Tomato help

[pyrkie]

Hi

I'm a newbie and could do with some advice. Sorry if it's been asked before but this has been our first year on the allotment and we've grown tomatoes in our greenhouse. Unfortunately, they haven't been very good though and I'm keen to learn what we did wrong so we can avoid doing the same next year.

I planted two varieties - Sungold F1 Hybrid and Harlequin F1 Hybrid (both Thompson & Morgan seeds). We've pinched out the growth in the Vs of the branches and put them in the recommended size pots and watered every other day (we're transporting large bottles of water from home at the moment and daily was just too much). The tomatoes have had a lovely flavour but the skins have been extremely tough - so much so that they weren't very nice to eat. Also, lots of them split and the fruits themselves were quite mushy inside. Can anyone tell me what we did wrong? Was it lack of water? We also didn't feed them which I don't suppose was a good thing, but assumed it would just affect the amount we would harvest, rather than the quality of our harvest

If anyone can provide me with any advice or point me in the right direction, i will be VERY grateful!!

Cheers
Pyrkie

[Ruud]

Watering them every other day simply isnt enough , i water mine 3 times a day (lightly watering). I think your problems are down to your watering and not feeding them.

[rustylady]

Split skins are caused by erratic watering. As for the mushiness I think you probably left them on the plant until they were over-ripe. I grow mine in the greenhouse at home, they really do need daily attention. If you have to grow them away from home then I would suggest bigger pots, growbags or planting in the soil so they have more access to water.

[Tomatoking]

Hi

I'm a newbie and could do with some advice. Sorry if it's been asked before but this has been our first year on the allotment and we've grown tomatoes in our greenhouse. Unfortunately, they haven't been very good though and I'm keen to learn what we did wrong so we can avoid doing the same next year.

I planted two varieties - Sungold F1 Hybrid and Harlequin F1 Hybrid (both Thompson & Morgan seeds). We've pinched out the growth in the Vs of the branches and put them in the recommended size pots and watered every other day (we're transporting large bottles of water from home at the moment and daily was just too much). The tomatoes have had a lovely flavour but the skins have been extremely tough - so much so that they weren't very nice to eat. Also, lots of them split and the fruits themselves were quite mushy inside. Can anyone tell me what we did wrong? Was it lack of water? We also didn't feed them which I don't suppose was a good thing, but assumed it would just affect the amount we would harvest, rather than the quality of our harvest

If anyone can provide me with any advice or point me in the right direction, i will be VERY grateful!!

Cheers
Pyrkie

Hi Pykie

Firstly growing tomatoes in any container or peat bag is very difficult if you are not close by to attend to them. As has been pointed out.

So prepare a bed of soil for next year and get some good rotted compost mixed in to the soil a few months before.
This will give you a greater reserve for the roots, and a good supply of feed, as the plants will take a lot of what they need from the soil. When you have toms on the plant you can feed once a week or so.

If you are going to get heavy rain fall you could cover the soil around the plants with straw or plastic so the roots do not get totally soaked, this will help prevent spliting fruit. They do this a lot in the states where they grow mainly outdoor toms.

Containers and bags can produce fantastic crops, but the easy fool proof way is to grow in the soil. Just change the position where you plant them every few years, to prevent root diseases.

Mr TK

[Two_Sheds]

Sungold is prone to split its skins, even when watered correctly