Newbie tomatoes questions

[NickG]

Hi. This is our first year so we are very much novices. As per my intro thread we have a poly tunnel and our main experiment is tomatoes. I was hoping for a little experienced advice so we have some successes the kids can be proud of:

-a lot of the tomato plants have started to flower now, even though they are only around waisle height, we have only been watering with no feed so far but have started to feed now with a tomato liguid in the watering can twice a week. Will this be enough alongside daily watering?

- I haven't pinched off the main growing stem, should I leave to continue to grow? I have been removing the odd new growth in between the leaves as they have grown taller though

- as they are in a tunnel, do I need to assist pollination with a small paint brush or will they be okay? One plant has started to grow its first actual tomato

Sorry to be a pain

[veggiechicken]

Do you know what variety of tomatoes you're growing, Nick?
You prune bush tomatoes differently to Vine/Cordon tomatoes.
If they're already at waist height, they're probably Vine/Cordon ones and will need staking or strings to support them. They will grow to the roof of the polytunnel!
Tomatoes are self pollinating but you can give them a helping hand by gently tapping the plants as you walk past.

[Potstubsdustbins]

If they are in the ground and not containers then yes feeding twice a week should be plenty

[NickG]

Thanks both.

I am.growing some of a lot of different varieties, some I know will be vine so will need staking and training until I get at least 5 viable shoots and some bush that will just 'go for it' I think. Must have around 8 varietis, will write them all down when I go tomorrow again.

They are all individually grown on I'm buckets as the base of the tunnel is a.field of concrete so thought the bucket solution this year would work for our first. Should I feed more with them being in large buckets (the supermarket flower buckets to be exact)

Thanks for the info on pollenating, I didn't realise they were self pollinating, that's good news

[Bigmallly]

You shouldn't need to increase the feed but you may need to increase the watering. Are the buckets sat on soil or in trays as rule of thumb is to water from the bottom & feed from the top. You will need to keep on top of removing armpits from your cordons or you will end up with a tangled mess. Also keep an eye on the bottom leaves as these will need removing as they decay.

[happyhumph]

Misting can also help fruit set. Important to keep watering regularly - letting the compost dry out & then flooding can lead to thick/cracked skins. Cordons are generally pinched out at the top when they've got about 7 or 8 fruit trusses (flowering stem which bears a group of fruit) or when they reach the ceiling! When the weather starts cooling get rid of any new trusses so the plant can concentrate it's energies on fruit already there.

Sounds great having so many types, congratulations for being adventurous & hope they grow well for you - nothing beats the taste of a warm homegrown tomato eaten straight from the plant!

[MarkPelican]

Sounds to me as though you're doing the right things. You could experiment by growing two or three cordons on a plant, I've found that it increases the crop slightly, particularly for beefsteak varieties which tend to have fewer fruit per truss.

Don't be tempted to overfeed, it does more harm than good, twice a week at the strength recommended is ideal.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Flower buckets on concrete will need a little more attention. I have exactly the same set up in my GH. As others have said you will have to keep a close eye on the watering if summer eventually arrives. I find during hot weather I have to water every day and as this dilutes/washes out the nutrients I feed more regularly than most. I will water for two days and then feed on the third day.