Controlling the jungle

[Mumbles]

This is my veg patch



I have leeks parsnips and sprouts all behaving themselves and sticking to their allotted space. The cucumbers have wormed their way through everything and the tomatoes have turned into darn right thugs.

I have loads of cucumbers and tomatoes developing but my main concern is the tomatoes ripening. They (the fruits) are all overshadowed by the gigantic plants and leaves. Shall I cut back the foliage now to make the most of what sun is left and to let my well behaved plants have some space back??

Thanks all


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[cariann88]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1tj2zJ2Wvg

Sorry this song come into my head when reading your post

I am sure someone will come along soon and help you out.

[marchogaeth]

What Are The Light Requirements For Tomato Plants

Hope you find this link useful. Too much sun and toms won't ripen.

[teakdesk]

What Are The Light Requirements For Tomato Plants

Hope you find this link useful. Too much sun and toms won't ripen.

I've read it twice and it doesn't seem to say that!

I know my specs aren't the best but....

[marchogaeth]

I've read it twice and it doesn't seem to say that!

I know my specs aren't the best but....

You are quite right the link doesn't say that! It does say that they don't need sunlight to actually ripen.

When I said tomatoes won't ripen with too much sun, I was thinking of green shoulders Help! My Tomatoes Have Green Shoulders (or Yellow Shoulders).

It is also true that too much heat and they won't ripen eg Food Gardening Guide :: National Gardening Association.

I hope I've got it right this time! I was trying to be quick as I was rushing out.

[Rocketron]

It seems to be saying that we shouldn't cut all the leaves off (as we've been advised).
It's a balancing act again.
We cut off the leaves to improve airflow and hope fully minimise the risk of blight

[marchogaeth]

I always thought it was the leaves at the bottom you cut off to avoid soil splash when watering which leads to blight but I am quite prepared to be wrong!

[solway cropper]

Not sure that splashing leads to blight. You could drench your plants but if no blight spores are present you wouldn't get blight. Blight needs more than a bit of water to thrive. I remove the lower leaves when they look half dead. Once they stop doing what leaves are supposed to do they might as well not be there.

[marchogaeth]

Not sure that splashing leads to blight. You could drench your plants but if no blight spores are present you wouldn't get blight. Blight needs more than a bit of water to thrive. I remove the lower leaves when they look half dead. Once they stop doing what leaves are supposed to do they might as well not be there.

It was something I saw in a video on a polytunnel website, definitely talked about soil splash. I water mine through buried bottles and keep the soil in the tunnel beds really dry on top so the humidity is as low as possible. Normally we are really bad for blight however, we had our first full B-period for this year last week which is unheard of. Totally agree with you about remove leaves that aren't in their prime they are just using oxygen.

[Penellype]

I think the idea of removing the lower leaves is to improve air circulation and therefore reduce humidity. While humidity alone won't cause blight, if blight spores are present, keeping the humidity low will help to keep the blight at bay (hopefully).

Having said that, I think if blight is around you will probably get it anyway.