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01-06-2005, 09:22 PM

The message
from (Steve Harris) contains these words:
In article ,
(Jupiter) wrote:

Gardener's Delight for the first time this year. but I've
seen conflicting advice about side shoots. Should they be removed or
should the plant be allowed to bush?

Conventional wisdom is to remove side shots.

I put that down to the gardening faction which always wants the biggest
and best-looking specimens for showing (off). I've tried it both ways,
and as I sold the tomatoes by the pound, I chose the more profitable
option.

Leaving some laterals on when well into the season increased the
eventual yield, and the slightly smaller later tomatoes had a more
concentrated flavour.

I used to have about 24 Alicante, 20 Ailsa Craig and 24 Shirley, most
years, and any excess seedlings planted out, with none of the
side-shoots pinched out.

The outside ones were divine: small, firm and packed with flavour, and
at the end of the season, there were plenty of green ones for chutney.
Mind you, the soil in the greenhouse and any beds was rather, er, rich,
as I had fourteen goats and a few hundred rabbits. Though I had poultry
too, most of them were free-range (on another site) and what chicken
shmanure I did collect went on the compost.

I had some excellent rhubarb, too.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
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