tomato plants

pickledtink

jayarr wrote:

thanks for that, i may trim some leaves off then..no flowers yet that ive seen tho..:(

will let you know how it goes..ive moved the majority back into the porch as i'm losing between 1 and 3 plants each night to slugs!

Don't take any leaves off until you have enough flower trusses. At this stage you need to be encouraging lots of strong healthy leaves and growth generally.
Also if you're running late feeding will speed things up.
Use Miracle Grow if you are not fussed about being organic or Fish , Blood and bone if you are.
After your first truss has set change feed to a specific Tomato one like Tomorite which has seaweed in it.
Plenty of water in this weather too.

jayarr_2

ok.thanks for the advice, will use a feed today, and start looking for emerging flowers...getting excited now!!

Penelope_Penguin

tootles wrote:

Another thing you can do is to thin out the leaves as there will take up food which can be used by the fruit, make sure they are not leaves with a flower spike on and just snap off, this will also help the fruit to ripen.

You should be watering them everyday in this very hot weather, if you find any fruit that is beginning to go brown at the bottom it's blossom end rot, take the infected fruit off and throw them away, its due to uneven watering.

Not sure about this advice to remove leaves. I've grown tomatoes for years and never done this. What you must remove is side shoots. These form in thew axils between the main stem and the leaves. Left alone, they'll take a lot of energy from the plant, nad reduce the size of fruit and total yield.

Have a look on the net, get a book, or ask someone with experience to help. When they're small they just snap off easily - you may now need secateurs (that's what I did a copule of weeks agoi for a friend).

Keep going, fresh tomatoes are definitely worth it!

Penny. x

jayarr_2

ok..now i've got a new query..sorry about this..

some of my plants have gone abit wonky-but to be honest i assumed they'd be fine-i've been making sure to turn them each day so that they dont turn to the sun etc, but still some are almost spiral like rather than straight-up, cant think of any other way to describe it..anyway, ive noticed this evening these 'wonky' plants are also very bumpy-where the straight ones are smooth, these are almost warty..is this something i need to worry about..?

thanks in advance

purplepixi

I've go a bit of a thing about tomatoes - I've got loads growing all sorts of types.

None are in a green house (as I don't have one), all are in pots or grow bags in the garden. I've planted them all at different times, so some are later than others.

I've not used any feed, but I have found that putting them outside when they are small toughens them up, and they occassionally feeding them with cold tea (no milk!), gives them a bit of help.

You can grow tomatoes all year round, so if you're later ones still aren't ripe later in the season when it cools, you can bring them in, and sit them next to a daylight bulb for a few extra house (they need about 11 - 13 hours of daylight). And they should do fine.

Hope this helps

Laura

annie-c

jayarr wrote:

ok..now i've got a new query..sorry about this..

some of my plants have gone abit wonky-but to be honest i assumed they'd be fine-i've been making sure to turn them each day so that they dont turn to the sun etc, but still some are almost spiral like rather than straight-up, cant think of any other way to describe it..anyway, ive noticed this evening these 'wonky' plants are also very bumpy-where the straight ones are smooth, these are almost warty..is this something i need to worry about..?

thanks in advance

Did you stake them from when they were young? that is, did you stick a garden cane in the pot and ikeep adjusting it so the plant was secured from top to bottom?

Some of mine are wonky too - the ones where I forgot to stake them early enough or where the ties came loose and they did their own thing for a while until I noticed. They are still growing fine, but they have a tendency to lean and fall over unless they are tilted towards a wall.

Don't know about the 'warts', sorry....

sashacat

don't worry if they are wonky...just stake them up now or support them in some way. I have both outdoor and indoor (in greenhouse) and both are flowering and I am picking the tomatoes now. The ones that are doing best are in a hanging basket ( tumbler). I pick off some of the side shoots and only pick the leaves off when they are nearly finished. I feed them with a homemade mix made from comfrey leaves as i think the stuff in the shops is a rip off. i also make liquid manure from sheep muck and water in a large water tub.

jayarr_2

thanks for all that..its the 'warts' i'm bothered about, they seem fine other than that, nice and strong looking..ohh well..wil see what happens with them..ive been staking them as ive planted them to the final pots/growbags

will keep you posted..!

btw..have found that the copper thing works with slugs..good job husbands a plumber!!

Jake'sGran

I have just given my son a bag of tomatoes. They were the cherry ones so maybe you might like to try these next year as they seem to ripen early.
Feeding is as someone else has said, when the first truss on the plant has set.

annie-c

:rotfl: Ooh, was having a glass of wine in the garden tonight ..... and noticed 'warts' on my wonky plants:rotfl: ... but am not worried - they look fab and today 1 or 2 are starting to ripen. Hurrah!!!!!!