My tomatoes were getting blight and only a few had ripened. I didn't want to spray them and it was probably too late so i have taken all the tomatoes off the plants and they are now ripening indoors with the help of banana's! Sill I think green tomato chutney is on the cards!

I usually reduce watering, but dont stop altogether. I also only remove leaves gradually, not all at once as this can be a bit of a shock on a plant's system.

"ladya00" wrote in message
...

"'Mike'[_4_ Wrote:
;936120"]We are waiting for the Toms in large pots in the greenhouse to
ripen. All
the leaves have been removed, should we continue watering?




I usually reduce watering, but dont stop altogether. I also only remove
leaves gradually, not all at once as this can be a bit of a shock on a
plant's system.




--
ladya00

Thanks for all the answers folks.

Toms now going a lovely colour :-))

and yes we did continue watering.



--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

"'Mike'" wrote in message ...




Thanks for all the answers folks.

Toms now going a lovely colour :-))

and yes we did continue watering.



With water at the same temp as the roots I trust !
Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

"Pete" wrote in message
...


"'Mike'" wrote in message ...




Thanks for all the answers folks.

Toms now going a lovely colour :-))

and yes we did continue watering.



With water at the same temp as the roots I trust !
Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com


All plants in the greenhouse are watered from a watering can which has stood
in the greenhouse from the last watering session. However, the water comes
from one of the 5 butts lined up across the back of the garage, next to the
greenhouse and the greenhouse door has until very recently been left open.
So even if the can had been emptied and needed to be topped up to finish
watering, the temperature would have been very close.

As you have all been reminded so many times, I am not the gardener, my wife
is and has been gardening in excess of 50 years, quite a bit has rubbed off
onto me and many of the questions and reports are relayed to her :-))


Best wishes

Mike


--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

"'Mike'" wrote in message ...




All plants in the greenhouse are watered from a watering can which has
stood in the greenhouse from the last watering session. However, the water
comes from one of the 5 butts lined up across the back of the garage, next
to the greenhouse and the greenhouse door has until very recently been left
open. So even if the can had been emptied and needed to be topped up to
finish watering, the temperature would have been very close.

As you have all been reminded so many times, I am not the gardener, my wife
is and has been gardening in excess of 50 years, quite a bit has rubbed off
onto me and many of the questions and reports are relayed to her :-))


Best wishes

Mike

Better off with two cans - perhaps. !

Regards
Pete


--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

"Pete" wrote in message
...


"'Mike'" wrote in message ...




All plants in the greenhouse are watered from a watering can which has
stood in the greenhouse from the last watering session. However, the water
comes from one of the 5 butts lined up across the back of the garage, next
to the greenhouse and the greenhouse door has until very recently been
left open. So even if the can had been emptied and needed to be topped up
to finish watering, the temperature would have been very close.

As you have all been reminded so many times, I am not the gardener, my
wife is and has been gardening in excess of 50 years, quite a bit has
rubbed off onto me and many of the questions and reports are relayed to
her :-))


Best wishes

Mike

Better off with two cans - perhaps. !

Regards
Pete



Well yes, there are two cans ;-)

Mike

--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

But one of them is full of beer. :-))

On 17 Sep 2011 14:46:14 GMT, wrote:

Baz wrote:
I am no expert but,
If you mean Photosynthesis, that process has ended because the fruits have
grown, the pollination has ceased because of defoliation and no more
trusses will appear. The little tiny tomatoes and flower should be taken
off, they will serve no purpose now, in fact they should have been nipped
weeks ago.

If my understanding is correct, the tomato ripens to a red colour so that
the birds are attracted to it for food. The birds eat the sugary bits of
the tomato and also some seed.
The bird then flies away to have a poo and places a seed in situ. The seed
grows into a plant when the temperature allows, usually in spring.

By defoliation what you are doing is fooling the tomato plant into thinking
it is autumn and "it's time I started to ripen my fruit into a nice red
colour" to attract the birds in order to disperse the s........and so on.

As I say I am no expert but the above is what I beleive happens.

You could well be right. But I'm puzzled about where the energy to convert
from green to red comes from, given it's not using photosynthesis, and that
is the main (afaik!) source of energy.

I also don't really see why you need to put energy into ripening just yet,
it's not as if the days are getting seriously short yet. By mid October I
may well agree, but for now I'm still happy for, at least my cherries, to
still attempt to turn flowers into fruits.

Tomatoes ripen off the plant and they receive no nutrients whatsoever, so removing the
leaves is no detriment to them and may well be a benefit.

Kath wrote:
Tomatoes ripen off the plant and they receive no nutrients whatsoever, so removing the
leaves is no detriment to them and may well be a benefit.

A very good point. Although half of mine off the plant don't ripen before
going rotten (or more, later in the season). Typically, if they've not
started turning before they come off the plant, they're unlikely to ripen
(IME)

"Granity" wrote in message
...
;937224"]"Pete" wrote in message
...-


"'Mike'" wrote in message
...



-
All plants in the greenhouse are watered from a watering can which has
stood in the greenhouse from the last watering session. However, the
water
comes from one of the 5 butts lined up across the back of the garage,
next
to the greenhouse and the greenhouse door has until very recently been
left open. So even if the can had been emptied and needed to be topped
up
to finish watering, the temperature would have been very close.-
-
As you have all been reminded so many times, I am not the gardener, my
wife is and has been gardening in excess of 50 years, quite a bit has
rubbed off onto me and many of the questions and reports are relayed to

her :-))-

-
Best wishes-
-
Mike-

Better off with two cans - perhaps. !

Regards
Pete

-

Well yes, there are two cans ;-)

Mike

--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

But one of them is full of beer. :-))




Having served in the Senior Service, it would be full of Rum ;-)


--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

On 17/09/2011 15:46, wrote:
wrote:
I am no expert but,
If you mean Photosynthesis, that process has ended because the fruits have
grown, the pollination has ceased because of defoliation and no more
trusses will appear. The little tiny tomatoes and flower should be taken
off, they will serve no purpose now, in fact they should have been nipped
weeks ago.

If my understanding is correct, the tomato ripens to a red colour so that
the birds are attracted to it for food. The birds eat the sugary bits of
the tomato and also some seed.
The bird then flies away to have a poo and places a seed in situ. The seed
grows into a plant when the temperature allows, usually in spring.

By defoliation what you are doing is fooling the tomato plant into thinking
it is autumn and "it's time I started to ripen my fruit into a nice red
colour" to attract the birds in order to disperse the s........and so on.

As I say I am no expert but the above is what I beleive happens.

You could well be right. But I'm puzzled about where the energy to convert
from green to red comes from, given it's not using photosynthesis, and that
is the main (afaik!) source of energy.


Warm, sunny conditions certainly help with ripening, (and removing
leaves exposes the fruit to the sun), but the significant medium which
turns green fruits to red (or its final ripened colouration in the case
of other fruits) is ethylene, usually considered to be a gas but also
investigated as a possible gene.

A ripening fruit gives off ethylene gas, which not only encourages
further ripening in that fruit but also sets off ripening in nearby
fruit and from there to further fruit. This is why, when one apple on a
tree (or tomato on a truss) starts to turn colour, the remainder of of
fruit local to it also gradually turn to their ripe colour.

Incidentally, as with herbs, warm sunny conditions help to concentrate
essential oils, so more sun exposure leads to more/better flavour.
Also, the sooner the fruit ripens, the less tough its skin is likely to be.


I also don't really see why you need to put energy into ripening just yet,
it's not as if the days are getting seriously short yet. By mid October I
may well agree, but for now I'm still happy for, at least my cherries, to
still attempt to turn flowers into fruits.



--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay