2018 Tromba Competition

[SarrissUK]

I think he will absolutely forgive you, just talk to him nicely

I have a fruit that is curving over a sidebar on the arch - I might encourage it to keep wrapping itself, just to see if it will haha

When I last grew trombas, they were quite lime green/yellow in colour - that doesn't worry me at all. I don't remember them being quite as green as some of mine are now.

[lottie dolly]

He has a lot of growing before he earns that tital VC

[Craig_C]

At OH's request, I harvested my first Tromba yesterday, which was over a foot long.
After a brief rinse under the tap, it was topped and tailed and sliced reasonably thinly. (Not peeled.)
Griddled for a few minutes along with some haloumi, peppers and my only garlic bulb that survived the winter. Topped off with some naturally sun-dried basil leaves.*
Very nice.


*Other Basil leaves are available, but not after the sun we've had recently.

[rary]

I have just measured one of mine 24ins. long and 5ins. girth or 61x13cm so if they don't lose their taste as they get bigger I will leave it as I was thinking about pulling it

[Ani]

I am not happy with my tromba, so far all fruit has been dying off. The biggest one is now also going soft, I will have to harvest it (but it is quite big and thick anyway). Only one stays firm but grows in one part only (incomplete pollination?).
I thought they are compatible with courgettes (both are c. pepo) but I am not completely sure.
It produced female flowers only for some time, now it produces males and taking a break with females.

[jackarmy]

No big fruit

But plants are progressing, frame had a bit of a knock back due to a new greenhouse.

[Snoop Puss]

Sid has grown quite a bit in my absence. A few tiny females in evidence but no flowers have blossomed as yet.

VC, I know this is off-topic, but where did you get those trunks? They're quite spectacular.

[veggiechicken]

Spectacular trunks!! I just had a flash of memory of my Dad wearing knitted bathers.

But I digress, do you mean the trunks that I put my veg on for photos? If so, they're from an ash tree that was too close to the house and had to be felled. The trunk was cut into drums and slices and they're dotted around the garden drying out. Some are starting to split and, eventually, they'll be turned into logs for the fire. They're in lots of my photos as most of them were too heavy to lift, just rolled around.

[Sylvan]

Gosh, you all have such big ones!
Mine aren't growing at anything like that rate.
I do have a fruit though. (Just one. Barney Mac grew it.)

[Sylvan]

How do you know when they've been pollinated?

[rary]

A couple of photos to show the difference in these trombos, the curly whurly one was first to set yet the one behind it is growing by the hour and there is no softness with it its firm from top to bottom

[rary]

Had one with in my meal last night and tasted very nice
I picked that one because it was yellowish in colour, as THelma had said in an earlier post one looked as if it was going off due to poor pollination, so,didn't want to risk losing it

[Snoop Puss]

Congrats, Rary. I have my very first flower open. It's a boy (as in no fruit).

[Sylvan]

How can you tell whether they've been pollinated?
My big one is about a foot long but doesn't seem to be growing. It's a sort of lime green.

[Sylvan]

And one of my tromba plants has produced these


I think the ravens must have been playing tricks on me.