Tomato Growing Thread 2022

A Costoluto Fiorentino that I inadvertently pruned.

 

@Hanglow Fused blossoms can sometimes produce the biggest fruits but also they can produce the ugliest ones too.

 

Yes, I pulled most of the megablooms off but I do have a couple still on other plants. I'm not too fussed about losing that tomato

 

Pink Boar. Was so looking forward to tasting this last year, but the late blight had other ideas. Fingers crossed!

 

@eatenbyweasels They look great and the plant looks very, very healthy, are they in a greenhouse?

My plants in the greenhouse look shocking compared to this one.

Hope you get to taste them this year.

 

Yes, they're in my greenhouse. Had just a very few, very large fruits last year, probably due to cold setting conditions. I had to pick them while still hard and green, as I gave up and chucked all of my plants, and the fruits went manky before I could ripen them. This year's look a lot more manageable in size.

 

Sheps,
Just been looking at your photographs. I suspect they are not deseased but they have a nutrient deficiency. Attached are 2 documents from Canna Labs that may help you with your diagnosis. I may have to send a second reply as the documents are large and may put me over-size.

Good look

Ademission

 

Sheps,

Tried to send the second sheet on Pests but it was too big. I'll send a link instead....

https://www.canna.ca/sites/canada/files/2021-02/downloads-leaflet-pests-diseases-guide.pdf

Hope this helps

Ademission

 

@Ademission thanks, I'll have a read.

So, when I was using the Quadgrows for both water and feed are you saying that the plants were not taking up the nutrients?

So, now I am just using the Quadgrows for watering and feeding direct into the pots nothing has changed, so should I be feeding twice a week?

 

@Ademission looking at the pictures in the deficiency guide I suppose you could say I have a Sulphur and Iron deficiency, you could also say that looking at the leaves in the pest guide I have an Aphid problem.

Although I have a few Aphids I wouldn't say I have an infestation.

 

Sheps,

I was careful not to diagnose your problem because I don't have a clear view of the symptoms and of how you are feeding and watering.
I don't use Quadgrows but I think I understand how they function. Let me ask you some questions. What type of water are you using in the quadgrow base (rain or tap)? Are you in a high limescale region? Are you using soil or coconut in the pot? What is the pH of your water and do you adjust it to 6.0 when you water your tomatoes to unlock nutrient absorption. What nutrients are you adding (tomorite or something more specific)?

If you are using soil/compost, it will act as a buffer and help supply nutrients provided if it has not been used before.

When I looked at the pictures of your leaves it reminded me of my own current problem which is Calcium deficiency. Rain water adds almost no Calcium and tap water can add lots. Rain water has a lower pH than tap water (typically). A pH of 6.0 will unlock the absorption of nutrients which can be blocked when the pH is too high. It's a bit of a dilemma, but tap water is usually best for Calcium but rain water is best for pH. Ideally a mixture of both and then an adjustment of pH to 6 0 would be ideal.

A quick spraying of Neem Oil every week will get rid of aphids and spider mite but as you say, there is no big infestation.

It's difficult for me to be very accurate in a diagnosis but a few ideas may help you to solve the problem. I hope this post helps you.

Best regards

Ademission

 

Yesterday when I was out watering on the balcony I checked the tomatoes to see if they needed watering while I was at it. In some places the growbags seemed a little dry but in others they were damp. I went ahead & watered all 3 bags. The "wilting" of the tips hasn't changed & they all look the same as a week ago. But one thing I DID notice was that some plants (I have 12 in 3 growbags) had grown side shoots. I haven't looked at the plants hardly this last week so it was encouraging to see new sideshoots appearing & without signs of "wilting"!

I gave my son 2 plants & when I was at his house yesterday I looked at them & they were perfectly alright, with no signs of "wilting" & with flowers & perhaps a fruit or two. His plants were also about the height I would have expected mine to be, i.e, about waist high - mine hardly pass my knees!

 

@Ademission the Quadgrows are just using tap water which is showing pH 6.0 as I've just tested it.

The plants are in compost and I'm feeding once a week using 750ml per feed of Maxicrop Organic Tomato feed.

Should I up the feeding to twice a week to try and get some more nutrients into the plants?

 

@Balc new side shoots must be a good sign, let's hope they get going soon.

 

The part I dont like about grow bags is there always seemed to be dry areas in the corners of the bag, and they are almost impossible to wet unless you flood the bag.
The bags also heat up fast if they are in sunlight.