Anyone growing tomatoes? (The Gardening thread)

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wearthefoxhat
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Jukebox wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:58 pm
wearthefoxhat wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:49 pm
Who knew?


toms.png


Anyway, who would want to attack a tomato?
Its when they fight back we need worry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIgLQ4graxE
:D

"you've never seen anything like it"
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Derek27
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My tomato plant was doing really well this year. Over 5 feet with about 30 green tomatoes on it - until today's heavy rain. Stem virtually snapped in half. And I even removed my healthy cucumber plant last week to give it room, because I planted it too close to my tomatoes. :(

I've heard on the local news that farmers have got of lightly, they only lost 50% of their crop. ;)
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ShaunWhite
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One for the Calm Corner.

Too much building work going on this year for fruit and veg but the bonsais keep me de-stressed. Started this split trunk Black Pine about 20yrs ago, approx 550mm tall. Some way to go yet, recently a 400 year old specimen sold for $1.3m :shock: Pity the earth will be a scrorced barren rock before this is 400yo. :cry:
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Derek27
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I've just sown some Christmas tree seeds. :D 3-4 months before germination, don't know how big it will be for next Christmas.
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ShaunWhite
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Derek27 wrote:
Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:38 pm
I've just sown some Christmas tree seeds. :D 3-4 months before germination, don't know how big it will be for next Christmas.
:D
Screenshot_1.jpg
I'm getting my chilli seeds in mid-Jan this year. Earlier the better apparently.
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Derek27
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ShaunWhite wrote:
Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:46 pm
Derek27 wrote:
Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:38 pm
I've just sown some Christmas tree seeds. :D 3-4 months before germination, don't know how big it will be for next Christmas.
:D

Screenshot_1.jpg

I'm getting my chilli seeds in mid-Jan this year. Earlier the better apparently.
Yeah, that's where I went wrong in 2020. Sowed the chillies in April because of the lockdown and shortages I couldn't get hold of them. By September I had about 50 baby chillies but it started getting cold and I gave up with them. I've heard the hotter the chilli, the earlier you have to sow them.
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firlandsfarm
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Derek27 wrote:
Sat Jan 01, 2022 4:29 pm
By September I had about 50 baby chillies but it started getting cold and I gave up with them. I've heard the hotter the chilli, the earlier you have to sow them.
Why give up on them ... pick them and dry them or make a quick chutney.
Sammy00
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I grow really tasty huge tomato’s if it helps: If you mix horse manure with good top soil, tomato plants grow with very strong vines and the fruit is huge. Don’t over water and not in direct sunlight but to where its not in the shade either. I wouldn’t grow it in a pot though, but in a good mix of manure and soil. Every now and then mix an aspirin with water and put in the soil, makes them shiny.
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Derek27
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I left it a bit later this year, after the problems I had in last year's cold spring. Eagerly ripped open the packet of tomato seeds expecting a sachet inside, only to find the seeds were loose in the packet and most of them ended up on the floor - not an encouraging start. :lol:

Doesn't matter though. I only needed to sow a few. Let's hope it's third year lucky. Good luck to all tomato growers this summer, or as the late Dave Allen would say, whatever vegetable you choose to grow, best of luck with growing it. :)
SteadySlobbin
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Still plenty of time yet, I only started getting going around this time last year, and hopefully that is the last of the frosts now.

I am very excited about this year. I have a strong line up and am hoping for good results. I started a bit earlier this year with the help of the heated mats and had good germination rates. Got quite a few outside in greenhouse, though they are all a bit stunted from the cold weather, though seem to have survived.

Kept a couple of each variety indoors too and they all seem healthy enough on the windowsill, though getting a bit big now and need to go outside. My big hope for this year is the ‘Latah’ tomato. Apparently it is a very early variety that grows in a sprawling bush.

I never seem to get any ripe ones until well into august, though these are meant to be ready in June, so we shall see. Exciting times ahead. Craven week this week, so start of new flat season proper too. New flat season, new grow season.
Simoba
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SteadySlobbin wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 7:43 am
Still plenty of time yet, I only started getting going around this time last year, and hopefully that is the last of the frosts now.

I am very excited about this year. I have a strong line up and am hoping for good results. I started a bit earlier this year with the help of the heated mats and had good germination rates. Got quite a few outside in greenhouse, though they are all a bit stunted from the cold weather, though seem to have survived.

Kept a couple of each variety indoors too and they all seem healthy enough on the windowsill, though getting a bit big now and need to go outside. My big hope for this year is the ‘Latah’ tomato. Apparently it is a very early variety that grows in a sprawling bush.

I never seem to get any ripe ones until well into august, though these are meant to be ready in June, so we shall see. Exciting times ahead. Craven week this week, so start of new flat season proper too. New flat season, new grow season.
Big fan of Latah tomatoes, grew for the first time 2 years ago (seeds from Real Seeds). Incredible results, early and extremely productive. Be warned though, it does sprawl and ran riot through our small suburban garden !!!
SteadySlobbin
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Simoba wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 9:32 am

Big fan of Latah tomatoes, grew for the first time 2 years ago (seeds from Real Seeds). Incredible results, early and extremely productive. Be warned though, it does sprawl and ran riot through our small suburban garden !!!
Thanks for the advice, Simoba. I am very much looking forward to growing these. I do fear that they are not looking as healthy as my others at this stage, couple of the bottom leaves are curling. I am worried I may have put them in too big a pot when pricking out, or maybe the new pots they are in drainage wasn’t good enough. Though it is very early days, and they look healthy enough, so hoping they are going to be ok.

Just need to find a good spot for them. Am wary of the sprawling bush taking over, though i guess you don’t know until you have tried. Next year will probably be a better year for them, when I know more, whatever they do this year is a bonus!
sniffer66
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My wife has our Sungold Cherry Toms potted and ready to go outside next month. Been growing them for a few years now - loads of fruit and very sweet - Golden orange in colour.
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firlandsfarm
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A couple of tomato facts I only discovered last year ... a tomato is a perennial, if you keep it out of the frost (not sure what the minimum temp has to be) it will regrow the following spring and produce fruit. Also when you take off the side-shoots they will root if placed in a pot of compost (dipping in rooting powder will help) and you have another tomato plant! Obviously it will be behind the donor plant but then combining that with the perennial nature may give you a plant that is actually 'ahead' come next spring. I only found this out too late for last year but this year I'm going to do some experimenting.

I did have one of those miniature pepper 'patio' plants last year and put it on the kitchen window sill overwinter and it not just survived but started to flower early March and is now full of green peppers awaiting ripening! :D
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Dublin_Flyer
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firlandsfarm wrote:
Sun Apr 17, 2022 11:44 am
A couple of tomato facts I only discovered last year ... a tomato is a perennial, if you keep it out of the frost (not sure what the minimum temp has to be) it will regrow the following spring and produce fruit. Also when you take off the side-shoots they will root if placed in a pot of compost (dipping in rooting powder will help) and you have another tomato plant! Obviously it will be behind the donor plant but then combining that with the perennial nature may give you a plant that is actually 'ahead' come next spring. I only found this out too late for last year but this year I'm going to do some experimenting.

I did have one of those miniature pepper 'patio' plants last year and put it on the kitchen window sill overwinter and it not just survived but started to flower early March and is now full of green peppers awaiting ripening! :D
When you're taking the side shoots off, you're best off going from the soil level upwards, (removing branches/shooters that touch or might touch the ground removes the path for slugs and snails to get into your plant) even if the shoots look a bit weak you can just plonk a bunch of them in a pint glass on a sunny window and leave them for a few days. There'll be sprouts one day, and 2 inch roots the next day, it's scary how fast they grow roots!

This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you by "Indeterminate" result on my work Covid test, can't go back to work until I'm clear so I got a long weekend with blocked sinuses, that brain fog kinda shit, and hayfever symptoms......what better way to spend it than drinking in the garden and sorting out the gardening shit I'll be doing for the rest of the summer ;)
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