Tomatoes

KMA

Member
Location
Dumfriesshire
first year trying to grow them

Have 2 Money Maker, 2 Ailsa Craig and 2 Shirley

Money Maker have a lot of nice looking fruit on

Ailsa Craig have a lot of monstrous (huge and ugly) looking things on them

Shirley have a few nice looking smaller fruit on them

BUT THE BLOODY THINGS ARE REFUSING TO RIPEN

basically this is a plea for help/advice/reassurance
 
same here plenty of sungolds, shirley, Lizzano, golden gown??? (yellow) not interested in big fruits such as beef toms as they wouldnt get eaten and think its important to grow what is needed.

I have 75% green have taken a lot of ripe fruit off already some are splitting. But seriously slow as the heat/moisture in the poly is good.

Keep as many banana skins and place them around the green fruits as the chemical released helps ripen fruit.

This is my first yr of growing in the poly and impressed myself. I also have endless cucumbers and peppers. My aubergines are starting to come out now I think slow and late.
 
toms.jpg
 

KMA

Member
Location
Dumfriesshire
Those look good @Chasingmytail. Next year it'll be the small varieties as we rarely use big toms except for cooking, just one of the things I thought I'd try this year. With the constant wet and cold maybe I should just forget tomatoes and the like.

So chilly here I'm thinking of putting the central heating on again(n)
 
do you use a greenhouse/poly KMA? Options in the winter are a hot bed or fleece. I think the poly if set up good and not the ebay special is a great investment. Its windy here today but warm in general its been warm with the temp dropping low in the evenings.
 
first year trying to grow them

Have 2 Money Maker, 2 Ailsa Craig and 2 Shirley

Money Maker have a lot of nice looking fruit on

Ailsa Craig have a lot of monstrous (huge and ugly) looking things on them

Shirley have a few nice looking smaller fruit on them

BUT THE BLOODY THINGS ARE REFUSING TO RIPEN

basically this is a plea for help/advice/reassurance

The three varieties you have SHOULD all produce fruit of the same size - about 70-90g. I believe the reason they do not is tht the open pollinated varieties (Moneymaker and Ailsa Craig) are not being bred to type. With help from others, for the last 10 years or so, I have bought seed only of these three varieties from the UK in various places and from various suppliers, plus mail order, and MM only this year. I am picking the fruit now but it is not MM. Three or four years ago I raised the matter with the one firm through which I do most of my mail order garden seed buying, and they just said that it was a problem with their suppliers not breeding pure.

If anybody has guaranteed MM seed with its unique flavour I would happily buy a few for next year.

I have not had problems with Shirley because it is an F1.
 

Pasty

Member
Location
Devon
I've got a load and they are ripening VERY slowly. But loads of fruit so no panic yet. Had some lovely ones. I've half read a few things about ripening but not panicking yet.
 

KMA

Member
Location
Dumfriesshire
The fruit on my MM looks very nice but is still green, mind you yesterday is the first day this summer where you could call it warm so here's hoping.

Gave up in despair last week, brought a couple of the BUFs into the house off the Ailsa and put them in the warmest spot in the house with some banana skins - so far no change:banghead:
 

HolzKopf

Member
Location
Kent&Snuffit
Seems a bad year all round for tomatoes. Have grown very leggy in greenhouse with some mis-shapen fruits and very slow to ripen. Just a couple outside but even the last month's sunshine hasn't perked them up much. Tempted to take all fruit off now and use green for chutney. Nice and sweet ones available from our farmers' market though :scratchhead:

HK

p.s. runner beans pretty cr*p too this year...
 
I'm getting slow daily change which is fine for us as not swamped. First yr for growing toms and think Ive done a good job. My aubergines have started to come but out of 5 plants I have 2 fruit???? I had rust on my broadbeans I assume thats due to the damp conditions earlier.
 

KMA

Member
Location
Dumfriesshire
Pleasantly surprised by my runner beans which were very much a ooh they're cheap lets give em a go kind of thing.

Reckon I'll have a lot of green tomato chutney to make at this rate:scratchhead:
 

KMA

Member
Location
Dumfriesshire
Phew finally first red tom off my Ailsa Craig today, others don't seem far behind.

The MM are a nice shape but variable sizes, the AC are like something out of a freakshow and variable sizes, what few Shirley there are are a nice shape and size.
 

Pasty

Member
Location
Devon
Getting a heavy crop of lovely toms at the moment from our 3 plants! Just about enough to keep us in salad. Next year I plan to grow many more plants from seed and make sauces / passata etc. to keep for winter. Toms and onions have done well for us this year. lettuce got destroyed by slugs.
 

KMA

Member
Location
Dumfriesshire
Toms were a trial this year and will plant more next year. Had originally put some basil in as a companion but have given up and now growing it in the house along with some oregano and tarragon.

I've also been pleasantly surprised by my onions and garlic this year and will plant a lot more plus shallots next season as much as companion crops to help keep pests off as anything else.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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