Topic: Tomato and potatoe help please

[princess]

Hi this is my first attempt at growing potatoes and tomatos. I got some canes for my tomatos and i have tied them to the canes and at first they were ok, but not the tomato plants which are in grow bags keep falling over, is this because the  canes are not long enough.

One lot of my potatoe plants are flowering and they are in a plastic tub, i just tried digging down with a trowel to see if there is any potatoes but can't feel anything, how long do they usually take to grow.

Also something has been eating the leaves on the potatoe plants, i did find a snail in their, is it the snail that is eating the leaves, how do i stop this from happening.

[Flighty]

Hello Princess and welcome to A4A.

The canes need to be longer than the plants. This RHS guide may be of help
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0600/tomatoes.asp
if not google growing tomatoes and you'll find there's lot of helpful sites.

You don't say what variety of potatoes they are  but leave them to flower and for the foliage to start dying back then have a look. They should have been planted at least 12 weeks ago.  I don't know what's eating the leaves, don't worry about it  but do remove any snails.

It's all rather daunting when you first start growing vegetables but rest assured even longtime, experienced gardeners have failures.

I'm sorry I can't be more helpful! Do bear in mind that the more specific information you can provide the more likely it is that someone here will be able to help.

[tim]

Toms - not clear - are the Toms falling over or the canes? Are the canes stuck into the ground or tied to a support or neither?

Potatoes - as said, it would help to know what variety.

[twave]

Tomato plants won't stand up if the cane is just stuck in the grow bag as the compost isn't deep enough. We normally stick the cane in the growbag and tie this to another cane that is attached horizontally to the greenhouse.

This year we emptied the growbags into large pots and the plants are growing much better and are easier to water.

[princess]

Thankyou very much for your help, it is the tomato plant that is falling over, the canes are stuck in to the compost in the grow bags.  i will get some bigger canes. Would it be ok to replant the tomatos in to pots or is that a bad idea now. Also there is three tomato plants in each grow bag, will three fit in to a pot.

Im not sure what type the potatoes are as they were given to me but i will try and find out.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

you can buy metal stands that are designed to hold the canes upright in growbags. They also work wit standalone pots. They are quite expensive though

eg
http://www.gardendirect.co.uk/grow-bag-cane-support-frame-p-2855

[princess]

Thankyou for your help rhubarb.

[manicscousers]

Hiya, princess, welcome to a4a  ;D
the potatoes might need some watering in this weather, help them to swell

[tim]

Stil confudes. Are the Toms falling over because they are taller than the canes?

OK - taller canes &, as twave says, tie them to cross members of some sort. Ours are tied to ropes or wire. The side ones in this pic from last year.

[princess]

Thankyou  manic and tim for your help. I have been watering the potatos, tomtoes, chilli and pepper plants that iam growing everyday. I will get some bigger canes, and i have string, im a bit confused as to what you support the canes with besides the frame cane.

[princess]

We are going on holiday soon for five days, we have no one that we can get to water the plants, how can we make sure that the plants don't die while we are away.

[tim]

Sorry - these are indoors, or out??

[twave]

We've used a drip watering system attached to a water butt before which worked well, but you need to have a very large water butt to last any length of time and they are dead fiddly to set up.

You could try filling up  fizzy drinks bottles with water and sticking them upside down in the compost. We're lucky enough to have neighbours that will water the garden while we are away, but I want to minimise how much they have to do so I just tried this out and a 2L bottle has lasted at least 3 days now.

We've also planted our toms in pots which are standing in trays and we fill those up with water. This gives them a good soak. With the current hot weather it evaporates fairly quickly though. I wouldn't recommend this if you're using growbags as the roots would end up sitting in water.

The other option might be to attach a drip water system to your outside tap via a timer.

Hope you manage to sort something out!

[dgillings]

Wow Tim - wonderful greenhouse that you have got there!! That would cover half of my plot! :)

I too use the 2l bottle method, works a treat when we are away for the weekend of similar. I leave the lid attached to the bottle and make 3-5 small holes in the lid with a hot skewer.. Works a treat :)