Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Mrs Ava on July 29, 2004, 12:43:25
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(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0PQAFAxESxSg1SxY0BwttahtJkm!WFYhFy1TRKiXOkJxaipPUvoGaWqbXNFPesEQWRZmL2zr5x!ruwTpq6FRRO2uk21Kb8u1j/plums.jpg?dc=4675482596158210203)
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Look exactly the same as mine EJ! Though we are being promised sunshine for the weekend, so maybe..........................
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Mine are just turning -although we've had a few here and there. The plants with the biggest trusses are only just starting to think about going.
-and Mrs D, went and bought some more from the shop, not a patch on mine, you paid HOW MUCH, no patience some people, yadda, yadda, yadda...........
Jeremy
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Mind don't even look like they are thinking about it! I have cherries, yellow ones, beefsteak ones, plum ones and normal tomato ones :D but they are all the same shade of lime green! My greenhouse door is open day and night....maybe I should start closing it during the night to help the process along a bit. I fear I shall be making gallons of green tom chutney!
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EJ & DP my tomatoes are like yours, green without the slightest hint of red. Was looking at them yesterday wondering the same thing, will they ever turn red? If Jeremy's are starting to turn them ours can't be too far off, just a bit more blue sky and warm weather needed.
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have faith EJ , mine are just starting to go now (the greenhouse ones that is). I've had 2 this week and there are several more just turning - about time. I live in sunny Witham, not far from you (Chelmsford - yes??)
They're like buses - they'll all be here togather!!
Terri :) :) ::)
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I am thinking the same :'(
My poor beautiful supersteaks they are sooo big but sooo green!
(http://img53.exs.cx/img53/6969/DSC02403.jpg)
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have faith EJ , mine are just starting to go now (the greenhouse ones that is). I've had 2 this week and there are several more just turning - about time. I live in sunny Witham, not far from you (Chelmsford - yes??)
They're like buses - they'll all be here togather!!
Terri :) :) ::)
quite an enclave - I'm in Heybridge...
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EJ another 4 weeks or so you will be wondering what to do with all the red ones... ;)
My greenhouse ones still green as grass but have picked some of the outdoor ones,,Crazy aint it ?...Jim
ps.Hope we aint got to resort to hanging bananas up every where to ripen them. :D
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What variety Emma? Looks like my Debaro.
And no one has yet said when things were planted. So how can they be 'late'?
And beefs - how can you grow a thing that size & hope for it to ripen at the same time?? Really!! = Tim
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Varieties....let me see if I can remember....Bosnie, Xmas Grapes, Super Marmande, Golden Queen, Hungarian Giant, Black Plum, Nepal....sure there are a couple of others, but can't recall as some are blighted and on my sad allotment. Sown 1st February in my conservatory, then out into the greenhouse May time, can't remember when exactly. I am not expecting the whoppers to be ready until last, but my cherry ones, which are sooo dinky, I thought I might be enjoying them by now.
p.s. Essex Rules! ;D
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This is indeed a weird season-The `Santa` are ripe as are a trial baby plum-but otherwise!!.
And yet yesterday I picked a fully grown aubergine (Bonica) from a plant growing outside ???
Stephan
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And I have had 2 fully ripe yellow peppers sown & transplanted after the (mainly) still green tomatoes - Ailsa Craig & GD.
Weird!!! ??? ??? ::)
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Have had about 25 red toms to date. Some from outside plants that were 'spares' and consequently neglected! I feel that the next wave are getting ready and then it will be 'tomatoes-with-everything'. Lovely.
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Ours are all pure green yet too, except for the small Sungold which are starting to ripen now. Greenhouse and outdoors in pots all the same but it's early for us yet - as usual I keep making new sowings of lettuce with the aim of getting them ready at the same time for salads!
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My concern is that, when things ripen early & the plants are not full-grown, they are trying to set seed before dying!
Amazing to get so much outside when so many of us are impatient of our indoor stuff. = Tim
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I'm due for my second cherry tomato tonight - I think it should be ripe now anyway. Trouble is, they are supposed to be yellow (Xmas grapes - what colour are yours EJ?)
Some of the yellow plums are definitely yellow and looking almost ripe (I'm finding it hard to tell, but they don't quite look ripe yet!) But they are not plum shaped!
The black plums are actually plum shaped, and are a much darker orange than the red plums, so I'm hoping they will be darker red. Can't wait!
The red plums are still very green, but there are a lot of fruits on the plants.
The Berner Rosen are going lighter green, so I'm hoping they'll ripen soon (two fruits each on two plants, none on the other two).
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Can 'the John over there' help on this ripening business??
Doors, Emma? Question of good ventilation against even warmth.
Last night was the first to reach the 60F mark.
Feeding? Your normal routine?
I thought East Anglia was ahead usually - but Stephan's suffering too. SO?? = Tim
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Can tell you what colour all of my toms are Aqui. GREEN! Pah and double pah. Hey ho, when you lot are sick to death of toms with everything, we will just be starting. I am jealous of your black plum toms aqui as I had all of those at the allotment, and they were smothered in fruit, and they all got the dreaded blight and the lot have now gone. :'( :'(
I can't now close my greenhouse door thanks to a couple of the tom plants making a bid for freedom, but it is in full sun all day, the only place in my garden that receives full sun from dawn til dusk. They are fed regularly and watered regularly and the plants look so healthy, and I mean absolutely brimming with health and sheen! Am I loving them too much, should I stop singing to them? I shall start being rough with them. Treat them mean and keep them keen! ;D
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Try Green Zebra or Evergreen next year, Emma? Lovely flavour!! = Tim
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May I bring this up again WITHOUT the usual calls of UNFAIR??
Ina & others have got away with it.
REASON? - to try to figure out why so many people are 'late' with fruiting. Example - Emma sowed her toms 1 Feb & set them out in May. And she's still singing to them. We sowed ours 30 March & set them out 6 May. She has full sun. Our greenhouse is in partial shade until 11 o'clock. We don't 'pollinate'. A while ago, we remarked that Santa is always early, but now that all varieties are coming in, that excuse has gone. So WHY??
In the picture, there are Santa (smallest), Rudolph (next up), Rose de Berne (on right), John Hawkins (the beefs), Red Debaro (very patchy ripening, as last year). Note the 'catfacing' on the JH & RdeB due to poor early pollination.
I humbly apologise if it gets anyone mad, but I'm sure there's mileage in the query? John?? = Tim
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Oh, it doesn't make me angry Tim, it pleases me to see your glorious pics and the lovely vibrant colours. Never heard the expression 'catfacing' before - I guess that is where the toms have split? It is just a shame that I am still paying supermarkets for the pleasure of toms, when I have so many to come. Our local farm shop doesn't have any either at the mo, but I think that is more a case of me being late there :-\. I have now emptied everything excess from the greenhouse, cleaned the glass, cut away at least half of all the foliage, watered and fed them all, and hung a banana up in there. Fingers crossed - we are forecast a scorcher this weekend, so maybe they will start to turn.
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Thanks!
Shading ? - the north side of our 'house gets no sun, because it's totally shaded by the (you said it?) - jungle - of growth to 8' on the south side. Which keeps the overall temperature down nicely.
Things don't need burning direct sun - just good light & even warmth. I believe. = Tim
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My toms are ripening nicely (9 plants in 3 growbags), but 1 has blossom end rot???? I'm sure I watered it as much and as frequently as the others - any ideas??
Micky G
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Shading? Jungle, someone called theirs? This is on the hottest day of the year - today - only 85F inside. = Tim
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So Tim, when yours reach the top, do you train them along the roof? Or are they you cuces?
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Funny you should mention that!!
Yes - at this end, where there is space, I let a couple of the frantic growers do their thing. The one on the right is 7' up & 4' along - so far!!
The cus are at the far end, & I'm having to run them along the tops of the toms, towards this end. Green Zebra is suffering, as the first to be 'taken over', & will be slow to ripen.
Just cooled off in the g/childrens' plastic pool on our lawn - so hot doing the 2nd watering in the tom 'house. In passing, I'm giving each plant about 2pt daily - twice if like today. = Tim
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One of the two blight resistant Ferlines outside has blight! At least, I'm 99% sure, only on some leaves so far which I removed. Please, let it not be so! If it is, it will only be a matter of time before it hits inside the greenhouse. Blight is all around at the complex at the moment and it would be a miracle if we didn't get it. I had put all my hope into the Ferlines.
We already had a lot of tomatoes and still have a lot ready but so many green ones on the plants. I was planning on having tomatoes through september, I'm not giving up hope yet.
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What amazes me is that we have 2 blighted rows of potatoes alongside the greenhouse, which has 12 vents on that side, & no trouble, yet, inside.
You don't believe in prophylactic spraying, do you Ina? = Tim
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My tomatoes (Gardeners Delight) have green streaky tops to them. Again no sign of redness. Are they ok? All of the bottom leaves on the plant have died but the rest seem OK.
A couple of people have said about removing foliage. Does this help them ripen and how many leaves should I remove? I have two plants outside on my south facing deck and the rest are on the allotment. It is interesting that the ones at home have been fed, de-sideshooted etc but are not doing as well as the lottie ones which have been left to their own devices.... Do we pamper them too much?
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No Tim, I don't spray and I don't pray, maybe that's the problem hahaha.
About removing leaves Justy, I remove leaves from the bottom up when they are tired looking and inbetween trusses when it gets too dense. Between every truss there are three leaves, if I cut, I always leave the one directly above a truss alone.
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Green on green, Justy? You mean darker marks? Doubt there's much wrong. = Tim
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Emma - if you can't beat them, join them?? Ripe at last! = Tim
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Really happy today, picked my first large handful of red tomatoes and are (well the ones left that didn't get eaten immediately by a tomatoholic 3 year old) busy cooking, making a pasta sauce. They are from Gardeners Delight plants, growing outside. First time I've grown tomatoes outdoors. Typical, they wait until I'm going away on Saturday for a week before they ripen, guess my neighbours will get the rest until I'm back.
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Just the right size for 3 year old? = Tim
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Yes Tim, just right, hope she leaves the green ones alone this time (last time she picked them all). They were a little tricky to chop up for a pasta sauce but we're away this weekend so didn't want them to go to waste. Next year I'll also try a larger variety, can you suggest any for growing outdoors?
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Whereas the GD are really better straight into the mouth, a pasta sauce, I reckon, needs a plum variety.
Many to choose from, but many of those are 'bush' - not very good for indoors.
Red Debarao is a lovely shape & very prolific cordon. We've had greenback this year - don't know why. We always use Simpsonsseeds. Family business. They also recommend San Marzano. They do plants of many varieties. = Tim
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That's a bad case of green collar Tim, too bad. It does look kind of pretty tho'.
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Jesse et al - here I am 'knowledgeably' recommending - and I don't even know why 'paste' toms are called that!!
Is it because they have few seeds, or is it a special flavour? Or 'prolificness'??
Most 'paste' toms are 'plum' type. Why? On the first 2 counts, beef toms would do even better.
For a wider view - http://www.tomatogrowers.com/processing.htm
= Tim
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The Hungarian Italian sound nice, I like the idea of heavy cropping. Are we allowed to order and bring into the UK seeds from US? And do you know what the 80 days means? Is that delivery time or growing time until it fruits? Would these need to be in a greenhouse or can they be grown outdoors? Lots of silly questions I know but tomatoes are fairly new to me.
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Having never been very successful in having ripe tomatoes on the vine, but having to ripen on kitchen windowsill, I am pleased to say that I picked half a dozen lovely red ones this morning and hub and I had them for our lunch .............delicious :D
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My supersteaks are still very green, maybe i will take one off to see if i can ripen it on the windowsill? Does it have to be in the window to get sunlight? OOOHHHH i'll try it tonight!
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There were three red ones on my plants yesterday - one was a cherry and had split, so by the time I'd cut that off, there'd be nothing left - put on compost. The other two were black plums - one had had it's entire inside sucked away by slugs and they'd made a start on another one that had fallen off. >:(
And I'm still having trouble telling when the yellow ones are ripe.
But excitingly two of my four Berner Rosen fruits are turning pink.
EJ - have you gone red yet?
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They are all starting to turn! AT LAST!! I shall bore you all with a selection of photos later. ;D
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Warning - I'm not a tomato expert!
1. Don't know about importing - shouldn't be necessary. I only mentioned that site to show the 'paste' varieties, thinking that was what was needed - but it wasn't! As said, Simpson's do a few. There is also the US oriented totallytomatoesuk.
2. Most varieties are OK outside in the warmer areas, although we have grown bush varieties in the Cotswolds.
3. 80 days? Don't know. It's more like 4+ months from sowing.
4. Yellow ones - or green for that matter. A gentle 'feel' should tell you. And they get a more translucent look? = Tim
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And there off!.................
(http://img52.exs.cx/img52/381/toms.jpg) (http://img55.exs.cx/img55/3224/plumtoms.jpg)
(http://img55.exs.cx/img55/6465/moretoms.jpg)
(http://img55.exs.cx/img55/1606/aubergine1.jpg) I know not technically a tomato, but just to show that after such a long wait...the greenhouse veggies are now pulling their weight! ;D
And here is my jungle! (http://img55.exs.cx/img55/4782/greenhouse.jpg)
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Oooooh!!
Worth waiting for?? = Tim
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Do you know, all this time I have been waiting, and I am yet to pick one! Which leads me on to ask, is it better to let the entire truss of toms ripen before starting to pluck the toms off, or is it okay to just take them as and when?
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I'm finding that despite daily lottie visits my toms (only Gardeners Delight so far) are falling off when ripe so am picking them off the ground (?possibly due to lack of feed?). Have to say, they're deelish tho':). Jill
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Emma - unless you've got 'vine' toms, grab each one when ready!
But let it fully redden for max flavour. = Tim
PS And I DID, I DID!! Gazpacho, ratatouille, stuffed.....?
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We pick ours as they come E-J -seems to work.
My Sungold are lagging -thing's turned into a triffid and is taking over the greenhouse. Which would be fine -it's happened before and we had toms off it from June to September. This year it's leaving it a bit late.
Jeremy
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Right, after lunch I shall be a-picking! Have toms red, chillis red, and a couple of aubergines ready!! Tis great this - I am a happy chappy today!
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fantastic EJ!
Which types of toms are those?
I've had quite a lot of 'yellow plums' which are actually orange round toms.
Two Berner Rosen are almost ready. excited about that!
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OKay, as I harvested them.....
(http://img62.exs.cx/img62/5484/cherries_xmasgrapes.jpg) Christmas Grape cherries
(http://img62.exs.cx/img62/3199/lemontree.jpg) lemon tree - but it had been munched so ended up ipn the bin! :'(
(http://img62.exs.cx/img62/7866/plums_blackplum.jpg) Black Plums
(http://img62.exs.cx/img62/4902/toms_maybebosnie.jpg) POssibly Bosnie, but I can't find the label in the grow bag! Been washed down I fear.
(http://img62.exs.cx/img62/5285/goldenqueen_starting.jpg) Golden Queen just starting to yellow up.
(http://img62.exs.cx/img62/8736/goldenqueen.jpg) and a ripe Golden Queen!
Very pleased for my first pick. Left lots and lots that were red, but still firm to the touch, with a hint of green about them.
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Beautiful stuff - & the Golden Queen shows folk the sort of translucency that indicates ripeness in the yellows. Or a gentle squeeze?
And NO complaining, now, that you have a GLUT!! = Tim
PS Later - 'ripening' - repeating that we have 5th trusses ripening before the 1st have half finished.
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Congratulations EJ, I think now you are the tomato queen of the A4A board. So interesting to see all those different types. Very, very nice.
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What success EmmaJane - we are not very adventurous with our toms but your piccies may inspire me ....
And Jeremy know what you eman about the Sungold - usually very successful but very lacking this year...
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Managed to pick 4 of my tumbing toms in between rain storms yesterday ;D
lovely, firm and red - very pleased with myself as the rest had tumbled off with the grotty weather and I managed to protect these with plastic sheeting. I don't normally like toms if they are not used in cooking but lover made me try one and I have to say that I didn't hate the taste!
Sam
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Funny year - I've said it before but the problem continues & it might make someone feel less picked upon.
Whereas we normally have boxes of toms to put out for sale, we now seldom get a pick of more than a couple of pounds of fully ripe ones. The ripening is patchy & incomplete, & many on bottom trusses are still green. Yes - we get the odd 1 1/2 pounder for good measure, but they are too special to cook with. But the peppers are great. = Tim
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The Sungold are finally starting to ripen up -hooray ;D Chillies (apache) too. The peppers remain steadfastly green.
We're still having to pick a couple or three toms a day to keep the small one's lunch box stocked and occaisionally getting one or two for ourselves.
And the cucumber is about to be put out of it's misery.
Jeremy
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This is to show that we have a long way to go - at 50F at night! - & also to show how prolific Red Debarao are. Nice shape, too! = Tim
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Stupid question?
If you limit the number of trusses, will they ripen more quickly & reliably?
In the 40s last night! = Tim
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Tim, I think that this really requires John`s input.
However, for what it is worth I can tell you of the practice which I used to deal with the problem donkey`s years ago. I always stopped my plants early in Sept on the basis that without heat fruit which set after that time were unlikely to be worth harvesting anyway. I had previously tried reducing the number of trusses, but found that this merely resulted in the remaining fruits growing larger before ripening, but then I read (in Reuben Dorey`s Book - `Tomato Growing by Prescription`) of the tests carried out by Fernhurst Research Station on soil suspensions and osmotic pressures in tomato plants. Admittedly these tests were carried out mainly to investigate the effects of excessive leaf transpiration, and plant control by watering, but one of the findings was that by increasing the salt (fertilizers, not NaCl) concentrations in the soil the soil pC factor would be reduced and the osmotic pressure in the plant increased, and a sufficiently increased pressure would result in fruit ripening much smaller. Consequently, from the beginning of September I used a much higher concentration of high potash feed, and the fruit did indeed ripen smaller, although inevitably, there were always some unripened fruits when the house had to be cleared and fumigated for the winter plants.
I shudder to think what John will say if he reads this, but it`s the best I can do.
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I was always under the impression that ripening per se is affected more by temperature than anything else. I never could understand the advice about topping out plants accelerating ripening although it could affect fruit size too I imagine. How about collecting apples Tim and bombing the house with ethylene? If you are letting the house get that cold you will probably have many problems with ripening disorders, such as grey wall, for the rest of the season so ethylene may be your best choice (although I wouldn't call it ripening, more accelerating a colour change).
Shuddering over Hugh?
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Worth waiting for. Thanks both.
Too late to stop them - as you can see, I have let some go to 12' or so!! But our store of Bramleys will go in there today.
'Letting' it get cold, John?? Everything's shut as tight as can be. And no heat, of course. I'll report back. = Tim
Later - OK, apples in. But since I can't just up the potash, I've just doubled the jet size. Take it or leave it!!
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Well according to Monty on GW, our toms in the greenhouse have another whole month to think about turning red. I still have soooooooo many that are green. I don't know what I did wrong, but I can see a huge vat of green tom chutney being made in about 6 weeks time!
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Er, Tim, you do realise that if you put your apples in the greenhouse they will go soft quickly in the daytime heat? I should have said use seconds, windfalls or any others you can't store.
EJ- There is very little you could have done that will have affected the quantity of green tomatoes you still have. It is all phenological.
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John - yes, I had second thoughts & put windfalls & surplus, non-storable eaters in.
Emma - nothing wrong, I reckon. Just a poor year for many of us. Let's have a competition for the greatest weight of green ones we have to deal with eventually?
Don't forget fried green toms. Delicious! And the cherry ones pickle well. = Tim
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Emma - not you - bad year for toms.
I'm leaving mine on my plants for another couple of weeks. Being in greater London, I figure I can take the risk.
And anyway, I don't have any more room to put them to ripen. I already have four dinner plates covered in them in the kitchen, with tea towels on top. There's no more room until they ripen.
Tim - I will weigh mine - must be pounds and pounds!
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Don't know whether it's the apples, the extra K or, as someone else has observed, a sudden panic to ripen before it's too late. But things are still hopeful, & today's pick was better than most. Still 46F at night though. The pink ones are Rose de Berne. = Tim
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/ripening229.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/pick229.jpg)
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Ohh Tim I am wildly jealous! ;) Glad they are doing what they were supposed to, it would have been maddening to have em all stay green!They look lovely, I can almost smell them ;D DP
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I found another three blighted plants the other day and picked all the toms off them. I ended up filling a builder's bucket with green tomatoes! I now have so many rippen in the kitchen that there isn't any room to cook. Mr Aqui thought the out-of-use kitchen would only be in spring when I turn it into a greenhouse!
Fried green tomatoes anyone?
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Love them! = Tim
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I had to grow mine outside - no greenhouse - and they are still green :( any hope? any suggestions?
Sam
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See the basics thread, Sam. = Tim
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Cheers Tim ;D
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How about the chillies, then? = Tim
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Don't know about red Tim, what about yellow, brown and orange!
(http://img75.exs.cx/img75/988/red_hot_chillis.jpg)
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Like it! = Tim
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I seem to remember suggesting a prize for the most green toms.
Only just realised - depends on how many plants you have, & where they are grown, & would be unfair.
All I can say is that that's it - on the one out, all out thread. The toms are out (of the greenhouse) now. John M's idea that they ripen better (more sugar) indoors, & the fact that the blighty/mouldy whatever is spreading at a rate of knots, prompted me to go the whole hog.
In doing so, I find great pleasure in the pristine green fruit. Almost more so than with the red. Like Busy Lizzie's bowl - especially with the plummy types in there. Have to say that much of this is my own fault. For instance, grew one Red Debarao on 2 stems - to about 12' - & the trusses at the 8' level are carrying up to 15 fruit!! No wonder they were not ripening. = Tim
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/ripe.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/halfway.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/greentoms.jpg)
Ripe 5.75lb - halfway 12lb - green 25lb.
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I kept forgetting to way mine. I think I've had about 15lbs of green ones off 40 plants. All plants got blight. I've chucked away even more that went brown after I picked them. :(
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After a REAL slow start with my toms, this is it, the last of them picked and cleared today, and to be honest, not tooo many green ones. There will be enough to make some green tom chutney, and I want to try Tims fried green toms, then they will be finished. I have managed to make and freeze over 10 pints of tomato sauce, have made and frozen spag bol and chilli with home made toms and have 6 portions of roasted veg/ratatouille including lots of toms in the freezer. Plus, my mum has been picking toms all summer long and has just cleared a bowl full of green ones she is going to try and ripen indoors. Considering I lost all of the toms on my allotment thanks to blight, the ones at home did me proud!
(http://img31.exs.cx/img31/7195/greentoms.jpg)
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d**n, d**n, d**n!! Forgot to do the roasted rat. Too late. = Tim
PS Emma - don't forget the corn/oatmeal!
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D**n again!! The last lot on the right (earlier pic) have all ripened & we're having them on pasta tonight. Why d**n?? Because we've only had one lot of fried green. Them what I live for!! = Tin
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Nearly all of my toms ripened you know, and those that weren't quite there were all flung into a roasting tin with some garlic, salt and pepper and a sprinkling of muscavado sugar and cooked under foil for about 40 minutes. They were then blitzed up into the richest, stickiest tom sauce ever! Made the most devine lasagne with some and froze another 4 portions! ;D
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EJ - I make all my tom sauces like that with fresh toms. I cook them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (and sometimes garlic or red onion) and they are gorgeous. Shall have to try a batch with muscovado.
I'm sure that they taste even better after freezing - Is it because freezing turns the starch into sugar?