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!

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

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.

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

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

"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

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

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

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.

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?

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. ;-)

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

???? ? ????-?? 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)

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

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