . The ones in the baskets with fruit off the ground are much much better. Huge amounts of fruit which are quite small and slightly egg shaped. The fruit has a pearly/silvery tinge to them hence the name. All the family and a couple of my friends have had them and all thought they were lovely. Being bush type no pinching out or stringing either, great! I have had a couple of branches break due to the weight of fruit but apart from that I would definitely recommend and will grow them again next year and not bother with Moneymaker or Gardeners Delight. There is 1 big drawback however. They are so tasty the majority of ripe fruit hasn't got out of the greenhouse having been scoffed by yours truly!
I haven't grown other hanging basket types before so maybe there could be a better variety but personally I'm pleased with Garden Pearl. This might give you an idea of other varieties available. www.telegraph.co.uk › type in best Tomatoes for hanging baskets in the search box. They review various ones including Garden Pearl.

 

I am going to be a bit controversial here. Lets think about pruning logically. You have a good crop of tomatoes before you pruned. So how has pruning improved your crop or plants? I apologise if I sound harsh but they don't look better to me .I think there is too much emphasis placed on pruning tomatoes and too many people worry about it, the whole business being rife with paranoia . Why would you want to remove leaves that are providing energy via photosynthesis for the plant? And removing branches that would bear fruit? The only reason for pruning is to be able to properly support your plants, if grown in a cage no tomato needs pruning. I prune my tomatoes but ONLY because my space is limited. I usually let the main stem develop along with 2 or 3 suckers (low down) which in their turn carry flowers and fruit. If the suckers start to get unwieldy I just pinch out the growing points. People will say pruning will give your more and bigger fruit. The "more" is simply not true, how can it be when you are reducing the amount of branches that would bear fruit? "Bigger" perhaps but only because the plant can put all its energy into a few fruit instead of many. You would achieve the same result by reducing the number of fruit on a truss. To be blunt isn't much of what is said about pruning tomatoes just "perceived wisdom" rather than having real substance? There are plenty of websites out there which give good advice about "NOT" pruning your plants and would explain far better than myself. I would say stop worrying and feeling guilty about pruning and let the b*****s grow as much as your space allows. I await feedback with trepidation.

 

I keep saying im not going to grow tomatos as it makes me a slave to the greenhouse!
I started a new big composter in 2013 which i must of chucked some tom plants in end of the season,in using that compost this spring i have tom plants popping up everywhere
Ive kept 4 random ones and one is a marmande that a grew summer 2013,im impressed that the seeds are still viable ....sorry random not sure what the others are yet

 

Thanks @silu, I may well give those tomatoes a try next year, it all depends on where I stand with my housing situation come next spring.

@potlings although it is common practice to remove side shoots and various branches I think it depends on what the individual wants from their plants. I have to grow in a greenhouse because my plants wouldn't survive outside and this brings restrictions of movement in there for me if they were left to run riot. I also stop them at 4ft because of the condensation that builds on the upper panes of glass. Later in the season I will strip most of the leaves to force the plants to concentrate on the fruit and also to allow the late weak sun to ripen tomatoes.