I've just removed the first suckers from my toms and also noticed that one
or two of them have formed small buds, soon to be flowers.
Am I dreaming or have I read somewhere that the suckers should not be left
in the vicinity of the parent plant? - something to do with disease etc?
Also is now a good time to give them fertilizer and if so what? - I have
growmore, FB&B and miracle-gro....they are still in 9" pots, I'm planting
them directly into the ground next week.


TIA!

--
If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.

"Phil L" wrote in message
. uk...
I've just removed the first suckers from my toms and also noticed that one
or two of them have formed small buds, soon to be flowers.
Am I dreaming or have I read somewhere that the suckers should not be left
in the vicinity of the parent plant? - something to do with disease etc?
Also is now a good time to give them fertilizer and if so what? - I have
growmore, FB&B and miracle-gro....they are still in 9" pots, I'm planting
them directly into the ground next week.


TIA!...........it is not even essential to remove any of the
suckers....the plants might grow a little on the wild side but certainly
will not by themselves cause a desease...H

--
If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.

On Wed, 18 May 2005 14:15:08 GMT, "Phil L"
wrote:

I've just removed the first suckers from my toms and also noticed that one
or two of them have formed small buds, soon to be flowers.
Am I dreaming or have I read somewhere that the suckers should not be left
in the vicinity of the parent plant? - something to do with disease etc?
Also is now a good time to give them fertilizer and if so what? - I have
growmore, FB&B and miracle-gro....they are still in 9" pots, I'm planting
them directly into the ground next week.

It is possible to root side shoots and produce new plants. Because
our season is so short, I sometimes try this trick. Stop one or two
plants as soon as the first flower buds appear. Leave one leaf above
the flower shoot. You will then get a truss of fruit sooner than if
you leave them to make more trusses.
If your side shoots are producing flowers already, then I would guess
that they are bush type anyway and would not, as Harry says, need
pinching out anyway.
What variety are they?

Pam in Bristol

Pam Moore wrote:
:: On Wed, 18 May 2005 14:15:08 GMT, "Phil L"
:: wrote:
::
::: I've just removed the first suckers from my toms and also noticed
::: that one or two of them have formed small buds, soon to be
::: flowers.
::: Am I dreaming or have I read somewhere that the suckers should
::: not be left in the vicinity of the parent plant? - something to
::: do with disease etc? Also is now a good time to give them
::: fertilizer and if so what? - I have growmore, FB&B and
::: miracle-gro....they are still in 9" pots, I'm planting them
::: directly into the ground next week.
::
:: It is possible to root side shoots and produce new plants. Because
:: our season is so short, I sometimes try this trick. Stop one or two
:: plants as soon as the first flower buds appear. Leave one leaf
:: above the flower shoot. You will then get a truss of fruit sooner
:: than if you leave them to make more trusses.
:: If your side shoots are producing flowers already, then I would
:: guess that they are bush type anyway and would not, as Harry says,
:: need pinching out anyway.
:: What variety are they?

Shirly..not bush tomatoes - my OP was a bit misleading, the side shoots
aren't producing flowers, the main plants are, hence my Q's about
fertilizers.

--
If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 18 May 2005 14:15:08 GMT, "Phil L"
wrote:

I've just removed the first suckers from my toms and also noticed that one
or two of them have formed small buds, soon to be flowers.
Am I dreaming or have I read somewhere that the suckers should not be left
in the vicinity of the parent plant? - something to do with disease etc?
Also is now a good time to give them fertilizer and if so what? - I have
growmore, FB&B and miracle-gro....they are still in 9" pots, I'm planting
them directly into the ground next week.

It is possible to root side shoots and produce new plants. Because
our season is so short, I sometimes try this trick. Stop one or two
plants as soon as the first flower buds appear. Leave one leaf above
the flower shoot. You will then get a truss of fruit sooner than if
you leave them to make more trusses.
If your side shoots are producing flowers already, then I would guess
that they are bush type anyway and would not, as Harry says, need
pinching out anyway.
What variety are they?

Pam in Bristol

To pinch or not to pinch is entirely at the discretion of the grower and
this applies to both bush or cordon type tomatoes.....H

"Phil L" wrote in message
. uk...
Pam Moore wrote:
:: On Wed, 18 May 2005 14:15:08 GMT, "Phil L"
:: wrote:
::
::: I've just removed the first suckers from my toms and also noticed
::: that one or two of them have formed small buds, soon to be
::: flowers.
::: Am I dreaming or have I read somewhere that the suckers should
::: not be left in the vicinity of the parent plant? - something to
::: do with disease etc? Also is now a good time to give them
::: fertilizer and if so what? - I have growmore, FB&B and
::: miracle-gro....they are still in 9" pots, I'm planting them
::: directly into the ground next week.
::
:: It is possible to root side shoots and produce new plants. Because
:: our season is so short, I sometimes try this trick. Stop one or two
:: plants as soon as the first flower buds appear. Leave one leaf
:: above the flower shoot. You will then get a truss of fruit sooner
:: than if you leave them to make more trusses.
:: If your side shoots are producing flowers already, then I would
:: guess that they are bush type anyway and would not, as Harry says,
:: need pinching out anyway.
:: What variety are they?

Shirly..not bush tomatoes - my OP was a bit misleading, the side shoots
aren't producing flowers, the main plants are, hence my Q's about
fertilizers.

I would plant them in as much manure as you can.

Steve

On Wed, 18 May 2005 16:37:35 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:

I would plant them in as much manure as you can.

Are you sure? Too much manure will promote leafy growth rather than
fruit. What do others think? Harry, how do you feed yours?
A question on these lines cropped up on GQT a while ago. It was about
growing tomatoes in containers. John Cushnie said to plant them one
plant to a half-barrel and to put manure in the bottom, but not so
that the roots would get to it too soon.
Also, re feeding, they said you should keep them quite dry before
planting out, so they don't get too sappy, and for the same reason not
to feed until the first truss was setting. Then give a high potash
feed, "tomato" feed.

Pam in Bristol

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 18 May 2005 16:37:35 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:

I would plant them in as much manure as you can.

Are you sure? Too much manure will promote leafy growth rather than
fruit. What do others think? Harry, how do you feed yours?
A question on these lines cropped up on GQT a while ago. It was about
growing tomatoes in containers. John Cushnie said to plant them one
plant to a half-barrel and to put manure in the bottom, but not so
that the roots would get to it too soon.
Also, re feeding, they said you should keep them quite dry before
planting out, so they don't get too sappy, and for the same reason not
to feed until the first truss was setting. Then give a high potash
feed, "tomato" feed.

Pam in Bristol

I plant them in a mixture of seaweed, compost, soil and slow release
fertilizer that has a whole bunch of trace elements and then periodically
water them with a tomato fertilizer(with trace elelments) just for
luck....then mulch them with a layer of seaweed......I have grown them in
pure rotted cow manure without any other adders with excellent results....I
like to play around with them.....may have said this before and if so my
apologies...tomatoes can be grown in bales of straw without any soil, same
for sawdust, same for pure peat moss....just feed 'em well and they will do
well....H

On Wed, 18 May 2005 17:19:44 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

In the UK's relatively short cool damp summers, it's usually better
to pinch out tomato sideshoots and limit the number of fruit trusses,
so they get maximum sun and air circulation. Leaving them wilting below
the plant is an invitation to mould and fungal spores.

When I went to Canada 2 years ago and was away for a month my tomato
plants on allotment were left to their own devices. They all grew
bushy and meshed toghether, with not as many fruit, I'm sure, as there
would have been if I'd pinched them and tied them in.
Then, before many had ripened, they got blight and I had to scrap the
lot. That was the 4th year in succession. They'd still have got
blight tho', whether I'd pinched them or not, ut fungal diseases, yes,
would be more likely certainly.

Pam in Bristol

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Harold Walker" contains these words:

To pinch or not to pinch is entirely at the discretion of the grower and
this applies to both bush or cordon type tomatoes.....H

In the UK's relatively short cool damp summers, it's usually better
to pinch out tomato sideshoots and limit the number of fruit trusses,
so they get maximum sun and air circulation. Leaving them wilting below
the plant is an invitation to mould and fungal spores.

Janet.

That I recognise Janet...used to grow 'em up in Yorkshire...when it comes to
growing the likes of tomatoes and corn etc. we have a super climate but from
an all round climate I would rather have yours and the likes of spring
cabbage which is an impossibility over here....H

In article , Phil L
writes
I've just removed the first suckers from my toms and also noticed that one
or two of them have formed small buds, soon to be flowers.
Am I dreaming or have I read somewhere that the suckers should not be left
in the vicinity of the parent plant? - something to do with disease etc?
Also is now a good time to give them fertilizer and if so what? - I have
growmore, FB&B and miracle-gro....they are still in 9" pots, I'm planting
them directly into the ground next week.

If by 'suckers' you mean side shoots, they should be removed from the
plants as soon as they are seen in order to improve the quality of the
main crop from the plant. They can be used to propagate new plants if
you need more growing. Do NOT feed tomato plants until the first truss
has formed, and only then if you think the soil they are growing in is
nutrient deficient and unable to support cropping plants.

--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

In article ,
(Pam Moore) wrote:

John Cushnie said ... Then give a high potash
feed, "tomato" feed.

Cushnie suggesting potash ????? Are you sure :-))))

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

.. Do NOT feed tomato plants until the first truss
has formed, and only then if you think the soil they are growing in is
nutrient deficient and unable to support cropping plants.

--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

I get superb results and feed them from day one...H

On Wed, 18 May 2005 20:12 +0100 (BST), (Steve
Harris) wrote:

Cushnie suggesting potash ????? Are you sure :-))))

No Cushnie said manure, the others disagreed and said potash! :-))))
Well they would, wouldn't they!

Pam in Bristol

Phil L wrote:

Cheers for all the replies, I assume I must have dreamt about the discarded
suckers causing disease.

I've got a few cwt of realoly black, well rotted hore manure which will go
around and under them when I get back....I'm going away for a long weekend,
thanks for the tip about keeping them a bit drier too prior to
transplanting, I've just watered everything apart from them...hoping
everything's not dead by Monday...also, I'll have to arrange some
ventilation, the 'new' GH has very little, being built from 8X4 polycarb
sheets.


--
If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.