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Post by balc2 on Jul 1, 2023 20:46:42 GMT
The idea behind removing leaves (or shortening some of the leaf-branches) is to permit a better circulation of air around the plants thus avoiding illnesses; another reason is that if you remove the lowest leaf-branches up to the truss that is ripening you hasten the ripening & also reduce the plants watering needs. I believe the only leaf-branches actually feeding the fruits are the one directly above & directly below the truss that is ripening. Of course this is for cordons (one long, continuous stem with no side shoots), while the bush toms are allowed to get on with growing in their own fashion as they don't need much attention. You can also remove leaves at the back of the plants that don't really get sunlight as these are not really contributing to the growth of more fruit & are only taking up water & nutrients that the plant could better use to make fruits.
Another thing is to keep the leaves as dry as possible as blight spores need a film of water on the leaves to germinate & spread until they kill all your plants in the space of one week. As my tomato plants are inside the balcony they never get wet & I also take care never to splash water on the leaves when watering.
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Post by Eli on Jul 2, 2023 8:24:09 GMT
Thank you balc2 that was useful information.
Here are some photos of the trusses on my Rapunzel Tomato plant - small cherry tomatoes  They look a bit thin but it's only me here now so I don't need many.
 
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Post by balc2 on Jul 2, 2023 19:55:33 GMT
Eli , it's good to see you have had some success with your toms! Nice to see a picture of them growing like that! Though I haven't taken a picture yet of the fruit, the self-sown tomato does have a couple or 3 tiny fruits on the first truss! The 2nd truss has begun to flower though it will be days before any fruit becomes visible. My son brought me round the 3 growbags on Saturday evening I asked him to buy me. So tomorrow I will put all my toms in them then sit back & watch them grow!  
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Post by balc2 on Jul 2, 2023 20:05:29 GMT
Although most of my plantings in compost this year has been in peat reduced compost or peat free compost this will actually be the first time I've grow tomatoes in a peat free compost! Once the plants are in their bags I will take & upload a photo. The heat of the last couple of weeks of June did wonders for my toms sown in March this year. They were (& still are) way behind the self-sown seedling that germinated on the balcony & has lived on the balcony ever since.
This is the first photo I took of it when I first spied it!
This is what it looks like now!
Tomato (self-sown) with first fruits 29th June 2023
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Post by Eli on Jul 3, 2023 7:11:31 GMT
I hope your tomatoes do well in the peat free compost balc2
Nice to see flowers and developing fruit on the self sown one
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Post by balc2 on Jul 4, 2023 19:31:19 GMT
Thanks, Eli. Here is what I promised the other day, the toms put in bags on the balcony;
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Post by balc2 on Jul 4, 2023 19:46:08 GMT
BTW, the self-sown one is obviously the tallest one, near the edge of the table. As I was planting out the last four plants in the bag nearest to the balcony door (on the right) I accidentally snapped one plant off almost at soil level!  Nevertheless I planted it in the very last space, alongside the door. The broken off plant I reduced by half & removed the growing tip then planted it as a cutting alongside it rootball! Whether one or the other will grow, both of them or neither of them only time will tell! It is also the very first time in the 22 years I've been growing toms on the balcony that I have done this! It's also the very first time ever I've tried to take a tomato cutting! I'll keep you all informed of their progress - one way or the other! |
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Post by SueA on Jul 8, 2023 12:30:42 GMT
These are my tomatoes in the greenhouse, some grown from seed, some from tiny plug plants, including Tigerella, Gardeners' delight, Green Tiger, Sweet aperitif, Moneymaker, Sungold & probably others I can't remember! 😁 Fruits on them but all still small & green at the moment.   |
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Post by balc2 on Jul 12, 2023 5:30:54 GMT
My toms seem to be growing away very nicely after a couple of weeks in the new peat free growbags. The toms on the selfsown plant are getting bigger though as they are probably 'Gardeners Delight' means they will not get to be very big. But in a few more weeks, when they are bigger we will see!
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Post by balc2 on Jul 14, 2023 5:29:02 GMT
I have started to remove the side shoots on most of the toms I planted in the growbags. It always surprises me just how fast they grow! I also flicked the tomato flowers, to help them set fruit. There seem to be fewer & fewer bees around & little wind inside the balcony. As toms are self fertile flicking the flowers gently helps with pollination.
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Post by balc2 on Jul 14, 2023 20:02:26 GMT
Here is a view of my 'Gardeners Delight' toms growing away very happily in their new home - the growbags!
He's a picture of the first toms growing away nicely. These are on the self-sown plant as none of the others have visible fruit yet.
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Post by Andrew on Jul 16, 2023 11:25:39 GMT
Bought my tomato's from a well known discount supermarket chain this year. One of the plants should have been a yellow cherry, but appears be to growing normal size fruits. Both plants though have relatively little flower, and some of what has flowered has died off. I'll definitely be going back to a garden centre for my plants next year, even if they are a bit more expensive.
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Post by Eli on Jul 19, 2023 7:58:24 GMT
I picked a few from my outdoor cherry tomato this morning. They were a bit tough.
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Post by balc2 on Jul 20, 2023 5:46:34 GMT
Shame to hear that your toms were a bit tough, Eli perhaps they didn't get enough water. It's unusual for toms to be tough. My plants are growing quite well but now that the temps have come down they look to be growing slower. Even so, the self-sown one has fruit on 3 trusses! Nothing ready to pick very soon but at least I'll get a few more toms than last year with the wilt knocking them back constantly! |
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Post by Eli on Jul 20, 2023 7:10:03 GMT
Perhaps 'tough' wasn't the best word to describe the tomatoes balc2, but they seemed a bit more solid than you'd expect.
It's good to know your tomatoes are doing better than last year.
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They look a bit thin but it's only me here now so I don't need many.
