Topic: Long post lots of Q's sorry

[mummybunny]

Hi all,

Me again  ;D Just finished the housework so want to get on with sorting out my sunroom now as its jammed! I have lots of Q's as i have read so many books and looked on line but am so confussed as the info i have found seems to contradict eachother. So it thought if i asked on A4A at least i can ask if i don't understand  ;D which will probably be the case.

I'm in Bristol and the top of the garden is sheltered might help with answering some of my Q's

1) I transferred my tom's (moneymaker) i believe OH threw the packaging out so cant check!!! into 10" pots some are 3ft tall now and are in need of supporting so going to cane and tie every 12" as they grow does this sound right? I have 20 of them so can i put them out in the garden yet? Taking up quite alot of room. Also i have read about piching out side shoots but cant decide what this means can someone explain in simple terms please  :-[

2) I have 20 California peppers and 17 Cayenne plants in 4" pots that are now 12" tall looking good but roots can be seen at the bottom of the pots so do i transfer into larger pots now? Also can they go outside?

3) My cucumber plants are now 3-4" and have 4 leaves how long can they be kept in 2 inch pots? 1 per pot. I have read that these too can be grown in large pots on the patio how does this work as i have read they need support?

Hoping someone can help me answer these Q's today to be honest I'm giving myself a  headache researching it all. I'm away on the 17th till the 3rd so want to get it sorted asap.

Thanks Lucy

[Sparkly]

I am no expert...

A good tip I was given was to use bits of cut up tights to tie your toms to the supports as the stem gets thicker as it grows and you don't want to strangle the plant later on. Pinching out side shoots means pinch off the small shoots that appear at the junction of the branches that come off the main stem. There is a pic http://completegarden.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/tomato-chelsea-mini-picking-off-side-shoot.jpg. This is so you can have limited number of branches and sets of fruits. This means you should have enough energy to allow the fruits to ripen. If not, you risk having loads of fruit that doesn't ripen before the frosts set in.

You could put them outside, but that is a risk. Last year I put toms outside on the plot at this time and we are in Manchester. They survived and produced alot of fruit. If frosts are predicted you can cover with fleece. You could loose them all though...

Whatever you decide to do it is a good idea to harden them off first before leaving them outside (put them outside for a few hours then increasing time each day over a couple of weeks)

I am sure that someone more experienced will give you more tips :)

[saddad]

Going out, toms possibly, peppers shouldn't yet, cucmbers not til you're back.
Side shoots on toms... look where leaf joins main stem, small stem emerges at the joint nip it out... Tee Gee's site will have good pics of it I'm sure...  :)

[northener]

Yeah all sounds ok its a bit of a gamble putting them out if a frost comes you would have to cover up or take them back indoors. Watch countryfile weather sunday they usually warn you if a frost is expected. Sideshoots need to be took off or you end up with a messy bush instead of a tall plant, have a look at Tee Gees  site some good photos telling you how. Peppers are better in a greenhouse but if we get the predicted summer they might do ok. Same with Cucs grow better in a g/house but some are for growing outside, like Marketmore. What sort are they?

[mummybunny]

Hi well i know what pinching out means now  ;D Thanks. Will leave the cuccumber till i get back. They are marketmore does 10" pots sound big enough? and is it one plant per pot?

I wont put the peppers and chillies out yet then but do i need to transfer into bigger pots now?

Thanks for your advice  ;D

Lucy

[mummybunny]

Oh i have some side shoots on my tumbling toms do i pinch them out too?

[saddad]

No leave the tumblers alone... some toms are "bush" they naturally stop growing up so pinching out just limits the plant/fruit capacity. 10" sounds fine for the Cucs to me, the Peppers will appreciate being given a potting on..  :)

[mummybunny]

Great thanks so shall i just pot all onto 10" pots then might as well do it all in one go!

[Tee Gee]

OK you have decided to pot up into 10" pots this is what I would have recommended.

Regarding planting out I think you area tad early.

In your area I would have said week 19/20 which this year starts the 12th May see this map http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Frost%20Zones/F%20Zones.jpg

If you do decide to go ahead and put outdoors have a sheet of fleece at the ready and watch the forecasts. If frost is forecast get it over them double quick.

I think I would place them all together for now and rig up a framework of canes around them ( a bit like a fruit cage) then if frost is forecast it will be a relatively simple matter to throw the fleece over them.

Best of luck!!

[sarah]

i agree with whats been said so far but can i add that if you do decide to put your toms out (or anything else) then you should harden them off well first by putting them out in the day and bringing them in at night for a short while.  :)

[mummybunny]

Thanks for all the advice just one more question could i harden them off by putting them out then fleeceing really well everynight?

[mummybunny]

or maybe bubblewrap i have a huge roll that i aquired from somewhere!

[saddad]

yes...  :)

[mummybunny]

woohoo lol  :D