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Tomatoes still flowering
I still have 2 greenhouses full of ripening tomatoes, but the
plants all seem to be busy flowering again. Not just one or two varieties, but all 10 or so varieties are at it! Is it just the odd late summer we've been having confusing the poor things? And is it worth letting them flower, or should I be snipping them back to encourage the green fruit to ripen on the vine? I don't remember having such vigorous growth at this time of year before! |
Tomatoes still flowering
On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:50:43 +0000, vicky wrote:
I still have 2 greenhouses full of ripening tomatoes, but the plants all seem to be busy flowering again. Not just one or two varieties, but all 10 or so varieties are at it! Is it just the odd late summer we've been having confusing the poor things? And is it worth letting them flower, or should I be snipping them back to encourage the green fruit to ripen on the vine? I don't remember having such vigorous growth at this time of year before! yes no yes neither do I |
Tomatoes still flowering
Derek Turner wrote:
yes no yes neither do I Well, that was a very succinct reply. :-) Perhaps I should post with check boxes next time ... Still collecting 2-3lb tomatoes a day, which isn't bad for mid October, I must say. |
Tomatoes still flowering
wrote in message ... I still have 2 greenhouses full of ripening tomatoes, but the plants all seem to be busy flowering again. Not just one or two varieties, but all 10 or so varieties are at it! Is it just the odd late summer we've been having confusing the poor things? And is it worth letting them flower, or should I be snipping them back to encourage the green fruit to ripen on the vine? I don't remember having such vigorous growth at this time of year before! A couple of *very* wayward plants that sprouted alongside our dustbin have produced great looking toms that have 12-16 fruits on the vine with the largest being at the end closest to the plant, tapering to smaller ones at the tips of the "arms". They look perfect and deep green. Just hoping they will ripen properly |
Tomatoes still flowering
On 17 Oct, 08:42, "R" wrote:
wrote in message ... I still have 2 greenhouses full of ripening tomatoes, but the plants all seem to be busy flowering again. *Not just one or two varieties, but all 10 or so varieties are at it! Is it just the odd late summer we've been having confusing the poor things? *And is it worth letting them flower, or should I be snipping them back to encourage the green fruit to ripen on the vine? I don't remember having such vigorous growth at this time of year before! A couple of *very* wayward plants that sprouted alongside our dustbin have produced great looking toms that have 12-16 fruits on the vine with the largest being at the end closest to the plant, tapering to smaller ones at the tips of the "arms". They look perfect and deep green. Just hoping they will ripen properly Tomatoes are perenials, commercialy they are often croped for 11 months. The old advice foe the home gardener is to cut off the stems above the top truss of green tomatoes i Sept. to direct the energy to the last fruit , but if you make green tomato chutney the why bother. If you heated the greenhouse you are growing them in then you could carry on croping them. david hill |
Tomatoes still flowering
"Dave Hill" wrote in message ... On 17 Oct, 08:42, "R" wrote: wrote in message ... I still have 2 greenhouses full of ripening tomatoes, but the plants all seem to be busy flowering again. Not just one or two varieties, but all 10 or so varieties are at it! Is it just the odd late summer we've been having confusing the poor things? And is it worth letting them flower, or should I be snipping them back to encourage the green fruit to ripen on the vine? I don't remember having such vigorous growth at this time of year before! A couple of *very* wayward plants that sprouted alongside our dustbin have produced great looking toms that have 12-16 fruits on the vine with the largest being at the end closest to the plant, tapering to smaller ones at the tips of the "arms". They look perfect and deep green. Just hoping they will ripen properly Tomatoes are perenials, commercialy they are often croped for 11 months. The old advice foe the home gardener is to cut off the stems above the top truss of green tomatoes i Sept. to direct the energy to the last fruit , but if you make green tomato chutney the why bother. indeed. I have an unheated polytunnel and got ripe tomatos until late autumn. I just let them keep on going about their business as late as possible. The ones that were green I gave to a workmate who made green tomato chutney and passed some back my way. A win all round. Why not try forcing a few to fruit and the rest to continue flowering and observe the differences. rob |
Tomatoes still flowering
On 16 Oct 2009 22:50:43 GMT, wrote:
I still have 2 greenhouses full of ripening tomatoes, but the plants all seem to be busy flowering again. Not just one or two varieties, but all 10 or so varieties are at it! Is it just the odd late summer we've been having confusing the poor things? And is it worth letting them flower, or should I be snipping them back to encourage the green fruit to ripen on the vine? I don't remember having such vigorous growth at this time of year before! Indeed. And as I haven't watered them either the fact they've got about 15 new tomatoes on is pretty impressive. So are they good for chutney? -- http://www.halloweenfreebies.co.uk http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk |
Tomatoes still flowering
wrote in message ... I still have 2 greenhouses full of ripening tomatoes, but the plants all seem to be busy flowering again. Not just one or two varieties, but all 10 or so varieties are at it! Is it just the odd late summer we've been having confusing the poor things? And is it worth letting them flower, or should I be snipping them back to encourage the green fruit to ripen on the vine? I don't remember having such vigorous growth at this time of year before! My outdoor tomatoes are still going strong and I keep having to hack them back to prevent them taking over their little plot. They are still flowering - I stopped the main stems but they keep growing new flowering side shoots. The tomatoes are ripening more slowly but they are still ripening. I don't remember anything like this in the last few years (but then I have been in Berkshire for four years) however in the early 2000s I do remember going overboard with a large number of pots on the patio and still getting tomatoes until the first frost sometime in late November. The trick is to take all the remaining fruit indoors JUST BEFORE the first frost :-) [Which I didn't] As stated elsewhere they do seem to keep on going as long as they can. I have seen people religiously follow the guidelines about the number of trusses for a plant and seen greenhouses where there are naked tomato vines with no leaves and just the final truss ripening in the middle of a glorious September. It never really made sense to me but then I do try to squeeze 'that little bit more' out of most things. Enjoy the barbeque autumn and get as many tomatoes as you can. Cheers Dave R |
Tomatoes still flowering
Dave Hill wrote:
Tomatoes are perenials, commercialy they are often croped for 11 months. But not in the UK, surely? The old advice foe the home gardener is to cut off the stems above the top truss of green tomatoes i Sept. to direct the energy to the last fruit , but if you make green tomato chutney the why bother. If you heated the greenhouse you are growing them in then you could carry on croping them. I didn't think it was the heat so much as the sunshine that turned them red, so once you got to the shorter days, they would stop ripening. |
Tomatoes still flowering
wrote in message ... Dave Hill wrote: Tomatoes are perenials, commercialy they are often croped for 11 months. But not in the UK, surely? Presumably with artificial heat and light they will crop anywhere, anywhen? |
Tomatoes still flowering
David WE Roberts wrote:
Tomatoes are perenials, commercialy they are often croped for 11 months. But not in the UK, surely? Presumably with artificial heat and light they will crop anywhere, anywhen? Oh, I suppose. I was thinking heating alone, with natural light. I suppose if people can grow cannabis with heat lamps, there's no reason you can't do it for tomatoes too. ;-) |
Tomatoes still flowering
On 17 Oct 2009 12:46:35 GMT, wrote:
The old advice foe the home gardener is to cut off the stems above the top truss of green tomatoes i Sept. to direct the energy to the last fruit , but if you make green tomato chutney the why bother. If you heated the greenhouse you are growing them in then you could carry on croping them. I didn't think it was the heat so much as the sunshine that turned them red, so once you got to the shorter days, they would stop ripening. I think you'll find that heat does the trick rather than sunlight. In Spain for example, they usually grow toms on rows of "tepees" , deliberately so that the trusses dangle down inside the rows and get very little direct sunlight. And, of course, picked toms ripen very well in dark drawers. -- ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°¹ |
Tomatoes still flowering
???? ? ????-?? wrote:
I think you'll find that heat does the trick rather than sunlight. In Spain for example, they usually grow toms on rows of "tepees" , deliberately so that the trusses dangle down inside the rows and get very little direct sunlight. Oh, ok. That'll be my "something new" to learn for today, then. I thought one of the reasons for chopping back the lower/dying leaves as it got later in the year was to allow the light in to ripen the tomatoes. *shrug* And, of course, picked toms ripen very well in dark drawers. True, but that's to do with keeping the appropriate gasses in with the fruit to help speed up ripening. (Helps with a banana in there too - in August when we're trying to ripen for the local gardening club we've left whole bunches of bananas in the greenhouse when they aren't co-operating) |
Tomatoes still flowering
vicky wrote ... Still collecting 2-3lb tomatoes a day, which isn't bad for mid October, I must say. Ours out on the allotment are also growing again and flowering, not for long I fear. Picked 18 lbs of ripe Toms last week and there will be more if they don't get frosted. -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London |
Tomatoes still flowering
On 17 Oct, 16:29, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
vicky wrote ... Still collecting 2-3lb tomatoes a day, which isn't bad for mid October, I must say. Ours out on the allotment are also growing again and flowering, not for long I fear. Picked 18 lbs of ripe Toms last week and there will be more if they don't get frosted. -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London Tomatoes 52 weeks a year in UK, Read this http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ear-round.html David Hill |
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