Tomatoes ripening

[mrskp]

In my jungle of tomatoes (affectionately known as the triffid house) I have spotted 3 fruit ! I have/had numerous trusses and bags of flowers but setting rate has been very poor.

I knock, wiggle, spray but don't seem to be getting anywhere. I'm hoping I'm just impatient and that sometime soon the fruit will set before the blight does !

You gotta laugh haven't you ?

[veggiewomble]

Ah it seems my tomato plants are just putting energy into growing taller, producing more and more flowers and green tomatoes, but not into ripening them!

All this rain can only spell trouble....

vw

[Flummery]

I gave a tomato plant to my daughter & family. Grand daughter Caitlin (2 years old) picked them for Daddy - all green! Good job Gran's got plenty!

[Madasafish]

I planted my first 3 plants in January under a lamp.
Had my first 3 tomatoes - in greenhouse - 2 weeks ago. (small beefsteak)
Then nothing.. now 2 ripening.

Time to add lots of potash (wood ashes) to outdoor ones as rain has washed everything away...

[Rowan]

I grow tomatoes outdoors, in pots - a few have set, but not many so far. It's the weather, I think. If the tomatoes still resist ripening once they're nice and big, put a ripe tomato from the shop in among them, to give them the idea!

[veggiewomble]

A ripe tomato to give them the idea, eh?? Do you put the tomatoes beside the ones still hanging on the vine, or do you pluck the green ones, take them indoors and wait for them to ripen next to a red one? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

I planted these as small baby plants I bought from Homebase in mid-April. I bought an Earthbox to put them in and I cannot believe just how huge they are. With the Earthbox (which is covered with plastic), I cannot say the rain has affected them too much, but they have grown so unruly, they don't even seem to need a staking system to stay upright. Let's just say that the leaves are so dense that I'll need a small scythe just to check the 'insides' to see if there are any green tomatoes that I've missed. I can't even find some flowering trusses anymore because they've been consumed by the 'jungle'.

vw

[moggssue]

VW - I have a jungle too! Half of mine are in growbags and the rest in big pots and they're all helping support each other so I darent disturb them too much! At least it seems we're all in the same boat (no pun intended!) with all this growth and nothing ripe. I'm learning fast to be patient - no wonder they call it a virtue!! Good luck to all for a bumper harvest later in the year.

[j r hilton]

I have got a fair number of large toms but they are all green. I have taken off quite a few leaves to let more light at the fruit but they are still slow to ripen. Removing the leaves hasn't done any harm to the plants. I supose its all down to waiting.

[Alice]

Hello J R Hilton, and welcome to the Vine. You've done well to have green tomatoes at this stage. I think everybody is being very impatient about tomatoes . It's the first week in July ! Bags of time for tomatoes. I know we can force them on in a good year and get early tomatoes - I was eating them from July last year - but August/September is quite normal.
If the greenhouse is getting packed with leaves, and air circulation is poor, then a few leaves can be removed - but don't denude the plants.
Good luck to everybody with their tomatoes. A few of my outdoor toms have set fruit - but in the greenhouse, still just flowers. The world's a wonderful place.

[JennieAtkinson]

I've still to set any fruit in both the greenhouse and polytunnel, but I'm normally harvesting mid August and no sooner.

[vicki]

mine are just starting to ripen -we have had 3 cherry tomatoes this week! Once one ripens the rest on that plant seem to follow so should get a fair few more over the next few weeks. Funnily, its the ones outside that are ripening fist and not the ones in my plastic greenhouse - I expected it to be the other way round!

[Mrs Dobby]

We had our first ripe toms (about 7 so far from 3 plants that were planted in Feb and planted out into their growbags in April) out of the plastic greenhouse in the back yard over a month ago, but since then we've had virtually none! We've quite a few unripe ones in the greenhouse on plot1, and a few outdoor cherry ones that seem to be ripening, but nothing like the amount we were expecting after the glorious weather early on this year! Ah well, still some time to go yet, so perhaps the weather will improve and we may yet get a decent harvest!

[Phreddy]

Thought that you'd like to know how it goes here in the sunshine.
Many people start their toms indoors and have polythene bent over 2 mtr sticks (Parniks) warming the soil. Toms are put out in March and the parniks covered with blankets over night.
Later the parniks are changed into taller shelters. Red fruit from June usually.
Had my first fruit yesterday from transplants. About 70 days.
Would like to swap you some of that rain!!

Phreddy

[Phreddy]

Bramble,
any chance of a few seeds from that Mexico Midget? I have Gardeners delight(Irish strain), Red Berry, Galina (Orange cherry), Red current as well as Bulgarian or US heirlooms including a black and a green to swap.

Phreddy

[Flummery]

I've rarely had fruit in early July in my cold greenhouse. I remember getting the first small handful of cherry toms ripe on July 17th in 2001 - sticks in my mind because it was the day of my dad's funeral. It's usually around then each year. So I don't feel we're behind on this and wouldn't normally expect ripe toms for another couple of weeks. Strangely, in a greenhouse, sunshine doesn't seem to matter. (Does to me though - bucks me up a treat!)