Tomato Growing Thread 2012

Most of my plants (not sure of varieties as I was given the seeds by an old lady and they were just labelled by colour!) have a reasonable amount of fruit and are still flowering but none of the fruit seems to be ripening. The attached pics are about 2 weeks old - since then more fruits have developed but none of those you can see seem to have gotten any riper...what am I doing wrong?! I've removed a lot of leaves now to increase light on the fruits. A friend says to pinch out any flowers now too - is this good advice? Should I pinch out each flower individually? Wouldn't it be quicker and just as effective to lop off any plant growth, flowers, leaves and stems, above the highest fruiting truss? (my plants are around 6' high which seems a bit excessive as it is...as if they've been putting too much energy into growing and not enough into fruiting! I also have a smaller, bushier plant - to the left of the first pic which is now covered in fruits that you can't see in the pic - but again, even though this one doesn't seem to have run away with itself growth-wise the fruits don't seem to be ripening there either...). Not sure if the pics are much help but all advice would be gratefully received. Thanks!

 

Hi Andy.

I see they're outdoors. I believe that convention would have it that outdoor toms should be restricted to no more that 4 trusses. I'm guessing you have more than that? In which case, I would remove anything above the fourth truss

PS...just had another look at the pics. I would take out anything above toms that have already formed

 

I have a question.....

My tomato fruits are forming but some of them are ripening when they are still very small. Weeny..... like - less than a centimetre

I am growing Gardener's Delight this year and they do seem a bit on the small side - almost like cherry toms. Is there something I should be doing??

 

Where are you growing them?

 

Gardeners Delight are classed as cherry tomatoes.

 

Yes, they are, but they should be a little bigger

 

Me too. Lousy summer sunshine-wise, so you may not get the crop that you would have had in other, sunnier, years.

Some of mine do that. They haven't had enough of whatever they need to make them bigger, and they have been on the plant, ripening, for X-days and no it is time for them to turn red.

More sun, possibly more water, possibly more fertilizer (don't overdo either of those though) would make a difference ...

 

Oh right - I have been throwing in a bit of potash each week since they started setting fruit. I shall chuck in a bit of nitrogen next time.

I am growing them in a polytunnel

 

At last I have finally got some 'proper' blight on one of my tomatoes, rather than that namby pamby stem rot stuff. Four days from when I noticed first noticed it (the morning I was off for a long weekend's holidaying) to get to this:



That's my Auld Sod (an old Irish variety) plants all gone, but luckily I had a ripe fruit from them a week ago that's been set aside for seed saving.

P.S. Haven't had any blight alerts in 8 weeks.

 

Gardeners Delight, Leaves and stem healthy but the fruit
Will these be edible or what may they have wrong




Jack McH

 

Almost a total loss for me this year. The mould in the blowaway started to spread to the fruit so Ive cut my losses & havested what I can; if it had kept off another week they might have just about ripened. Oh well - green chilly relish making this afternoon, once Ive had a cup of tea.

--

 

Blimey Jack, that one is not in my book, nor on any websites I can find

Might be a new disease that Neil Oliver brought back from the Woruld.

 

Does it rub/wash off? If so ti could just be "smut" from Aphids / whitefly. It does NOT look like that though.

Mineral deficiency perhaps? (but I'm guessing)

 

Don't know what it is, but I've had this on Gardeners Delight many a time over the past 20 years of growing them outdoors.

 

Well they tasted alright, and the seeds / insides looked normal enough
Skin a bit grape skin tough
Just do not want to poison anyone

What would be the status of ripened fruit, from a blight infected plant ?

Jack McH