Indoor tomatoes, outdoor tomatoes??

[Duronal]

I can remember you posting about this earlier in the year after mine got ravaged by blight, as my plot is over by you I wondered how you managed to get any at all. mine got hit before a single one ripened. I Might give your ideas a go this year and see if I can get any to crop outside.

Where is your allotment? I'm in old woking in a relatively new house (terrible soil) so i grow in pots in my back garden up against walls and fences. I've found that by keeping them dry blight doesn't tend to get them too early. I can't remember where i read it but essentially the idea with the leaves thing is to reduce the area in which the blight spores can take hold. The spores germinate on damp leaves and the like so by improving airflow hopefully they'll dry quicker and we'll have more toms and less blight.

Ferline was by far the best variety for not getting blight last year - tasty too! - but it's an F1 and very expensive. I'm going to have a go with the f2 seeds this year and you never know i'll see what i get.

has anyone had any joy using the tomato culture rings outside?

[Duronal]

Is any one else just itching to get sowing? or is it just me?

[crazy_red]

Nope, not just you!

Sitting on my hands to resist the urge

Red

[BrideXIII]

LOL,

no, i think its all of us.hence my sproutings in the kitchen.

god news on the date palms BTW if anyone remembers my post on them ?
( the ones i did from a bought packet of dates)
they ALL germinated, i had to give half away, and now have 12 growing strong with shoots 2 inches tall, should be ready for re-potting in spring.

so if anyone is after palm trees next year let me know

[crazy_red]

Bride, are they hardy in this country or are they a fling on the patio, bring inside in winter thing?

Red

[BrideXIII]

Bride, are they hardy in this country or are they a fling on the patio, bring inside in winter thing?

Red

well if i recall, once they get to a certain size you can plant them outside, will have to check, but I am pretty sure you keep them in a pot for 2- 3 years until they are well established, potting them on yearly, they can grow pretty big as i am sure you know.

would depend on where you are i guess, and what type they are ( hard to tell from a box of dates).

some date palms can survive -5 at night!

i figure its worth a try seeing as I got so many from one box.

lots of people grow palms round here and not all of them wrap them in the winter, although many do.

[crazy_red]

That's just so cool, growing them from a box of 'sweeties'

I'm getting the urge to rummage through the kitchen cupboards....

[BrideXIII]

That's just so cool, growing them from a box of 'sweeties'

I'm getting the urge to rummage through the kitchen cupboards....

Hardy Tropicals - Seeds - Date Palm

dead simple, must be, i did it.

this also says that they are cold hardy and can take a ligh frost, if you check out other parts of the site i think it explains wrapping them in really bad weather. either way they are pretty slow growing so make good indoor plants.

[maytreefrannie]

Do you actually get fruit in Britain from the Date Palm? I never knew they could even survive in our climate.

[Two_Sheds]

MayTree, you should visit the south coast of England, there's loads of hardy palms, especially in Worthing, Sussex. It's not warm enough here for them to fruit, but they look quite exotic, and don't mind a battering from coastal salty winds.

Here's a how-to, with pics Grow a Date from Seed

and a great Wiki article on dates: Phoenix dactylifera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Bren In Pots]

For the second year running my outdoor toms haven't ripened won't be growing them next year because there's only so much Green tom chutney I can eat.

[gojiberry]

I get blight every year and so I don't grow tomatoes outside as I do not know of a blight resistant tomato. Some tomatoes are classed as outdoor because they will grow reasonably well at lower temps. All toms will grow indoors and do better than if grown outdoor. It is all down to space and blight.

Ian

[Jedi Gardener]

Mine also have suffered blight outside but not usually until I have had quite a few ripen. Have grown some super ones inside but for outside ones the cherry types like tumbling tom in hanging baskets have produced more than any others I've tried. This yr ended up like Bren with loads of green tomato chutney, which is nice but I also am cutting down on outside toms!