What do you think of this?

[Small pumpkin]

firstly I'm going to apologise. I brought a gardening magazine that isn't GYO
But there was a very small Bit I found very confusing, interesting.

We only water tomatoes once a week and use aspirin solution to keep them healthy. Kept on the dry side, the fruit is much tastier as a result.

I'm guessing they are outside tomatoes or they wouldn't do well with only one watering a week?
I've never heard of an aspirin solution. But surely there will be residual traces of aspirin in the tomatoes? What about people who are allergic?
Has anyone tried not watering to much, do the fruits taste better?.
Discussion time

[Ryleh]

It's based on the same idea of putting aspirin in a vase of cut flowers to prolong their life. Aspirin contains salicylic acid which in the example of cut flowers stops or at least slows the flowers natural process of creating a substance to fight what it thinks of as a wound, ie the cut, which then causes the rest of the flower to degrade rapidly.

On veg it is supposed to activate the plant or seeds natural disease defences and so give them a better chance of fighting diseases such as wilt or blight. I've no experience of trying it myself but it's supposedly effective against things that affect tomatoes and potatoes, not sure about other things, and it's suggested that it can boost seed germination rate.

I don't think there would be any aspirin in the veg as a result but I don't know enough about that to be certain.

[veggiechicken]

There's been quite a bit about using aspirin on plants - especially against blight i toms and potatoes.
I think James Wong may be promoting in his recent book too.
One thread chosen at random - http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ray_80518.html Other threads are available

[Guest]

Willow contains salicin as well so it you want a cheaper option you can make willow tea (soak a load of willow in a bucket of water then dilute to use as a spray or feed. It is also meant to help to root cuttings (I think that was on a gardening program last year)

[Jungle Jane]

There doesn't seem to be anything online about traces of aspirin being in the tomato,so there might be,but there might not.... This thread is interesting too
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...rin_77779.html

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

I also read into this last year, never done it, and although my "Toms" we're just as late as everyone else's this season!

Put that firmly down to the conditions forced upon us all this year!

Tasted as good as always!

So certainly won't be trying it in haste! Wasn't it aimed at "Blight Resistance"

If it ain't broke! Don't fix it!

[Snadger]

My chooks get rainwater from a butt to drink. Always have. The butt has a layer of willow leaves on it after a storm and i never hear them complain they have a headache!

[Bill HH]

Willow contains salicin as well so it you want a cheaper option you can make willow tea (soak a load of willow in a bucket of water then dilute to use as a spray or feed. It is also meant to help to root cuttings (I think that was on a gardening program last year)

get car out of garage drive round area looking for willow trees, rip trousers getting over barbed wire fence, climb tree drop mobile phone in river, hack off some leaves, climb down tree, get punched on nose by angry farmer, go to A&E and wait 3 hours, get home chuck leaves in bucket of water.

Total estimated time 6 hours at say £6 an hour =£36
pair of trousers = 24
Petrol = 5
cleaning blood off shirt = 50.p
1 phone =100
Total =165.50p

or
packet of 50 asprins = £1.50p

[janzbro]

Willow is salicylate-rich this would also have the same effect (willlow tea as per post) > Aspirin was first derived from willow bark.

As for the root cutting, forget about hormone rooting powder, just chop a feww inch log cuttings in a jar of water, leave as long as you dare and you have your own rooting solution.

[muddled]

and re; the watering...I agree that less watering produces better tasting tomatoes. I don't stick to a specific regimen but water only when I think they are thirsty. The result (in my totally unscientific opinion) is slightly smaller fruit with a concentrated tomatoey taste.

[Penellype]

I used the aspirin as an anti-blight spray on the plants in my garden on the very few days this year when we had Smith criteria. I didn't use it at my friend's house. It may or may not be a coincidence, but the Christmas potatoes and outdoor tomatoes at my friend's house got blight and the ones at home did not. (Caution - last year the outdoor tomatoes at my friend's house got blight well before the ones at home did). I think this year was fairly blight free in this area anyway as it was mostly too cold.

As for watering tomatoes once a week, I find that a recipe for split and rotting fruit. In fact all of my watering systems this year were aimed specifically at a slow, steady trickle of water and when I slowed this down by turning off the automatic watering in Ocotber and only watering occasionally to try to stave off botrytis I found the proportion of split fruit increased dramatically.

[skeggijon]

I sprayed my plants with aspirin once a week this year and haven't watered as often as I usually do and I think the Tomatoes have been brilliant this year. We had earlier crops than usual and they're still cropping now.
I don't know how much of that is down to the aspirin spray though.

[TrixC]

I think limited watering does make some difference to the flavour of tomatoes but I think the 'terroir' makes more difference. The best tomatoes I've tasted were grown in volcanic soil near Auckland, New Zealand, in a coastal location where they were exposed to some salt spray. I've grown the same varieties in my UK garden and they taste completely different. The only tomatoes I've had that could touch the NZ ones were from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, also volcanic soil with coastal weather influence.

I haven't tried the aspirin thing but am intrigued, maybe give it a go next year.