Tomato and pepper help

Hello - we're new to the site and new to veg growing so sorry if this has all been done before. I have been reading avidly and have learned much in the last hour or so, so thanks for all the help, even before I asked for it

Tomatoes - I have gardeners delight growing in pots on my balcony. Started from seed indoors, planted out to cold frame to harden off, now on shelves in pots (7 inch). Lots of sun. About 2.5 feet tall and tiny flowers (trusses, I now believe) appearing at the top. May be guilty of feeding them too early which I will stop immediately. Nipped off the side shoots tonight. Should I have more trusses by now? And do they really appear on the stem between the leaf joints, as opposed to in a leaf joint? When should I nip off the main stem?

Peppers - we have two types, neither of which I can name. Growing sweet and hot peppers. Main question is about the hot peppers. They have side shoots in the same way as the tomatoes do i.e. a shoot growing out of the leaf joint. Do I need to nip out the side shoots on them as well?

Thanking you all in advance... L&A

[sweetcorn]

Welcome, Leah and Andy.

Tomatoes: they sound to me as though they're doing fine. They will probably grow quite a bit taller, so hope you've got good long bamboo supports for them! I am consistently guilty of feeding my toms far too early, and they've always been fine, so don't panic. They reckon to feed when the fruit 'sets' ie: when you see little teeny green tomatoes forming from the flowers. The trusses do form on the stems, and nip the growing stem in about the middle of August, so the existing fruit ripens well and your plants don't waste energy trying to make more tomatoes which won't ripen because of our climate! Or you can nip the tops when they reach as tall as you want, but you would get less fruit. They should continue to make trusses up until you 'stop' them (nip out the growing tip).

You don't need to nip anything off peppers. I tend to get rid of a lot of the developing peppers on a sweet pepper plant tho, or you get loads of little peppers instead of a few lovely big fat ones. I leave about 5 or 6 per plant - sometimes more, depending on how big the plant is!

Chilli peppers just produce TONS of fruits - I'm not growing them this year, simply because I still have a huge stash of dried chillis left from last year's crop! You don't nip 'em.

[TEB]

Hi Leah and Andy welcome to the vine,
I wouldn't worry about the lack of flowers at this point, I have 7 plants outside about the same size as yours and they all have only the one flower truss (got the torch to check), yes the trusses grow straight off the main stem and show the yellow flower colour early on. Nipping off is an emotional subject with lots of different observations. I tend to nip off in the greenhouse when it has got to the top off its support but it will also depend (to my mind) on the time off year because I feel if its getting on a bit I nip off knowing the any tomatoes after this point will have a hard time ripening but horses for courses.

Cannot really help you with the peppers but I would be inclined to but others grapes will jump in I am sure.

[Leah and Andy]

Thanks

Phew - that's a relief. Sounds like we're doing ok for now! Thanks for your swift and very helpful responses. L & A

PS More chilli and pepper advice always welcome. No advice too obvious.

[terrier]

Hi Leah and Andy, welcome to the vine. The only thing I might add is that when I had a greenhouse (don't have one at the moment) I never used to stop the tom plants, but let them keep growing. At the end of the season I would be left with lots of small green toms. I'd then cut down the vines with the toms attached and store them in a cool, dry place. Nearly all the small toms would ripen eventually to give me home grown fruit for a few months after the plants had finished. Just another way of doing it!

[Snadger]

Hi L&A, and welcome to the vine.

Just to add my two penneth worth..for what it's worth!

7" pots are fine for chilies but maybe a bit small for tomatoes? Most people tend to use the 10" florists buckets. Once they are in full growth, and particularily because they are in a sunny position, you may find you will need to be constantly watering them. They may become a bit top heavy as well. Not a major issue but worth bearing in mind!