Is it worth it?

rhiwfield

Megansmum wrote: »

Question: Here is a picture of my cuc plant. The cuc has spikes on it, is this normal and will they go as it grows bigger?

http://s613.photobucket.com/albums/tt212/Megansmum_album/?action=view&current=2009_06160010.jpg

Thanks and happy growing!! :j

Doing better than mine at the mo. Looks like a ridge cucumber and the knobbly bits are normal. They dont disappear but dont affect it in any way.

Megansmum

rhiwfield wrote: »

Doing better than mine at the mo. Looks like a ridge cucumber and the knobbly bits are normal. They dont disappear but dont affect it in any way.

Thanks rhiw, does it REALLY matter that i haven't taken off the male flowers? I know some people say the fruit is bitter if you don't but my b.i.l says he didn't last year and there was no taste difference! Does the variety affect how bad the taste will change?

rhiwfield

MM, going by Dr Hessayon, ordinary varieties of cucs will taste bitter if fertilised so they introduced all female F1 hybrids with no male flowers.

I think you have an outdoor cuc (not certain) in which case fertilisation is necessary so you dont remove the male flowers. Not sure how bitter some outdoor varieties are but I grew burpless tasty green last year (in the greenhouse!) and not bitter at all so growing it this year in greenhouse and garden

Megansmum

I have no idea what variety these are as the seeds were free with a magazine and i stupidly threw the packet away (novice mistake i know... but i AM a novice ).

I thought ALL cucs had to be done in the greenhouse? I didn't know i could put them outdoors without being closed in at night??? So, can i
take them out now and leave them on the patio? Great news if i can ...more space for the toms!!

rhiwfield

MM, if it is a ridge cuc then its fine outside (a bit slower maybe) but will also do fine in greenhouse. Try both ways if you're not sure on variety

Megansmum

thank you thank you thank you .... you have made my DAY with that bit of news!! Can i pick your brain once more please? My toms are big sturdy plants but whenever flowers start to form they just wither away again and no toms are growing on any of the plants....
1. Am i doing something wrong? Over/under watering?
2. Should i be giving them a tomato feed BEFORE they have toms on them?
3. Could they just be late and i'm worrying for nothing???

(They are also in the plastic greenhouse - should they be out now, could they be getting too hot? )

Sorry for all the questions - as a newbie i thought sow and grow and eat .... no thinking required !! :eek:

olly300

You shouldn't need to grow your tomatoes in a green house as you aren't that far North.

You also want your tomatoes outside otherwise you are going to have to hand pollinate them either by using a paint brush or tapping them.

I suggest you pots of marigolds near them to encourage hoverflies and other pollinators. You can buy trays quite cheaply and all you have to do is dead head them to keep them flowering until the frost.

You should be feeding your tomatoes every week - two weeks with tomato feed as soon as they flower.

And I can't see any photos to tell if you are over or under watering them.

Oh and I'm further south than you and I've only had tomato flowers in the past week.

rhiwfield

MM, its not happened to me but the good doctor (again ) says pollination has not taken place and the cause is normally dryness at the roots and in the air, prevent this by watering regularly and spraying flowers in the morning, as well as tapping plants to aid pollination.

I'd guess that if they are in a plastic greenhouse with limited ventilation that could be part of your problem, especially in sunny weather. Again you might want to try leaving some plants outside as well as trying the doc's ideas and ensuring good ventilation.

Megansmum

Ok new question/problem ...

We are going away for a week and last time we went i left everything in buckets of water and nearly lost the lot !!

So what do i do??

Someone told me to put everything in the bath on top of a soaked towel, but then nothing will get pollinated ??

I can leave the plastic greenhouse "doors" open so they shouldn't get too hot - or should i take everything out of the greenhouse anyway whilst we're gone?

rhiwfield

MM, this time of year tender plants wont mind being out of the greenhouse tho they may find strong winds/rain damaging. Trouble is pot plants or ones in growbags need daily watering (one of the big pros for growing in the ground) so your best bet is to get a neighbour/friend/relation to water while you are away.

In the past we've used the bath method for ornamental plants, you can try it for toms and accept that pollination is impaired while you are away.

If you leave them unwatered in greenhouse :eek:

Alternative is automatic watering system, but I guess thats not a current option.