Anyone growing tomatoes? (The Gardening thread)

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Dublin_Flyer
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Derek27 wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 8:07 pm
I've been so busy trading lately I've left two of my tomato plants in the mini greenhouse and forgot to water them. :( :(
A good soaking and they might be alright, I've found them to be one of the most resilient things to grow after strawberries and rhubarb which are harder to kill than to grow in my experience! I was out tonight waiting for doggy to do her pre-bedtime toilet activities and found snails at my broccoli and slugs all over the potato leaves, I was like Billy the Kid pew pewing them with my vinegar solution spray bottle 8-)
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Derek27
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An appeal to all the older gardeners (not to be confused with uphill gardeners. ;) )

I've got a 1970's book that keeps talking about plants being checked, things you shouldn't do because it may result in your plants being checked!

Does anyone know WTF they're talking about? Even Google doesn't know. :lol:
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ShaunWhite
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Derek27 wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 8:49 pm
An appeal to all the older gardeners (not to be confused with uphill gardeners. ;) )

I've got a 1970's book that keeps talking about plants being checked, things you shouldn't do because it may result in your plants being checked!

Does anyone know WTF they're talking about? Even Google doesn't know. :lol:
Halted in their progress, given a tug on the reigns when they're cruising. Well that's the context I've heard it used in anyway. Happens if you move things from a greenhouse to outside without hardening off, stuff like that. Unless they're talking about a snake's head fritillary 😊
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Derek27
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ShaunWhite wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 10:45 pm
Derek27 wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 8:49 pm
An appeal to all the older gardeners (not to be confused with uphill gardeners. ;) )

I've got a 1970's book that keeps talking about plants being checked, things you shouldn't do because it may result in your plants being checked!

Does anyone know WTF they're talking about? Even Google doesn't know. :lol:
Halted in their progress, given a tug on the reigns when they're cruising. Well that's the context I've heard it used in anyway. Happens if you move things from a greenhouse to outside without hardening off, stuff like that. Unless they're talking about a snake's head fritillary 😊PON054-1.jpg
Cheers Shaun. That explains why one of my tomato plants stopped growing, I thought it was warm enough. Two of them died because I forgot to water them so I just hope the one I planted out is okay. It's my last one!
SteadySlobbin
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Had a worst week than Bitcoin at Ascot this week, though on a brighter note, did get my first tomato.

For anybody who may be interested, it was a “House Dwarf Cherry Tomato”. A heirloom variety which originated from Russia. They are small dwarf plants and are grown indoors.

I sowed mine on 9th March, and ate it on the 16th June. So that was 99 days from seed to plate. It was very nice too. If you have a sunny kitchen windowsill, then I recommend growing this tomato. If you have enough room, I would suggest growing two or three.
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Derek27
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SteadySlobbin wrote:
Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:43 pm
Had a worst week than Bitcoin at Ascot this week, though on a brighter note, did get my first tomato.

For anybody who may be interested, it was a “House Dwarf Cherry Tomato”. A heirloom variety which originated from Russia. They are small dwarf plants and are grown indoors.

I sowed mine on 9th March, and ate it on the 16th June. So that was 99 days from seed to plate. It was very nice too. If you have a sunny kitchen windowsill, then I recommend growing this tomato. If you have enough room, I would suggest growing two or three.
That sounds interesting. How tall do they get or how much space is required?
SteadySlobbin
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Not that much really, Derek. I have been impressed with how small and bushy it has remained, and it looks like it is going to be very productive too.

Mine is in a 3 litre pot, and it’s highest point is around 55-60cm. It has a span of around 30cm and the windowsill a depth of 18cm. If you have a sunny windowsill, I would give them a go. Plus being indoors helps keep them away from rot and pests etc. I think they taste better if you can water them with rain water too.
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Derek27
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ShaunWhite wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 5:26 pm
It's poisonous don't touch it and let the cat lick you.
I've heard there's an Eastern European family not far from me that not only grows it in their front garden, they eat it!! (I wish there was a vomiting emoji).
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Euler
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I'm growing pumpkins this year, amongst other things. But that's a key target for the Autumn. Did it a few years ago and very satisfying.
SteadySlobbin
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I’d like to do some squashes too. Mainly because of how long they keep for. I just need to learn about squashes and potatoes, then I think I could put something on my plate all year round.

The last two years I have suffered heavy losses with my brassicas. I have had a brassica massacre two years on the trot. This year I have created a small netted area, so hopefully I get to eat my broccoli and kale before the army of caterpillars do.

Cucumbers and lettuce are ready. Tomatoes need to ripen, though hopefully should be on their way soon. Onions and shallots not ready yet, though I am pleased with how they are progressing at this stage.

Slugs or snails have ruined my carrots though. My carrot count is going to be well down this year.
SteadySlobbin
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For anybody who may be interested (a.k.a Derek27), I would like to provide an update on the Latah tomato plant.

This plant came with a big reputation for being a good early sort. And I am pleased to report that it has lived up to its hype. The seeds were sown early March(9/3), and I had my first one on my plate on the 5th of July. That’s 118 days from seed to plate, and last year the earliest I had one ripen outdoors was the 10th August, so that’s a full month earlier.

They have a very high fruit to leaf ratio and are weird looking plants. Though produce many fruit, some quite small cherry types, and other slightly bigger and slightly ribbed. They have a superb texture and a fantastic taste.

I don’t feel as if I have done the plants full justice either. I made some mistakes earlier on in their development, and I don’t think I have them in a very good spot. However, despite this, they are now ripening at quite a rapid rate, and with on or two outliers starting to ripen on my other plants, I am now approaching (tomato) self sufficiency( for next few months).

I think if I started them slightly earlier, and gave them better care early on and got them in a better pitch, then I could see them ripening in June. If you like growing tomatoes, but don’t like waiting until August for them to ripen, then I would recommend growing the “Latah” tomato plant.
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Derek27
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Thanks for the update SS. I might go for the indoor cherry tomatoes next year but I'm not fussed about when tomatoes are ready. As far as growing tomatoes go, I'm still trying to lose my cherry, if you excuse the pun.

My chief tomato has reached a diameter of 22mm so I could be just one or two weeks away from my first home-grown tomato. :D
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Derek27
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Don't throw your tomato plants on the compost heap, they may have diseases.!!!

Shouldn't the advice be, don't eat your tomatoes, they may have diseases? :lol:
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Derek27
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I abandoned my jalapeno plant and stopped watering it two weeks ago, because it wasn't growing. Not only is the flipping plant immortal and capable of surviving hot weather without water, it actually grew a couple of inches! Out of frustration, I dug it up today to put an end to its insolence. Then I noticed tiny little flower-like things. I think it was ready to produce jalapenos. :x :x
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Derek27
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Advice concerning growing Coleus plants. They're advertised as houseplants, you can grow them from seed, they start life as cute little puppy seedlings but six months later they grow into flipping monsters. They're not supposed to flower but they do it anyway and scatter tiny petals so it's a dustpan and brush job every day.

They remind me of a Doctor Who episode of some pods that grew into giant plants a hundred feet tall, came alive and started eating people. It was a particularly frightening episode!
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