Author Topic: Funny old Season  (Read 1608 times)

Tee Gee

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Funny old Season
« on: September 25, 2018, 14:51:55 »
Earlier in the year I mentioned that something strange was going on with my Tomato plants.

As I said then I thought the lower leaves were further apart than normal meaning I thought that there would be less trusses and this turned out to be the case and the quality & quantity of the fruit left a bit to be desired.

But now another strange thing has happened the plants are now behaving like young plants but this time at a higher level.

To explain the leaves are appearing at what I would call a normal distance apart as are the trusses and the fruit is like they would be on a normal season but at the top of the plant.

In fact the trusses are so heavy (two top heavy plants collapsed yesterday) meaning I am having to apply extra support at these higher levels something I have never had to do before simply because normally  the top trusses are are usually much lighter.

I have tried to figure out what is happening and all I can think of this past month or so the weather has been a bit like "Typical British Weather of Old" with Sunshine and Showers and the Tomato plants are thinking that " all is back to normal" so they are acting accordingly!

Anyone else  being affected in this way?


Duke Ellington

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Re: Funny old Season
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2018, 21:32:41 »
All of my greenhouse tomato plants have produced a so called side shoot but from the end of a truss of tomatoes. I’ve never had this happen before🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Duke
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galina

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Re: Funny old Season
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2018, 08:24:03 »
I had something similar with beans.  Climbing French have produced their first flowers high up on the plants, on 8ft support sticks.  Hardly any lower down.  Then as soon as the rains started, they developed all their flower trusses quite close together, now very top heavy.  Many grew down the poles again and most of the beans are on the stems dangling down.  A nightmare to support these.  Overall there are fewer beans this year and much later too than normal.  Early varieties never had the boost when the rain started and literally dried up and finished early.  All this despite watering. 

Some of them have now been killed by the frosts, that is also extremely early.

But I am not complaining about the wonderful outdoor grapes this year!   And the outdoor tomatoes have outdone the greenhouse ones too    :sunny:

Digeroo

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Re: Funny old Season
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2018, 12:25:06 »
I also have very good grapes, very tasty.  But not very big, though I did water them.

Obelixx

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Re: Funny old Season
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2018, 14:23:56 »
This is all way over my head.  In our Belgian garden we never had good toms - too cold, too wet, too hot, too dry, too many potato fields causing blight....
Never got to the point of counting leaves or spaces between them.  Never had crops to shout about.

This new garden is obviously much warmer and sunnier but also drier.  We have grown far too many outdoor plants and planted them too close but have had great crops and they're still coming.  I've spent hours making passata and drying cherry toms and we've had gallons of gazpacho as well as tomato tarts and salads.    OH has just done another tidy of our plants to encourage the remaining toms to ripen and the ones in the PT are still going strong.   We've had practically no rain since mid June so we did get some blossom end rot and also split skins but that hasn't affected flavour.    I've watered the beds every 3 or 4 days in rotation with the potatoes and squashes and one or two flower beds.

Next year, I'll buy fewer plants and fewer varieties and plant them further apart.  Great flavour from the red, orange and yellow beef tomatoes, Ananas, Yellow pear, San Marzano, Green Zebra and another smaller red.  Not at all impressed with any of the black ones which is disappointing as they looked so good.
Obxx - Vendée France

Tee Gee

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Re: Funny old Season
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2018, 18:29:55 »
Quote
Not at all impressed with any of the black ones which is disappointing as they looked so good.

This was my view too when I tried them last year!

Obelixx

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Re: Funny old Season
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2018, 18:52:43 »
Thanks.  Reassuring that it's not just us and the relative lack of tomato growing experience.

After OH's tidying up this morning I now have 8 litres of assorted yellow toms turning into passata, 2 trays of red cheery types drying in the oven and 3 kilos of green toms salted with a kilo of chopped onions prior to draining the brine and making green tomato relish tomorrow.
Obxx - Vendée France

Borderers1951

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Re: Funny old Season
« Reply #7 on: September 30, 2018, 10:18:45 »
I had the opposite experience.  Eight tomato plants grown outdoors (Super Marmande) gave me over 120lbs.  I stopped weighing at that point and probably got another 20 to 30 Lbs.  Despite six voracious grandchildren I still have a glut.  They're now processed (the toms, not the grandchildren, although one of them is Called Tom) into juices, soup bases, chutneys or just chopped and frozen.  All round it's been one of the best years I have ever had and there are sprouts, Kale and some other brassicas still to come.

 

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