The Tomato Thread 2008

[~Obsidian~]

Hey all, I'm a newbie grower so of course picked tomatoes (minibel) as I heard they were easy :D Alhumdulillah I had one tomato growing for a while, now I have over fifty! I'm so happy, I was a little stumped by the ONE tomato, but then I tried manual pollination and voila! Lovely little beings appearing all over the place :D

Thats a pic of the first one :D (yes I know that's string, I hadn't yet acquired the twine yet :o)

Anybody else got any really good cultivars growing? (Especially in cold climes)

[dawud_uk]

assalaamu alaykum,

i am also a newby so went for tomatos, though tumbling tom for me.

i was so excited by that first little guy showing himself, now i have about 10 and looks like more on the way.

to pollinate i just give each plant a gentle shake every morning and night.

assalaamu alaykum,
Abu Abdillah

[~Obsidian~]

WalaykumSalaam

Yes it is rather exciting when the first one shows itself! :D How many plants do you have? I have 12, and when I didn't think that they were being pollinated well (I had about 1 tom for a while) I tried manual pollination - just basically swabbed all of the flowers with a single piece of cotton wool, and Alhumdulillah now I have so many I can't count! :D

Are you sure you've got ten? Take a look at the flowers and see if any of them have shrivelled up and are beginning to move forward out of the sepals - the flower shrivels before the tom begins to grow out from behind it with the shrivelled flower attached to the end for a while.

[dawud_uk]

assalaamu alaykum,

i only have three plants as just using hanging baskets this year, and some of them still have a lot of the flowers on, if all of the flowers turn to tomatos i'll be in the 50's or 60's

i also have a chilli plant but i left it too late to sow, and a wild mint which will eventually fill a basket on its own within a year or two and a lemon bush, its a herb with a lemony scent and taste but no fruit, you just get leaves off it.

assalaamu alaykum,
Abu Abdillah

[~Obsidian~]

Question! How is it that shop bought toms are all ripe (well nearly ripe) at the same time when they don't all ripen on the vine at the same time? And I've got baby toms next to nearly mature ones. Do they use ethene and cheat?

[Riz]

Question! How is it that shop bought toms are all ripe (well nearly ripe) at the same time when they don't all ripen on the vine at the same time? And I've got baby toms next to nearly mature ones. Do they use ethene and cheat?

I think its because the tomatoes are shipped to stores on a daily basis as in they are allready ripe before they get into the stores.

[~Obsidian~]

And a dumb question...what happens to my tomato plants after they have given fruit and whatnot...during winter...do they die? Should I just pull them out and stick them on the compost heap? :o

[Riz]

And a dumb question...what happens to my tomato plants after they have given fruit and whatnot...during winter...do they die? Should I just pull them out and stick them on the compost heap? :o


yes they do,

If you have a compost heap, thats the best place for it.

You can clone the tomato plant when its in vegative growth instead of starting of a dozen seeds in mid-may, one only needs to have 2 tomato plants and then you can take cuttings/clones from them which should take 7 to 10 days to root, this way you will have the exact dupicate plants from the mother plant.. thats my plan for next season anyway..

you take the cuttings the same way as the chili cuttings, i am sure you have read the thread i started, here is a link anyway
http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/showthread.php?t=57

[Kirsten]

OH MY GOSH... ok, so this is a rant only vaguely related to tomatoes, but oh my gosh I HATE squirrels.

Nothing I've done so far has gotten rid of them. Chili, soap, a fence, spiky cucumbers, nets...

I tied nets over my tomatoes before I left (went away for the last three days), and came back today to find that the blasted animal chewed through them all and still got to the tomatoes.

The blasted animal isn't even afraid of me! I chased it up a tree and the stupid animal (my apologies for all the nasty adjectives) just stood right out of my reach and looked down. I really think it's only just the one squirrel, but oh my gosh how much I resent him right now. I haven't gotten a single tomato this year thanks to that thing.

[~Obsidian~]

:eek: it's unstopppable!

[Riz]

OH MY GOSH... ok, so this is a rant only vaguely related to tomatoes, but oh my gosh I HATE squirrels.

Nothing I've done so far has gotten rid of them. Chili, soap, a fence, spiky cucumbers, nets...



lol..........

I did tell ya about my great idea of leaving a sniper on the roof didnt i !!
but seriousley what can ya do about them !!!

[~Obsidian~]

http://www.treehugger.com/army_squirrel.jpg

[Kirsten]

haha at least I'm not facing that squirrel yet.

At first I thought... you know... they're cute little animals, I couldn't bear to actually hurt them to get them away. And now I'm kind of just... ARRRRRGH.

My dad wants to build a slingshot and shoot them - he's thinking along the same sniper lines!

[~Obsidian~]

How goes the squirrel problem now?

I have two tomatoes ripening..yaay! (One is SERIOUSLY teeny though!!)
Was raining alot today and the tom plants looked lush and lovely, and I spotted a ladybird on one, the colour contrast was amazing but by the time I got my camera mr ladybird had pulled a houdini and vanished :rain-053:

[~Obsidian~]

Tomato plants are out of control, they're wild!! :eek:
Ton of large fruits (and small fruits due to the second set of flowers fruiting) they may need restaking but I'm not quite sure how. I'm thinking to prune off some leaves :/

[Riz]

you can buy some bamboo canes to stake them. or just look for inspiration around you, you can use old dryed out branches to stake them like i do, and some tomatoes in containers i have tied to the drainpipe :)

[~Obsidian~]

you can buy some bamboo canes to stake them. or just look for inspiration around you, you can use old dryed out branches to stake them like i do, and some tomatoes in containers i have tied to the drainpipe :)

They are already staked to bamboo canes, they're just waay out of control. Is it safe to pinch out sideshoots and whatnot at this stage? A couple of stems snapped from the weight (I just saw) I'm restaking them atm, but they're so out of control!

[Riz]

They are already staked to bamboo canes, they're just waay out of control. Is it safe to pinch out sideshoots and whatnot at this stage? A couple of stems snapped from the weight (I just saw) I'm restaking them atm, but they're so out of control!

i have the same problem ( every year) and yes you can pinch out the side shoots like i have been doing, i use electrical wire ( anything i can get a hold on) to keep the plants together and then i tie them to a nice strong bamboo cane.

Next season i might be using a tomatoe cage made out of galvanised chicken wire, shape the chicken wire into a cylandrical fashion and then bury it around 7 inches into the ground and plant a tomato seedling in the middle so the side shoots grow through the chicken mesh and thus support the whole tomato plant as it grows up and through the mesh, A friend of mine who is american does this and it works great.

[~Obsidian~]

Hmmm...I'll see what I can come up with meself, gotta use my education for something! I didn't expect the toms to get this bushy so I didn't plan to do anything other than stake them. I'm looking forward to building various supports next year though :insha:, cucumbers are climbers right? I want to design a support that they can climb up and then hang down from

[dawud_uk]

squirells are herbivores right? dont that mean you can say bismillah and shoot the little critter before having squirell stew?

[dawud_uk]

i've now got 37 little tomatoes, i am just worried that they are not going to ripen in time for the end of summer but we'll see.

i'll know to sow much earlier next year

[~Obsidian~]

Well done! I hope they ripen for you, I'm waiting for mine to do the same, have two ripening at present which makes 3!

And I don't think shooting squirrels is halal :/
Heres a pic of no.1

[Riz]

^ lovley tomatoe..


kirsten..
here is a pic of a squirrel cage even though this pic has strawberries growing but gives you an idea on how to save your tomatoes from the squirrels.. a friend of mine in the states uses it and he claims it to be very effective, you might want to wrap chicken mesh around the cage aswell to even further secure it..

[~Obsidian~]

Heres a pic of some of my best

Alhumdulillah some are just getting real big. I suspect that these would be okay to ripen with a banana? As opposed to the other larger ones (:eek:) in the next pic

[Riz]

yeah, just take some of and leave them indoors with a banana or without..

[dawud_uk]

yeah, just take some of and leave them indoors with a banana or without..

how well does that work?

i counted my tomatoes today and got 95 of the little fellas growing on only three plants,

but i know probably only about a 3rd of that will be ripe by end of summer, a 3rd at most and probably less as i planted a good month or two too late.

[Riz]

how well does that work?

i counted my tomatoes today and got 95 of the little fellas growing on only three plants,

but i know probably only about a 3rd of that will be ripe by end of summer, a 3rd at most and probably less as i planted a good month or two too late.


I have used them on green peppers and they turned red after 2 days with a banana.

The tomatoes should be ok to turn red at room temperatures also, i have done this before on many occasions. Its all about the humidity though they need the right amount to turn red.


26. Q. How do you tell when a green tomato harvested early to prevent freeze damage will ever turn red and ripen?

A. This can simply be done with a sharp kitchen knife. Harvest a tomato typical of the majority of green tomatoes on your plants. Look at size but pay particular attention to fruit color. Slice through the center of the tomato. Closely examine the seed within the fruit. If the seeds are covered with a clear gel which cause them to move away from the knife, then that fruit will eventually turn red and ripen. If the seeds are cut by the knife then those fruit will never properly ripen. Compare the color and size of the tested fruit when harvesting tomatoes on your plants. Most similar fruit will eventually ripen and turn red.




http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/showthread.php?t=89

[~Obsidian~]

I think I killed my tom plants with my over-enthusiastic pruning. :(

[Riz]

I think I killed my tom plants with my over-enthusiastic pruning. :(

lol..

it feels like that when the plant looks droopy, but they recover well, mine looked as if they died, but now are looking good

[~Obsidian~]

You sure?? Did any leaves turn brown? :( I honestly think I killed them, I gave them a feed in the hopes of boosting their morale :p I hope they bounce back!

[Riz]

You sure?? Did any leaves turn brown? :( I honestly think I killed them, I gave them a feed in the hopes of boosting their morale :p I hope they bounce back!

yeah..

some small leaves do turn brown.. its like having a limb ampuated youre bound to feel sick for a while lol.

last season was the same i had a huge bowl full of green tomatos. only a handful of tomatoes turned red on then vine, 2 seasons ago 90% of my crop turned red on the vine, i planted the tommies in the ground at that time, right at the back of the garden were it gets the most sun, but now i have a bamboo growing in the space.

I was talking to one of my neighbours and elderly gentlemen who had been gardening for decades and he was saying he just doesnt understand the weather anymore atall he was very disappointed with his tomatoes and aubergines not doing well, i think most tommy gardeners will be disappointed this season with the lack of fruit and the horrible conditions outdoors in uk.. just goes to show that a greenhouse would be ideal in the future.. I have another friend who is growing tomatoes inside a greenhouse and they all have "BLOSSOM ROT" and he doesnt know why this is happening, so i can asure you were are not the only ones worried about tomatoes not turning red this season outdoors.

[~Obsidian~]

Wow..
I also heard my neighbour who had been gardening for years say that this year the toms aren't doing well at all, but last year they were much better and had all turned red by now. I'm thinking to move my greenhouse off of the beans and onto the tomatoes to help them ripen

[Riz]

Wow..
I also heard my neighbour who had been gardening for years say that this year the toms aren't doing well at all, but last year they were much better and had all turned red by now. I'm thinking to move my greenhouse off of the beans and onto the tomatoes to help them ripen

yep..

or you could put a clear plastic bag over the tomatoes on the vine giving them "humid "conditions to turn red, just make sure you "air them" every other day or they might start to rot.. " air" them as in just take the plastic bag of the tommies for 24 hours helps them to breathe better and then put the bag over them again, some people cut a plastic bottle in half and put that over the tomatoes, you might have seen that in some gardens....

[~Obsidian~]

I think they'll get greenhoused, because that way they get their atmosphere but they also get the airing out they would require.
How are the toms you picked and left to ripen doing? Any sign of redness?

[Riz]

no not yet..

it takes around 9 days for them to start turning red it hasnt been that long yet... i hope they do, it has taken time and patience to germinate the little tomatoe seeds back in april and nurse them thus far only for them not to ripen..

[~Obsidian~]

no not yet..

it takes around 9 days for them to start turning red it hasnt been that long yet... i hope they do, it has taken time and patience to germinate the little tomatoe seeds back in april and nurse them thus far only for them not to ripen..

I agree! Having planted them in march and brought them this far only to have just 4 ripen while maybe 100-200 more stay green :( twould suck

[~Obsidian~]

a picture of the foliage in a pile...twas LOADS. And the second one is a picture of a tom that is ripening now - it's got a bit of tomato feed on it (D'oh!) hence the dry/whitish appearance. And lol I just saw the amount of string in that picture, this particular tom plant was all over the place, needed severe restraining.

[Riz]

i hope you get a decent grow out of it, and why have you been watering the foliage anyway ? the chemicals in the tomato feed sometimes can burn the leafs and make them curl up, it doesnt add any benefit too the plant if you water the leafs.. unless you are watering with some liquid foliar feed..

[~Obsidian~]

i hope you get a decent grow out of it, and why have you been watering the foliage anyway ? the chemicals in the tomato feed sometimes can burn the leafs and make them curl up, it doesnt add any benefit too the plant if you water the leafs.. unless you are watering with some liquid foliar feed..

Can it really? Yikes! Heavy watering-can, when I lift it it tends to drip all over the place :(

[Riz]

Can it really? Yikes! Heavy watering-can, when I lift it it tends to drip all over the place :(

yep..

just water the ground.. its been raining today :sky11:

[~Obsidian~]

yep..

just water the ground.. its been raining today :sky11:

Aye cap'n, lol I'm not a dunce, I promise! Four toms ripening (well one of them is teeeeny tiny that is on a broken bit of stem :confused:)
:natur014:

[Riz]

the weather isnt looking good for the whole of next week.....

[~Obsidian~]

Well that sucks. I've got a couple of hundred out there and so far about ten have ripened/are ripening! Can I bring the plants indoors? I dunno :S

[Riz]

Can I bring the plants indoors? I dunno :S

I ma glad you asked that, and YES you can, if you leave them in a warm place they will turn red sooner, i have done that on a few occasions with chilis aswell and it defintley works, you should try that with some of the plants...

[~Obsidian~]

I hope they don't die on the way in, I'll hafta dig them up from the ground! Boy I'll need a day to do that, transplant beans from pots to soil now that they're big enough to fight off cat attacks, dig up toms and repot them, and then find somewhere to put them :D Oh and somehow keep them staked...

[Riz]

I hope they don't die on the way in, I'll hafta

dig them up from the ground! Boy I'll need a day to do that, transplant beans from pots to soil now that they're big enough to fight off cat attacks, dig up toms and repot

them, and then find somewhere to put them :D Oh and somehow keep them staked...

Oh yeah i forgot they are in the ground, in that case let them be, you dont
want to start digging them up at this stage they will get confused and drop all the fruit and start to grow in vegative growth again so its not worth it, just let them be and take notes for next season

[~Obsidian~]

Lol, coulda just said so! I guess I'll just hafta make do with proteting them somehow

[~Obsidian~]

Heres a pic, as you can tell they're still looking a bit sorry for themselves. From the looks of it though, alot more of them seem like they're about to ripen. Taking pictures enhances the red colour and so I can tell even earlier which toms are about to ripen. Not gonna use that as a foolproof method though. Apart from these two, I've got around 4 more ripening.

[Riz]

wow..

they have so much fruit growing on them.. http://www.planetganja.com/highsociety/images/smilies/GreenThumbs.gif the minibel variety do give plenty of fruit. just watch out for the weather and remember when the fruit shows signs of ripening, watering should be cut down. If too much water is given at this stage, it can cause the skins to split, as the flesh swells faster than the skin can grow. They will still need regular watering, but just not as much of it.

[~Obsidian~]

The clusters range from small numbers (2 or 3) to in their 30s. Which means I've got a ton of unripe green ones. But heck, long as they grew in the first place :D JazakhAllah Khayr for all of your help with this stuff :D made it a whole lot easier!!

[~Obsidian~]

Some more ripening, bout 3! I go out and spot them, then I just pick em and bring em in to ripen because weather conditions aren't ideal

[Riz]

you should take the whole "truss" off at one time and put them in a paper bag and leave in a cool dry place,, i bet ya that will ripen all of them for ya..

[~Obsidian~]

I would but I honestly can't tell which are going to ripen and which aren't because on a single truss I have got about 3 generations of toms

[Riz]

I would but I honestly can't tell which are going to ripen and which aren't because on a single truss I have got about 3 generations of toms


just get rid of the real small ones or flowers that are about to bloom, its just wasting vital energy that other fully formed tomatoes could use
if you have a truss with 75% grown tomatoes even if they are green you should take that truss of and get rid of the smaller tomatoes and bring the truss indoors like i did and mine turned red when i took them of the vine they were totally green and no hint of them turning .

I think your tomatoes are ready for this because you germinated them really early in the season, so my guess is they just need warmth to change colour. try taking some trusses indoors and leaving some of them outdoors so this way you will know...

[~Obsidian~]

okay...I'm totally trusting you on this though, I'mma take the biggest ones off and see what happens.

*slowly goes*

[Riz]

how many plants do you have in total ?

bring some fully formed trusses indoors and leave some outdoors, so this way you will know if the minibel variety is worth growing outdoors in uk without the aid of a polytunnel or a greenhouse...

wipe the tomatoes off if they have moisture on them and leave in a paper bag in a cool dry place, if you have an un ripened banana or apple insert that inside the bag if you have not dont worry about it, it takes around 9 days for the ripening process so its the waiting game for you, just check on them every other day or so... some people leave the tomatoes on the kitchen windowsill to ripen....

[~Obsidian~]

how many plants do you have in total ?

bring some fully formed trusses indoors and leave some outdoors, so this way you will know if the minibel variety is worth growing outdoors in uk without the aid of a polytunnel or a greenhouse...

wipe the tomatoes off if they have moisture on them and leave in a paper bag in a cool dry place, if you have an un ripened banana or apple insert that inside the bag if you have not dont worry about it, it takes around 9 days for the ripening process so its the waiting game for you, just check on them every other day or so... some people leave the tomatoes on the kitchen windowsill to ripen....

12 plants. I've cut off a ton of trusses (there were many) and still left loads out there to see whether they'll ripen or not. They're not in a bag (none available), they're in a bowl with some apples, I've stuck them in a dark/warm cupboard.

That was so much fun though! I've been itching to do that for a while (most of my research indicates that this was the most successful course of action) the bowl looks like a bowl of grapes (will post a pic soon iA) and a couple have already gone into a salad :D

It took about five months to get from seed to this stage where most of them'd ripen i it was sunny enough. I'm crazily thinking to start some a month earlier indoors and see whether they cope with the light conditions, this way they'd have a chance of ripening outdoors iA. I can also start some half a month earlier, and some right on time like last year. Also gonna keep some in pots in case they do have to come inside early.:boots: ideas galore!:natur014:

[Riz]

okay...I'm totally trusting you on this

dont you mean you are totally trussing me on this.



ps.. i know its a pathetic joke..

[~Obsidian~]

Oh boy....you are right, that was terrible :D

[Riz]

dawud uk

salaam,

How goes it with your tomatoes dawud, are they turning red for you at the moment or not ?

we should all compare notes for next season , so we know which strain is viable for outdoors or not..

[~Obsidian~]

Grapes anyone? :p I don't think that many of them will ripen, we'll see anyhow!:flower-033:

[Riz]

really nice :)

they do look like grapes lol.. i think they will ripen i know mine have. The minibel is a great strain and its a heavy yielder, the little tomatoes in your pic look deep green at the top of the tomatoes and thats a good sign...

[~Obsidian~]

really nice :)

they do look like grapes lol.. i think they will ripen i know mine have. The minibel is a great strain and its a heavy yielder, the little tomatoes in your pic look deep green at the top of the tomatoes and thats a good sign...

Most of them look like that :confused: didn't think that was an indication of anything. It is a heavy yielder, and probably would have done fantastic if I had controlled them from the start (which I shall do next year inshAllah). The ones I left outside may actually begin to ripen. I also broke off all of the small ones today, left a heap of them on the compost heap.

[~Obsidian~]

Wheee! yesterday I had 5 ripening toms, today, 7 :D they were the ones closest to the apples that started to ripen. I discovered bananas today, stuck one of them in for good measure. :)

[Kirsten]

*jealous*

[~Obsidian~]

*jealous*

Why aye lassy, don't be!! Or I'll totally start eyeing-up your cucumbers and lemon trees :p

[dawud_uk]

should i give up for outdoor growing this year?

my brother is still getting a crop in france on his farm, but it is quite a lot warmer there

http://simple-lodge.blogspot.com/

so should i bring them in and stick them in a bowl with fruit now or leave another week or two?

assalaamu alaykum,
Abu Abdillah

[Riz]

should i give up for outdoor growing this year?

what do you mean give up, what else have you planned for this season ?

so should i bring them in and stick them in a bowl with fruit now or leave another week or two?

assalaamu alaykum,
Abu Abdillahwhat strain of tomato is it ?
when did you start them ?

any chance of a pic to see

just had a quick look in the garden and even though its been raining all morning some of the tomatoes are turning orange on the vine, so what you could do is exactly what obsidian did, bring some indoors and leave some outdoors just as a comparison, so we all know what strains of tomatoes to work with..

i left some of mine on the vine outdoors the "moneymaker" variety and they went red on the vine here is a link to the tomatoes in containers thread http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/showthread.php?t=59&page=9

[~Obsidian~]

Dawud, can we get a pic? Some of mine that I brought inside have started to ripen, even though I didn't think they looked at all near that stage.

Alhumdulillah, 10 ripening now :)

And 8 ripening outdoors!! :D:D

[Riz]

http://simple-lodge.blogspot.com/



your brother is doing a great job the place looks amazing, you should tell him to come by muslimgrower and say hello :)

i love his pickling aswell :)

[dawud_uk]

here are my tomatoes about a week ago, as we see all green!

they are tumbling tom variety, i actually got about 150 off of just three plants in hanging baskets and also have a wild mint plant in there, a drawf rose and lemon verbana as well.

[MustafaMc]

I was a little stumped by the ONE tomato, but then I tried manual pollination and voila! Lovely little beings appearing all over the place :DThat sounds like a good idea. Can you describe how you did the pollination?

Never mind, I saw that you used a cotton ball. Insha'Allah, I will try that.

[~Obsidian~]

That sounds like a good idea. Can you describe how you did the pollination?

Never mind, I saw that you used a cotton ball. Insha'Allah, I will try that.

Yep I used a cotton ball, but afterwards they just pollinated like crazy, toms all over the place.

13 ripening outside now and 14 inside!

[MustafaMc]

The reason that I asked was that we have very healthy vines, but relatively few fruit. I think it was on account of it being so hot here in south USA that the pollination didn't take. I have ordered some seed of Solar Fire and Solar Set R hybrids from totallytomato.com. These are supposed to tolerate heat better.

[MustafaMc]

you can buy some bamboo canes to stake them. or just look for inspiration around you, you can use old dryed out branches to stake them like i do, and some tomatoes in containers i have tied to the drainpipe :)I bought some concrete reinforcing wire from the hardware store to make cages. The wire is heavy duty and constructed such that the gaps are about 6 inches (15cm) square. I cut the wire in about 5.7 ft (175cm) segments and rolled it into a cylinder. I cut the cross wire on the bottom such that the vertical wires can be stuck in the ground. At the end of the year, I stack them up and reuse them again and again.

On pruning, I remove most of the suckers that grow out from the stem at the junction of the leaf.

[Riz]

here are my tomatoes about a week ago, as we see all green!

they are tumbling tom variety, i actually got about 150 off of just three plants in hanging baskets and also have a wild mint plant in there, a drawf rose and lemon verbana as well.

nice pics.. You should bring some of your tomatoes indoors like obsidian and i have, all mine have ripened from dark green to crimson red.
The mint is flowering i can see, it wont grow any more once it starts to flower so there will be no further leaf production you can harvest the leaves now if you like or they will mould away eventually....

[Riz]

The reason that I asked was that we have very healthy vines, but relatively few fruit. I think it was on account of it being so hot here in south USA that the pollination didn't take. I have ordered some seed of Solar Fire and Solar Set R hybrids from totallytomato.com. These are supposed to tolerate heat better.

Too be honest with you, tomatoe plants self pollinate, a gust of wind helps out, it would take a long time to hand pollinate each flower espically if you have a dozen plants or more,, its better to gently shake the plant to release the pollen inside the flower...

[Riz]

some pics of my tomatoes ripening indoors at diffrent times

[~Obsidian~]

here are my tomatoes about a week ago, as we see all green!

they are tumbling tom variety, i actually got about 150 off of just three plants in hanging baskets and also have a wild mint plant in there, a drawf rose and lemon verbana as well.
They look good, even-sizes. Mine are all shapes and sizes - any sign of redness (or even bright yellow) yet?
The reason that I asked was that we have very healthy vines, but relatively few fruit. I think it was on account of it being so hot here in south USA that the pollination didn't take. I have ordered some seed of Solar Fire and Solar Set R hybrids from totallytomato.com. These are supposed to tolerate heat better.
Really? What kind of tomatoes do you have right now? The name? Can you get the minibel variety over there? Thats what I have right now, extremely heavy-cropper and would have done so much better if it was hotter! I think I have 3 - 4 generations of toms developing, had to sacrifice the last one due to the short summer.

nice pics.. You should bring some of your tomatoes indoors like obsidian and i have, all mine have ripened from dark green to crimson red.
The mint is flowering i can see, it wont grow any more once it starts to flower so there will be no further leaf production you can harvest the leaves now if you like or they will mould away eventually....
Aye, they do ripen well indoors, although I've got near-enough an equal amount ripening outdoors too, theonly advantage right now (apart from having forced a few to ripen) is that the ones indoors are dry - I fear for the ones outside, they might get blossom end rot in this rain:(
some pics of my tomatoes ripening indoors at diffrent times

Brilliant :)

[Riz]

I bought some concrete reinforcing wire from the hardware store to make cages. The wire is heavy duty and constructed such that the gaps are about 6 inches (15cm) square. I cut the wire in about 5.7 ft (175cm) segments and rolled it into a cylinder. I cut the cross wire on the bottom such that the vertical wires can be stuck in the ground. At the end of the year, I stack them up and reuse them again and again.


thats a great idea mustafa, ill do that next season :)

[dawud_uk]

They look good, even-sizes. Mine are all shapes and sizes - any sign of redness (or even bright yellow) yet?


I have two outdoors that look to be ripening a little, going orange and the other yellow, left them out though for a few more days and will bring them and the ones surrounding them in in a few days if havent ripened by mid next week.

[~Obsidian~]

I have two outdoors that look to be ripening a little, going orange and the other yellow, left them out though for a few more days and will bring them and the ones surrounding them in in a few days if havent ripened by mid next week.

Sounds like a good plan, I've probably said this before, but some tomatoes I thougt wouldn't ripen because they weren't ready but they have been ripening indoors (next to apples and a banana).

I'm thinking to bring mine in around the same time, that's if the weather holds out though, I may bring them in earlier.

[~Obsidian~]

Pic of those inside (taken today) and those outside (taken today).
Edit: sorry the ones outside are dodgy, taken in the dark with flash. I've said this before but taking pictures is a good indicator of which toms are going to ripen, it enhances the red colour (that 'reddish' tom on the left does not look at all red in real life)

[~Obsidian~]

I feel horrible posting this because of what is happening to Riz's toms:o but me own are doing faboo. Ripening outdoors and indoors, the plants look pretty and colourful! Even in this crappy weather they're doing well, I definitely recommend the strain to everyone in the UK.

[Riz]

so the minibel is a keeper huh !!!

is this the first tme you have ever grown ?

[~Obsidian~]

First time I've ever grown toms! Before that was just dahlias and radish (once only, and many years ago). Definitely a keeper. Although, if I kept the seeds of these they are likely to be hybrids aren't they?

[dawud_uk]

finally getting somewhere alhamdulillah,

the ones i brought in have two going yellow, and i now have 3 or 4 outside turning a really bright yellow.

even though i was late this year, really given me a boost to go for it next year inshallah.

[~Obsidian~]

MashAllah, its so rewarding when they do that :D Apparently it wasn't this bad last year or the year before (with the late ripening), lets pray that next year isn't the same!

[Riz]

MashAllah, its so rewarding when they do that :D Apparently it wasn't this bad last year or the year before (with the late ripening), lets pray that next year isn't the same!

dawuduk:
finally getting somewhere alhamdulillah,
the ones i brought in have two going yellow, and i now have 3 or 4 outside turning a really bright yellow.
even though i was late this year, really given me a boost to go for it next year inshallah.
http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/images/muslimgrower/misc/progress.gif A neighbour of mine has been growing tomatoes a long time, He told me that he germinated the seeds in mid may outdoors and in mid august all his tomatoes ripened to red, But in the last 4 to 5 years the weather has been so erratic that in his opinion every season could be a hit or miss.

dawud when did you germinate the tomato seeds ?

Its like every year the light time diminishes and we get less and less ( thats the way it seems like)

So inshallah i will be looking for a greenhouse for next season i have a budget but you should try to get one really big as in the coming years you would have filled the greenhouse up with so many plants you wish you had invested in a bigger greenhouse but you should get what ever your budget allows you :)

Its been a terrible season for most people in uk ( the ones i have spoken too)

Even the "minibel" variety i noticed you germinated them really early and we are nearly in mid september. The strain i grew the "moneymaker" the classic shaped tomato thats grown every were in u.k really ripened late for me outdoors. So i shall be looking for a hot house for myself soon, i allready sourced a place for it right at the back of the garden even a second hand one will do for my needs,

[~Obsidian~]

Had a couple of split skins :(

[~Obsidian~]

It started to rain last week for a lil while, so I harvested a ton more toms before the skins could split (no, I'm not neurotic!). And now there are some more ripening :D

[~Obsidian~]

Okay I've had in total about 3 big harvests (and yes, there are still some ripening! :eek:) and I'm just enjoying a couple right now (they're so tasy and juicy!!).

[~Obsidian~]

AsSalaamu Alakum y'all! Sorry I haven't been posting much in a while..been a bit busy :eek:

Anywhoo, I was just wondering, if I stuck my tom plants on the compost heap, would that affect any potatoes I might plant in the resulting compost?

I should be posting some new pics too soon inshaAllah, haven't been able to connect phone to comp in a while :(

[~Obsidian~]

*BUMP*

Anybody? :(

[Riz]

AsSalaamu Alakum y'all! Sorry I haven't been posting much in a while..been a bit busy :eek:

Anywhoo, I was just wondering, if I stuck my tom plants on the compost heap, would that affect any potatoes I might plant in the resulting compost?



NO it wouldn't, you will be fine.. as long as the tomato plant has rotted down to just compost :)

[dhakiyya]

tomato seeds - can you just plant a tomato in soil/compost, or do you have to buy seeds? Cause I know that tomato seeds are designed to survive travelling through an animal's digestive system, but is it necessary for them to make this journey before they can germinate? Or can I just plant an old tomato in the ground and have it grow into a tomato plant?

Thanks :)

[edibles]

first off tomato SEED!! if you put a tomato in the ground it will rot.
second point if you plant one from a regular tomato it will germinate but it may be a hybrid which you dont want

[dhakiyya]

I thought the rotting tomato might provide some natural compost for the seeds inside it :S

hmmmm... don't know much about hybrids and stuff, but I would like to grow a variety that is grown locally, more chance of it coping with the climate!!

[edibles]

the rotting tomato will rot the seed as well 99% of the time

hybrids occur when two different varieties cross it often ends up with bad result, though that said their is no guaranteed way of knowing if it is a hybrid or not you could end up with a good variety

[dhakiyya]

okay thanks for the explanation :) I'll see if I can find out what varieties are grown locally and buy some seeds inshaAllah :)

[Riz]

^ just request some from your mum in blighty :)