tomatoes

[Simon G]

Last Year was my first time at growing tomatoes, It was a disaster, there was plenty of foliage but not a lot of tomatoes and when they did apear they had damaged skin, also they did not ripen. I started to feed them straight away which i now think was a mistake, and perhaps did not give them enough ventiation.
HELP.

Simon G

[Islandboy]

Originally Posted by Simon G

Last Year was my first time at growing tomatoes, It was a disaster, there was plenty of foliage but not a lot of tomatoes and when they did apear they had damaged skin, also they did not ripen. I started to feed them straight away which i now think was a mistake, and perhaps did not give them enough ventiation.
HELP.

Simon G

Did you use tomatoe cages, or wooden stakes for support?

My tomatoes this year ended up growing really close together, and on top of each other, and eventhough its harder to get to the fruit, and some of the plants are falling over because of the weight, they've still produced some very nice fruit. Oh, and I was feeding them from the very start with granulated fertilizer and eventually miracle gro.

I haven't seen any horn worms this year either suprisingly. Perhaps they don't like the cramped quarters, or the small spiders which were weaving webs within the tomatoes have kept them out (knock on wood).

So really, to answer your question, I wouldn't think its a ventilation problem. What were the temps like for the growing season, and did you have any problems with viruses or bugs (deformed, curled, eaten leaves)??

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Simon, what variety of tomato did you grow? Some varieties are cordon's which need the side shoots removing, this could be why you had plenty of foliage. What exactly did the damaged tomatoes look like as it sounds like a pest or disease as Island Boy has said.

[Simon G]

Thanks for reply, some tomatoes had rotten patches on them, some of the leaves were discoulored, Itried 4 different verieties of tomatoes in a very small greenhouse, they were also quite close together. I was cutting off the side shoots but there was still masses of greenery, when the tomatoes did arrive they did not rippen.
Regards
Simon G

[Lesley Jay]

Rotten patches? That might have been tomato blight. Did the plants have brown / black areas on their stems and leaves? Did the plants die quickly after the tomatoes rotted?

[Simon G]

No the plants did not die, in fact the foliage was incredible. Could it have been ventilation or the plants to close together. Thinking about it now, i tried to stsrt seeds at the same time close by, they came through and then wilted. It has really putme off greenhouses, because I think I did well in the garden for my very first year, growing 2 types of potatoes, marrow, carrots, beetroot, spring onions, courgettes and some herbs.
Regards
Simon G

[paul]

Hi Simon, It could be a mixture of not picking off the side shoots, hence the mass of foliage, blossom end root due to maybe irregular watering / feeding, and poor ventilation.

Hope thats any good

[Simon G]

Wat is blossom end root?

[Lesley Jay]

Blossom end rot is where the bottom of tomatoes develope a circular area of black / brown rot. It is caused by irregular watering. You should never let the compost dry out. I always grow my tomato plants outside - why not try some in the greenhouse and some outside next year.

[Simon G]

Thanks Iwill try that.
Regards
Simon G

[Grunta0]

Many years back I was in a syndicate that owned a racehorse and every Sunday we would go to the trainer's stables to look at the horse and discuss it's future races. (Or whether to shoot it because it was a donkey. )

The trainer heard I was a bit of a gardener and took me to look at his tomato plants which were truly impressive but he complained that he was getting no fruit. His problem was that he was using horse manure and straw that had not been properly composted. The nitrogen in the manure and the ammonia in the straw (from horse urine) made the plants grow well but only gave very small tomatoes.

Is it possible you are over fertilizing ?

[Simon G]

i dont think so, I am begining to think it could be ventilation.
Regards
SimonG

[Sihornsby]

Hi Simon,

I like yourself had exactly the same (or similar) problem. i had 6 plants of "alicante" and they produced plenty of foilage and when the trusses eventually came they never grew any more than the the size of a 10 pence piece . i fed regularly and even after removing the side shoots they wouldn't grow bigger nor ripen. they were grown in grow bags.
I just dont know i'm afraid but it wont stop me trying again this year.

Regards
Si

[Adrien]

Most gardeners make the mistake of overfeeding when growing tomatoes. Make sure that your soil is rich in humus that can nourish the roots and potassium to keep the stems strong. Do not add too much nitrogen if you do not want your tomatoes to be big and lush but little fruit. I'm not saying that this is what you did, Simon...You said you have a "small greenhouse", maybe it was a problem with pollination?
Most times the pollen of tomatoes will naturally drop from the stamen onto the pistil and a baby tomato will result. But, hot or humid weather (like in your the greenhouse?) makes the pollen sticky. It won’t disperse of its own accord. This is easy to remedy. Just tap the flower cluster a few times each day with a twig or chopstick. The loosened pollen will then go about its preordained mission. Just a thought...

[babyfazt09]

Eventhough I love eating tomatoes, I can't help you with that matter for my knowledge about gardening is not that wide. But, good choice. Tomatoes contains lycopene that are said to reduce the risk of having cancer.