# Project tomato plant...



## enc

Got a couple of tomato plants on the go ... just a bit of fun really ... ironically they are called "money maker" I'll post new pics when (if) they grow ...


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## Sam6er

Nice! My tomato plant has just started flowering so hopefully will have some fresh produce soon  Also got some baby lettuce seeds on the way to try my hand at growing those indoors.


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## enc

Would love to get into growing my own veg. .. take it one step at a time &#55357;&#56838;


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## PugIain

These are mine. Red pear and San marzano. They're not far off needing re potting.









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## Shug

My tomatoes got hit by blight last year. Trying a variety thats sposed to be more resistant this year.
Tomatillos on the other hand seem immune and have grown brilliantly, as mexican plants in Scotland obviously will!


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## 306chris

Here are my toms ready to go out this weekend.

There are a few chillis and sweet peppers in there as well



I like to try and grow a few things around the garden as well.

I have a small herb planter which has oregano, lavender and sage. The sage flowers attract lot of bees in the summer



I bought a rhubarb plant about 4 years a go for about £3 and it comes back every year with at least three feeds. hhhhhmmmm rhubarb crumble.



I bought a black berry bush for a quid three years a go from b and m and it has produced lots of fruit every year.





Hopefully I should have lots of broad beans as well this year but they are in starter pots at the moment.


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## Bigpikle

That looks a great selection! We have 2 full size allotments as my wife is a bit of a gardening nut, but it gives us huge space for fruit and veg as well as space for 2 small poly tunnels. 

We had tomato blight last year as well after it started on a neighbouring plot. The toms have a dedicated polytunnel now so hopefully that will help and of course it keeps a really warm environment as well. 
Rhubarb is a huge favourite for us and our neighbours which is just as well as we have a 8m hedge of the stuff at the end of one of the plots!!!! The neighbours love us for rhubarb, beans, potatoes, flowers, apples etc etc but it's the fresh summer fruit I enjoy the most!!!


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## ollienoclue

Blight is a disease which thrives in high humidity. You can spray your plants for them but it will have to be done once a week or so to have any meaningful effect.

The trick with potatoes and tomatoes is to feed them lots. I have a plastic spray gun full of foliar feed I spray the foliage with every so often. Commercial tomato growers cheat by basically sitting the plants in a nutrient rich water bath.


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## Nidge76

Here is my project Tomato. I have 2 Big Daddy & 1 Santonio:


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## Peirre

I've got several huge chilli and tomato plants in flower!


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## Shug

I toned down the chilli growing this year. Jalapenos only. Have a freezer full of habaneros, trinidad scorpion morugas and carolina reapers. The last 2 I've been too scared to use yet!


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## Peirre

I've a total of 9 Reaper plants inc a potted one in the kitchen window that stands 30"+ then there's the chocolate maruga scorpions, the trindad scorpions, bailey pequins, scotch bonnets & more


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## Bigpikle

we did Jalapenos last year and brought the plants in for winter, and they continued to fruit earlier this spring, so we got an early crop and more o the way now


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## enc

Nidge76 said:


> Here is my project Tomato. I have 2 Big Daddy & 1 Santonio:


Good head start on mine there :lol:


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## Nidge76

enc said:


> Good head start on mine there :lol:


Yes so far so good. Hopefully this year I don't pinch off the main stem instead of the side shoots by mistake like I did last year


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## Peirre

Nidge76 said:


> Here is my project Tomato. I have 2 Big Daddy & 1 Santonio:


Can I suggest that you put a second growbag underneath and allow the roots more room. I prefer to use a new style growbag that's shorter but deeper, and designed for one plant, this gives the plant more room to grow and makes it more stable when full of fruit.


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## Nidge76

Peirre said:


> Can I suggest that you put a second growbag underneath and allow the roots more room. I prefer to use a new style growbag that's shorter but deeper, and designed for one plant, this gives the plant more room to grow and makes it more stable when full of fruit.


That's not a bad idea. I haven't seen those grow bags. Although this is a larger and deeper bag than the standard size I will take a look into your suggestion. Thanks.


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## enc

Peirre said:


> I've got several huge chilli and tomato plants in flower!


 What's involved with growing the chillis ? Is it too late this year to start ?


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## Bigpikle

Sun sun and more sun - away from cold snaps and especially frosts. Should be fine in most gardens if you have a sheltered sunny spot or just a windowsill. Too early for most people to put them outside just yet as there is always a risk of frost until end May usually, unless you are in London or perhaps the SW. Frost will probably kill it immediately. 

Light watering and they will be easy. Def can start now and I just saw loads of little plants for 50p in Wilko but every garden centre will have some. No need to pay loads as they are good producers if you do the above. 

I always have Apache growing as these produce hundreds of small fruits and are totally foolproof. Not sill hot and great to either dry of just bag up in the freezer.


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## Nidge76

Yes the Apache are a nice easy variety to grow. I got loads last year and still some left in the freezer.


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## Peirre

enc said:


> What's involved with growing the chillis ? Is it too late this year to start ?


Yeah it's probably too late to start from scratch as Seeds (and especially super hot chilli's reapers etc) need to be planted mid January. As germination on some takes several weeks. My chilli's have been flowering for several weeks now. Even some of my losetto F1 tomatoes are flowering. 
https://i.imgur.com/W2NLVqI.jpg
There are some excellent how to videos on www.cliftonchilliclub.co.uk these guys run chilli eating competitions at various events across the uk, and also do some video reviews of chilli products some of which are hilarious.


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## Naddy37

I cheated with my chilli plants and just brought them from my local garden centre.

I'll see how these go, and maybe next year grow them from seed.


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## enc

picked up a chilli plant while the mrs was getting some flowers for her hanging baskets at the garden centre today :thumb:


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## Shug

Jalapenos are relatively quick growing as chillies go. 
But as said, reapers (or any of the chinense variety, habaneros etc) take a lot longer to get going.


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## Nidge76

One of my 'big daddy' tomatoes ready to eat tonight. Weighs 386 grams. Yay.










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## enc

jeez,
what they been fed on ???


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## enc

Suffered a couple of "set backs" with nine
One tblew over early on and snapped halfway up the stem ...itnever recovered. On another occasion The second one followed a similar fate but I managed to splint and tape the stem. That one survives...


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## enc

Slugs polished off my chilli plant Within two days ofme putting it outside :-(


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## Nidge76

enc said:


> jeez,
> what they been fed on ???


Haha. They are in a greenhouse fed once a week with tomato feed. It's only our 2nd year and last year was a bit of a disaster.

Shame you had a snapped plant. We had the same happen with one of our cucumber plants. It grew so quick and we didn't stake it in time so it snapped.

With regards to slugs not sure what the answer is. There are so many of them. We did treat the garden with a course of nematodes that are supposed to eat slugs but I'm not sure how much difference has made.

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## ollienoclue

Been eating our tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers for the last few weeks. Recent humid and damp weather started the blight into a few plants so we collected what we could and binned the plants.

Others appear mercifully unscathed.

If we grow again next year will definitely buy those hozelock tomato watering tray things, watering them constantly enough is a real pain.

They seem to absorb all the heat and sun you can throw at the them. Cucumbers are exactly the same.

Slug pellet use has been extensive mind, they seem to travel across the garden to get to the pepper plants.


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## Shug

I need more jalapeno recipes. My plants have been pretty prolific so far and fridge is already full of sauce and pickled chillis! Got another crop ready as well.
Greenfly seem to love the plants though putting them outside and washing them down with a hose seems to sort the wee buggers!


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## enc

The fruits of my labour :lol:
Not much bigger than a cherry tomato but oh so tasty kn:thumb:y


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## Nidge76

Very nice. You just can't beat home grown for taste. 

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## enc

So this years crop .. much better ..some of these must be at least 45mm :thumb:


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## enc

More ..

Is it best picking these now and letting them finish in doors ?


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## Shug

enc said:


> More ..
> 
> Is it best picking these now and letting them finish in doors ?


As long as there's no risk of disease or pests getting at them, I'd leave them there.


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## enc

Shug said:


> As long as there's no risk of disease or pests getting at them, I'd leave them there.


will do :thumb:


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## PugIain

I've got quite a few again.
2 Brandy wine.
2 Shirley
And 2 Gardener's delight.

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## enc

PugIain said:


> I've got quite a few again.
> 2 Brandy wine.
> 2 Shirley
> And 2 Gardener's delight.
> 
> Sent from my VFD 710 using Tapatalk


Not sure what mine is .. but certainly bigger than last years


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