Help MBE grow his dinner 2011

djohn2002uk

Here you go:-




Knock off half an inch 'cos I couldn't get the tape in the right place.

But we've had 3 meals and some of them were better than this one at the picking stage.

jollyanna

I'm mesmerised by these wonderful beans. I'd like to know please, if you pinch out the growing tip at some stage ? I tend to let my Blue Lake dangle beyond the top of the cane, mainly because I'm crop greedy ! If I pinch out the growing tip, will they continue to flower lower down ? Thanks.

Fay

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Suncherry? Indeterminate....AKA Vine tom.

http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds/pages/veg5-tomato-s.htm

Does it say on the packet they are a Determinate/Bush? They don't look like it.

Hmm, I was sure it said on the packet they were a bush but I don't have it any more. They have such low truss numbers on them that I shall sideshoot today and keep my fingers crossed. I have a day in the garden planned (if the weather holds up) so will let you all know how I get on.

Would you suggest moving some of my potted tom's out of the green house for ventilation of the others?

Angelfeathers

Hi all - newbie to the thread, though I've been following it for some time. :-)

Just been reading all the advice on Fay's tomatoes with interest since I'm growing tomatoes for the first time (was given some by my mum, sans packet and instructions).

Can I just check what exactly the 'sideshoots' are that you're supposed to pinch out? Are they the little shoots that grow in the 'armpits' between the main stem and the horizontal branches coming out from the main stem? None of my gardening books actually specify what the blooming things are! (Hell, it took me ages to work out what 'trusses' were!)

gardenroute

Angelfeathers wrote: »

Can I just check what exactly the 'sideshoots' are that you're supposed to pinch out? Are they the little shoots that grow in the 'armpits'

Yep. Pinch them off with your nails. They can be stuck in soil and will root within a week giving you another plant.

Angelfeathers

gardenroute wrote: »

Yep. Pinch them off with your nails. They can be stuck in soil and will root within a week giving you another plant.

Brilliant! Thank you! :-)

(I really don't have room for any more plants this year but thanks for the tip!)

djohn2002uk

jollyanna wrote: »

I'm mesmerised by these wonderful beans. I'd like to know please, if you pinch out the growing tip at some stage ? I tend to let my Blue Lake dangle beyond the top of the cane, mainly because I'm crop greedy ! If I pinch out the growing tip, will they continue to flower lower down ? Thanks.

Yes, they will continue to flower and throw out new shoots too. I pinch mine out at the top of the cane and some of the other shoots that I leave when they reach the top too. Otherwise you get a large weight at the top.

Sambucus_Nigra

Fay wrote: »

Hmm, I was sure it said on the packet they were a bush but I don't have it any more. They have such low truss numbers on them that I shall sideshoot today and keep my fingers crossed. I have a day in the garden planned (if the weather holds up) so will let you all know how I get on.

Would you suggest moving some of my potted tom's out of the green house for ventilation of the others?

Ok - so there's one lesson - keep the packets! I either paste mine into a scrapbook or keep them in a folder. You never know when you need to refer to them.

Personally, I get rid of most of my tom leaves; but others leave them on. I DO tend to ram the plants in and really, just want stem, trusses and the top 5-6 leaves [for Vines that is]. I run twine from the base of the plant to the roof, around canes that are attached to the side of the greenhouse [mine is wooden so I installed hooks to sit the canes in]. And as they grow, I twirl the twine around the plants and get rid of leaves as they grow.

If it looks like a jungle though, either move some out or prune back some of the leaves so that you can see what's occurring. You might have more trusses than you know. If you take off long sideshoots [armpits], put them in water or compost to root and you should get a crop from them as they are the same genetic age as the parent and will continue to bear fruit.

djohn2002uk

MBE. Mine's grown another half inch overnight and I've fed it some Phostrogen today so look out now. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Little_Vics

I have a chilli!!! Come on toms, don't let me down now.....

Visited a friend's rather large allotment yesterday and was immediately put to shame. I need to up my game immensely next year. Will you help?

xLV