need advice on tomatoe and cucumber growing

[LEANNEC]

what does pinching out the top mean is this needed for all tomatoe plants? my ones are meant to be self supporting to i need to pinch out and can some one tell me how to

pictures would be good

i planted cucummber but in a mini green house i bought from lidls and they have not started to grow the seeds have not changed is ther something i can do to incourage them?

[FionaH]

Moved so people can respond

[Two_Sheds]

What variety of tomato have you got?

cucumber (like all seeds) need warmth, moisture and patience in order to germinate

[dincur]

Hi leanne, there are 2 distint varieties of tom.s, bush( where you give a little support and leave them more or less to get on with things) and trained or cordon (a straight shape). Pinching out means picking out the growing point of a stem- in simplist terms, normally to make a plant bush out eg cutting the lawn is a form of pinching out. Cordon tomatoes, are grown up on one main stem where other stems growing side ways are "pinched out" when about an inch long. It is done for the simple reasons of getting the highest yield from the narrowest shape, it also keeps the plant open to the air so pests and diseases are lessened and can be controled more easily. Hope this wasn,t too technical for you. Best thing to do would be visit some one with toms and see for yourself. Sorry I can't help you with cucumbers, never grew them as they repeat on me. Best of luck with your crop Dincur

[supermum]

to get your cucs going, put some compost in a small plant pot, put rwo seeds in edge first and lightly cover with more compost then.... cut the top off a clear 2 litre lemonade bottle and use this to cover the soil, sort of a mini mini greenhouse, cut the bottom off the bottle part fill with water and stand the covered pot in it, stand on a window still and wait a few days.