The peppers, chillies & aubs still have a way to go, The cus are growing rapidly, but remain fairly compact. But the toms,as you can see, are getting leggy - esp Santa,always does. They all have a 60F soil temp. So -
1. Cut the temp to the toms, & start hardening off despite their immaturity? Keep in 'propagating house' where it always has some warmth. It's a lean-to. Put them on the highest shelf. But that'll mean hand watering! And space them out better.
2. Get them into their better lit final positions (cold 'house) asap? - but, as I've said elsewhere, night temps last year didn't get above 40F till the end of May. Cover with fleece? This might stave of a frost, but not a nasty chill. This is why we're a month later this year.
3.Let them be?
Experts, please?
On second thoughts, experts wouldn't be in this position! = Tim
OK - is this going to be better?
But how tall/leggy can you let them get before you just have to put them out? Or do Ina's trick. = Tim
Well, if yours are leggy models Tim, mine are supermodels with legs all the way up and beyond! :o My super tall toms are now in the greenhouse in an area which has been double insulated with bubble wrap on all four sides, a little house inside a house sorta thing. My dumpy butch lads are all still in my conservatory keeping snug, they are my reinforcements incase of snow :-\.
My very tall ones were repotted at the weekend as deeply as the pot could handle which has helped - thanks to Ina's advice.
What do you rekon these are then?
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QQAoHAMS6iypbUUlZyLiz7RcMft71Bj6UsDM7NzRSfGvzvxbboXndqqu0ZnGpY5*hqvz9PhWG7EuI46pPbIoZCSa555rIHzij89cbFJsupI/IMG_0002.JPG?dc=4675469740395150820)
Silly moggle got excited about growing things and sowed too early. That's a 30cm/12 inch ruler stuck in to the pot.
Planted a couple out in the grow-bags last night using someone's suggested 'ring culture' type method, using rings of cut-up juice cartons.
Planted them almost up to their first lot of leaves.
Can't wait to see how they do - keep us briefed?
I think that Ina might have put them in up to their last lot of leaves! = Tim
Moggle, if you`re using ring culture remember the rings need to be at least 9 inches in diameter (old lino stapled into rings is excellent), and the same depth. Plant low in the rings but add an extra inch or two of compost above the old planting line, and keep adding more compost as roots appear on the surface in the rings. And don`t forget - Feed only the Rings, but only Water the bag.
Hugh, perhaps I shouldn't have called it ring culture. They're just circles of cardboard juice cartons about 7-8 inches in diameter, and about 5-6 inches high that I shoved in the top of the growbag cause I thought they could use a bit of extra support and compost, and root space. I read something about it somewhere on here.
I planted them as deep as I thought was sensible in the grow-bag, and topped up with compost to the first lot of true leaves.
I will try to make the circles bigger for the next lot, space allowing in my grow-bags.
Tim, I will certainly keep people updated as to how they do, as I am still pretty clueless and need reassurance every now and again that I'm not stuffing up too much. :)
Tim- those toms look OK-but I would pot them on now if you cannot get them into the greenhouse yet.
Moggle-they are indeed `leggy`-I would plant them up yesterday.
I threw just over a 100 plants away today as they looked like that-well I need the room and have plenty more.
Stephan.
Moggle, you`re quite right - it isn`t ring culture, although it will probably work just as well in the circumstances. However, in case you do wish to try a modified ring culture (which works perfectly well with grow bags), bear in mind the following:-
1. Make a hole as big as your growing ring in the top of the growbag.
2. Place the ring on top of the compost in the bag.
3. Stand the root ball of the plant inside the ring and on top of the compost.
4. Fill in the ring around the root ball and an inch or two higher than it was previously planted - this will encourage adventitious roots to grow out of the stem at or just below surface level.
5. Water both bag and ring thoroughly.
6. As further roots appear on the surface inside the ring add further layers of compost
7. Always feed inside the ring - only water should be applied to the compost in the bag.
On a complete ring culture system the rings would be standing on a bed of inert substance such as weathered black ash, fine shingle, or peat, and no water at all would be applied to the rings between feeds, but with a growbag as base this is not entirely practicable, and some water needs to be applied to keep the compost in the rings moist.
P.S. If you keep calling me John he might feel insulted.
:-[ :-[ :-[
Sorry Hugh, have corrected
And many thanks for those additional tips.
Cleo, they're going outside, no greenhouse. I guess I just sowed far too early, was hard to resist the temptation of growing things though.
Hugh - I know the rules but, being V lazy, & having a discipline of watering dilute fert 1-3 times a day straight into bags - how disadvantageous would it be if I did that with the rings on top? (watering into the rings). = Tim
And yet another question from me. Hugh, if I follow that system, should I still feed once a week?
Thanks
Can somebody enlighten me about this ring thing? Sorry if it has been explained before and I missed it.
I seem to remember it has something to do with the different kinds of roots, some taking up water and others nutrition. Or something about a lot of the food going to waste without the rings? What is the benefit of rings?
As I've said, I can't do it 'cos of my lazy way of watering/feeding, but Hugh has more or less covered it?
The ring gives you the depth that you advocate, & feeding only in the ring puts the stuff where the feeding roots are, rather than where the (what do they call the ) other ones are.
Tim
Quite right, tim. The ring culture system works on the principle of supplying water to the lower roots whose job is mainly the uptake of moisture, and feeding where the higher level feeding roots are, and as long as you keep topping up the soil level, more feeding roots will continue to be formed higher up the stem. I used this method most successfully for nearly 30 years - first with weathered black ash, then with peat as the base bed - often running the plants up to 15 ripe trusses in the season (my first picking usually during the 2nd week in June), and for several years experimented by grafting my own seedlings onto stronger rootstocks - ever tried that tim?
Of course, that was in the days when oil was cheaper, and the boiler ran from November to May.
As to feeding, I was not a very organic gardener in those days, and I used to feed twice weekly with a (very) dilute solution of Chempak No.4 as soon as the first truss had set.
Thanks Hugh, it's all clear to me now.
No graft about me Hugh! But cuttings - yes. They usually go to the village market. And so easy.
15 trusses is getting a bit professional - best I've done is 10, last year, when I got tired of stopping Santa continually & let it grow along the top support wire. = Tim
.........and I'm happy when I get 5 trusses hahaha.
5 in your 'area' is brilliant! = Tim