Tomato problems

[Penellype]

Cutworms are moth caterpillars, any of several different species. They hide in the soil during the day then come out to the surface at night to feed. They have an annoying propensity for cutting through the stems of young plants at soil level, hence the name.

Thanks for that - lets hope there are not many of them if that's what it is.

[quanglewangle]

... although if it is at all dry when you start, when you first try to wet it the water just sits on top. It is very odd.

A drop or two of washing up liquid in the water should help it wet dry compost

[burnie]

Can I ask that we stick more to the gardening side rather than any form of pest control in our posts please, as you may know I am a fisherman and also shoot, but I keep the details for fishing and shooting forums rather than a gardening one, just saves causing any conflict. We all have various thoughts on things in life, but on here we should just be mindful of others to save ill feeling, some pests are on occasion despatched, we don't need to know the details as to how.
Ta

[Plot70]

There is indeed a section for chat about pests and weeds ETC if you scroll down from the main menu.

[MarkPelican]

I’m afraid I’m wicked enough to use peat based compost for my seeds and seedlings. I feel that the “gods” of television gardening who tell us how evil it is have heated and lit greenhouses which give their plants a better start in life but which are beyond most amateurs. (I would be interested to know the amount of carbon they generate for the heating and lighting).

Once they’re established I use peat free so the amount of peat I use is as little as I can get away with.

[Nicos]

I’ve not bought any compost here for well over a year but at that time I couldn’t find any alternative to peat based compost.
The only way to prevent overwatering/quickly drying out associated with peat was to mix it 50/50 with garden soil or mix in my own compost.

[mothhawk]

Yesterday I watched a Charles Dowding video from 2019 about poor crop growth that showed how poorly plants do when there is a lot of wood in the compost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uby8sVQJzJw&t=837s

I suspect that in finding alternatives for peat, a lot of woodchip and garden waste (which also contains a lot of wood) is used in commercial compost, and unless it is well rotted down before being made into the mix, it is causing plant growth problems. I was not impressed with the MPC I got from west-lands - it is the first MPC I've bought in many years and only because their john innes did not impress either, appearing to be mostly sand. Unfortunately they seem to be getting a monopoly in the compost market.

[nickdub]

I think I'm right in saying that the verve compost, 120L for £10 from B&Q, still has a fair amount of peat in it.

[quanglewangle]

Peat based compost.

Just offering these points without comment:

• Try Googling "Peat for fuel" , and select the Shopping tab

• Of the ten peat-burning power plants built, six have closed – Bellacorick, Lanesborough, Portarlington, Shannonbridge, Ferbane, Rhode and Portarlington – and three remain: Edenderry, Lough Ree and West Offaly.

• Bord na Mona announced its intention to phase out the harvesting of peat for energy by 2030

(my caps) Quotes [http://ireland2050.ie/past/peat/ ]

[Dorothyrouse]

I’ve got 25 growing well in pots on my balcony, always use Jacks Magic compost, just beginning to see little flowers

[50043]

Hi
Some of the leaves at the bottom of one of my plants have started to turn yellow, should I cut these off ? I presume its too much water from all the rain, I might move the pots into the conservatory, is this a good idea?
Also, on one of the plants there is a big bunch of tomatoes on one stem all touching each other, do I need to to thin them out to stop them rotting or anything ?
many Thanks

[burnie]

Hi
Some of the leaves at the bottom of one of my plants have started to turn yellow, should I cut these off ? I presume its too much water from all the rain, I might move the pots into the conservatory, is this a good idea?
Also, on one of the plants there is a big bunch of tomatoes on one stem all touching each other, do I need to to thin them out to stop them rotting or anything ?
many Thanks

Last question first, no you do not need to thin the fruits unless you intend showing them in shows., Putting plants inside when they have acclimatised might not work, I put pots in the greenhouse overnight, then move them out again in the day, but I am not growing any tomatoes outside due to living in the NE of Scotland and they don't do very well here. I remove leaves from the lower stems, both to remove dead ones, but also to let light and air into the plants, helps ripen the fruit and also reduce the chances of blight.

[50043]

Thanks Burnie

[50043]

Some of my green tomatoes have started to split at the top, though it doesnt appear the skin has broken yet - should I pick these straight away and will they ripen ?
thanks

[ameno]

Some of my green tomatoes have started to split at the top, though it doesnt appear the skin has broken yet - should I pick these straight away and will they ripen ?
thanks

How split is split?
Some old large-fruited varieties will develop small cracks around the stalk end. These should scab over and the fruit will continue to grow and ripen. It's a bit like the netting that you get on melons (this netting is actually caused by the skin cracking, and then the sap hardening into a corky substance).
Any that split deeply will just rot, however, whether on the plant or off it.