Tomatoes going wrong - again!

Tea_Pea_Dee

Got to separate them soon.  One of them is definitely a rogue though.  I always buy miracle-groables, being a lazy gardener.  Sloths knock on my door for tips 😀. 29p for 3 seeds in the sale last year.  I also have butternut squash and cherry tomatoes.  Interesting to see everyone's crops.  

MoneySeeker1

Davesnave said:

greenbee said:

Davesnave said:

I have plenty of well-rotted stable manure, but by the time it's turned into lovely crumbly stuff, I think whatever it had in it has probably mostly  leached away. I use it as a soil conditioner and much of the real 'oomph' for my toms and peppers is supplied via fermented comfrey leaves. Of course they stink even worse than some of the other things mentioned, which just proves they must be good!

I must remember to dig up some comfrey from my brother's garden. They've got lots, and he didn't even know what it was, so I need to get to it before it is 'weeded'!

It will be best if he has the variety 'Bocking14,' as that's sterile and doesn't cause problems by popping up all over your garden.

Was that the famous last words Dave - ie re popping up all over garden?

Ask me how I know - as I think that's the variety I bought several plants from (purple-flowered) and I changed my mind and dug them up. You can guess the rest - I've now got about 5 or 6 of them growing away happily...

Davesnave

Most comfrey sold is the common one raised from seed, since few sellers worry about the consequences of others planting it. You normally have to seek out Bocking14, which is propagated by division, although that's easy enough. Any old bit will grow.

MoneySeeker1

As I recall - I did indeed seek out Bocking 14 and, vaguely from memory, it might have come from tubers (unsure on that). Anyway - this has certainly been propagating itself by division alright - ie any time I tried to dig one out and thought "That's that" up pops another one and it's clear I've ended up leaving a section of root behind. Looks like I'm stuck with it forevermore. Just have to make the best of it and harvest the leaves frequently and I scatter them around the other plants and figure they will break down pretty quickly in all that Welsh rain and feed them.

To think the reason I got them in the first place was I was thinking "How am I supposed to forage some comfrey if I ever need it for 'knitbone' medical purposes - as I can't find any around me to forage?". Still proving problematic on that - though I've done some guerilla planting around me with several different forageable plants (including that) to try to improve plant diversity here and none of them have taken off to date.

Davesnave

Well I've got about 30m of it along the field edge, just behind a sheep fence and it hasn't caused any problems or moved. I just cut it flat with the brush cutter when the bees have enough other flowers, load it into the barrow and then throw it into my liquid feed bins. If I have enough energy/enthusiasm at the end of summer, I do the same again.

Silvertabby

I think it is comfrey that is known as  'knit bone' in Lancashire.  Probably an old wives tale, but the theory was that a poultice made from the dried leaves helped sprains to heal.

When I joined the WRAF in the early 1970s my dad insisted that I took a bag of dried, crumbled, knit bone with me to treat my inevitable aches, pains and strains.  I have never used illegal drugs, but I knew enough about them even back then to know that turning up at an Armed Forces training base with a bag of dried herbs probably wasn't the wisest thing to do!

 I disposed of the bag in a train rubbish bin - but I would love to know if anyone found it and thought they had struck gold.

MoneySeeker1

Yep - it is comfrey that's called that and that's the main reason I planted it. I've certainly read some tales of it doing a very quick job of fixing a broken bone. Gather it's also a good idea medicinally all round - must get round to making some comfrey salve at some point.

I've just about got onto the stage of gardening of "Must now get some more medicinal plants/some really unusual stuff/etc".
Waiting for some wild lettuce seeds now for medicinal purposes - just in case anyone ever needs painkiller (that was rather prompted by all the stories I've read about people suffering unnecessarily with mouth pain at the moment - courtesy of being unable to get to see a dentist when they obviously need to).

Definitely at stage of feeling distrustful as to whether I can rely on getting anything much we might need for medicinal purposes - just call me the would-be village wisewoman (thank goodness one can't be burned alive for that in this day and age.......). Well I don't think so......not putting much past my Society at the moment......

silvercar

Seems an apt thread to ask this question.
This is a tomato plant gifted to me, so I have no clue what type. It has 2 clumps of green tomatoes and 4 sets of yellow flowers that haven't yet moved on to the next stage. The plant is still growing, should I prune the top off?
I am just north of London, so wonder when I should expect the tomatoes to start turning red?
Many thanks, I'm a real novice.

jonesMUFCforever

I would support the plant with a strong cane.
If there are no flowers on top cut it off - strip off leaves on sides to give as much sun on to toms - then all energy will go to growth of toms rather than foliage.

Davesnave

jonesMUFCforever said:

strip off leaves on sides to give as much sun on to toms - then all energy will go to growth of toms rather than foliage.

 I'm unclear abut this.If not from the leaves, where is this 'energy'  to come from?