Tomato Growing 2024

@JWK If there is only a single feed pipe coming in, is it not possible to put a flow tap on it to adjust all the drippers at once? I have this on my raised beds to allow me to control or even switch off a feed/bed.

 

I have had my air pots for a few years now, the roots do not suffer with being root bound as the roots grow towards the holes in the pots and die off, encouraging stronger roots to grow. Plus they are easier to re- pot by undoing the fixings (screws) at one side - then it just means pop the whole root system into a larger pot.

As for the plastic bottle drip feed, I have already started the trial by sitting the bottle in a measuring jug, and tightening the cap each time if I want to slow the water down a bit more.
So far it has taken 45 minutes to empty 500ml of water - with 2 small hole placed at the bottom of the bottle. Not sure this is the right speed to keep the soil damp or whether I should pay attention to a shorter or even longer time scale ?
In the height of summer I might have to water in the morning as usual then again at 4-ish.
"I'm working blind here as this is all new for me"

 

Because I have to use protective gloves when dealing with soil I have plumped to buying a soil moisture meter from amazon- this way I will be about to gauge the dryness of soil instead of dipping my finger in the pots. "I keep saying to myself its trail and error keep going / or should I say trail to succeed"

 

Hope those work for you @Jenny_Aster . I find buckets very useful for all sorts of things, and even when the top degrades or breaks around the holes for the handle, I just drill a hole slightly lower down and thread old washing line through for a handle.

I don't know if they'd work with your watering thingy - not something I've really needed, but I'm sure you could adapt them well enough if necessary.

 

Hi all

A quick potting on question.

When potting on in previous years I have always buried stems, but also put a few inches of compost at the bottom of the new pot to allow the lowest roots to grow into. Is this required? Or could I just place the plant right at the bottom of the new pot?

Some of my tomatoes will be going into their final pots this week - others into the penultimate pots.

Any pearls of wisdom would be much appreciated!

 

I put the whole plant into a pot with the roots at the bottom (no compost in bottom of pot) and cover as much of the stem as I can with compost.
I'll be panting into the g/house border in a day or two and will plant them deeply.
Roots will grow from the buried stem.

 

Thanks Pete

 

5 toms planted into their Quadgrow stations; 3 Happy Day and 2 Black cherry. Run out of ooomph now! I'll do the other 3 tomorrow. I'll put some in big pots against the south west facing wall of the house, where I can water them easily.
I plant them as deep as I can, so the seed leaves are just visible. It amazes me how fast they will grow now.

 

Both ways work in my experience, There are good reasons for both.
when i was growing in pots sunk into the border (numerous 20mm holes drilled into the bottom of pots) If i had leggy plants i would put them straight onto the bottom of pot to bury as much stem as possible , others which were not as big due to staggered sowing would have several inches of compost in the pots to sit the roots upon, They all fare well suffering no ill effects.
I now grow in quad grows so all plants get at least one inch of compost for the roots to sit upon until established, at the end of the season the roots are very long extending well into the water in the tank.

 

It's warm again today and forecast double figures temperatures overnight for the next week so my baby tomato plants are going out into the cold frame or mini tunnel (not sure which yet, I need to shuffle what's already there). I don't think I'm going to bother bringing them back indoors. They can be closed in at night and I have fleece just in case they need an extra cover.

 

Apparently about an 1 to1.5 inches, so one good leaf and a bit more shoot. Pinched off the good leaf, stuck into a grit perlite mix, placed on a heated mat and covered over with a propagator lid.
Bit fiddly though.

 

That's quite impressive @NigelJ. I'm not sure I'd do it so soon- think I'd wait until they were easier to handle. I'd probably break them!