Oh dear tim, I'm in charge of buying the seeds, and picking the fruit. OH is in charge of the bit in between so I've just had to consult him.
The variety Brandywine is the main one that he leaves the side shoots on, basically because the leader 'stops', and you only have side shoots. From the American sites he has visited he says they grow them in cages, and they are like a bush rather than the cordon varieties we grow. Since he's been following this method we have had good crops of Brandywine, which is a variety we rather like. Another variety he does this with is Supersteak, which we get from T&M. The variety I recommended - Mountain Pride - he would take out the side shoots.
1. Of the plants we grow, not many are these varieties, so it doesn't get too crowded.
2. OH says he ties them in.
3. As I said in the top bit, they are more a bush variety than a truss variety, so give or take a bit they ripen more or less together.
4. OH is in charge of feed, but he says yes.
No you're not wrong, they are indoors. They are grown in large pots in a 50/50 mixture of home made compost and bought multipurpose, which are placed on the greenhouse border.
What I can say is that we have had a very good year this year, and that'll teach me to try to sound more knowledgable than I am!!
valmarg
