I live in NZ where the majority of gardeners grow their tomatoes outside. it can get very hot and dry in the summers and where I live water is precious at this time. After experimenting, I now put a 1 litre plastic milk bottle with holes drilled in the bottom between every 2 tomato plants, buried so just the top of the bottle is visible. I keep the top on the bottle to avoid evaporation. The bottles get filled with rainwater 2-3 times a week. I also put the plant tea and the rinsing from milkbottles into these bottles. I have had really good crops of tomatoes since doing this. I now have these bottles throughout my summer vegetable and berry gardens and my version of olla pots around my fruit trees, pots and rose gardens. My garden is small so interplanting etc is a given, and mulch laid around the edges of the plants.
Interesting suggestion. Climate change has made our West Coast Canadian gardens far more hot and sunny than in previous years....I've been ~ quite frankly ~ shocked at how quickly my soil DRIES OUT during the heat of particularly hot sunny days. It's nuts. This is a great suggestion. Thank you.
To prevent tomato cracking I came up with something that worked last year. If conditions are somewhat dry, and a large rain is coming, water the tomatoes. My theory was that if I reduced the Delta, if I made the sudden change less extreme, then the Tomato would have a better opportunity to absorb the excess water slowly enough not to crack. I found that this helped quite a bit.
Thank you! I’m going to try that this year. I’m in Denver Colorado, so dry is the rule of thumb, but then we’ll get a huge downpour (hopefully without hail) and my tomatoes will crack. Your solution makes perfect sense!
On trick to consider to increase root growth in shallow soils (such as in a raised bed), and with reasonably tall plants: rather than digging a deeper hole, you can dig a trench, and lay the root ball and part of the stem in horizontally, and gently bending the last part up. Trench planting also puts the roots into the warmer top soil, while a deep hole, in some climates, may put roots into a too cool sub soil, which may actually decrease root growth. Hope this helps.
@@jellojoe00 Depends on how tall your beds are, what type of substrate is under your beds, and what you are growing. Shallow soil has a range of definitions, depending on what plants you are growing. A garden soil depth of 20 inches (50 cm) is one standard (but not the only one --- it can vary). So if one accept that standard, as just an example, and if your beds are shorter than that, and sit on heavy clay or sand, or are an enclosed box or are on a concrete slab in worst case scenarios, then you beds might be considered to be shallow soils for some plants.
@@jellojoe00 Some people also don't have the option to have deep beds. I garden on a balcony, as I live in a second story apartment. I use various smart pots, from 5 to 15 gallons (and one 6 foot long, 18" deep, bed). This suggestion is actually perfect for my garden, a trick I had forgotten about but fits perfectly for my situation.
@@HannaARTzink Our tomato seedling were super tall and used the trench planting method in the ground, In central Connecticut. We went from 70 degrees to 99 then back down to mid 60's. We had strong gusts of wind. All 4 have a lot of stems and leaves now. Started flowering this week.
Hello and good evening Huw, I am also growing tomatoes and Chilis for a couple of years. Some years are good some aren’t! I was really enjoying your wonderful video you provided about tomato-culture. There are always new aspects to learn from. Today I just finished to plant my tomatoes and Chilis into my greenhouse. Little time later I add different types of basil and marygolds. I am very glad finding your blog here on RU-vid. If you allow me one extra comment, as a German I really love the way you speak and pronounce your fantastic English. It’s really awesome. Can learn a lot. Well, have a very good evening and thank you so much for your worthily advice for growing tomatoes. Kind regards Uwe
Good morning, I love your videos! Thank you. Those suckers that you remove from your tomatoes; my mother taught me many years ago that suckers can be rooted in a bit of water and it will become an entirely new plant that will produce lots of tomatoes too.
I did this by accident this season! One of our children got a seedling from school and it is producing an excellent crop in a Lidl tomato planter (if only they would ripen!) Anyway I was absentmindedly nicking off the suckers and throwing them into the pot thinking they would just shrivel up & return some nutrients to the soil, but I just noticed one yesterday was sticking up: it had rooted itself and grown about 2 inches
Yes I've done this too! I set the cut suckers in water until they root, if they have a lot of leaves remove all but the ones on top. Once you see the roots appearing then they go into potting soil or right into the ground depending on needs.
@@catcor2154 For cherry tomatoes yes, for larger types the tomatoes seemed a tad bit smaller but that could have been a function of where I planted them being a different soil quality than the original I cut it from. It's worth it in the earlier part of the season. Later in the season it's still a cutting of what amounts to an old plant so it'll do something if there's enough season left, but it won't shine like they do at peak season. Cherry tomatoes seem to do this best, but that could just be anecdotal.
I've recently discovered that dipping the cut end into honey and sprinkle cinnamon on it, it can be put directly into the soil. I just tried it and it never wilted and seems to have taken off without missing a beat. No tomatoes yet but I'll let ya'll know.
I just wanted to express my gratitude for what you are doing. The time and knowledge you give the world is priceless. I especially, from what I have learned from you is invaluable!
I’d like to double this comment. I got into gardening about four years ago and I’ve not had access to a garden for the last couple of years. Coming back and seeing how you’ve progressed and the quality of information you share is humbling. especially when the world in in the state it’s in. Your one of the good folk that gives us hope. Love from Yorkshire
love the video. you mention growing extra tomatoes to take through the winter. keep following your tips then it's bumper harvests. But would love to see a video on storing harvests to get through the winter - whether it be freezing, fresh or processed -not just tomatoes
I'm in 7a and grew tomatoes in the green house until December when it really froze. Some tomatoes made it until now ...and I opened one up and seeded my new crop. These were the smaller red ones.
If somebody in Germany could now switch on the sun, that would be lovely. My tomatoes, even the ones in the little plastic tomato huts are a purplish light green and very unhappy. Nights down to 7 C and days not above 18 C yet
This spring was way too cold in Germany this year. Most of my tomato seedlings got frozen the one night. And the few remaining now get brown at some parts. Now i planted some I got from a friend. They are still quite small. Hope i can harvest something this year.
I have 2 raised beds 4x8 and have 8 tomatoes growing as well as cucumbers, zucchini and radishes. This is the first time I’ve had a garden in 20 years! I’m not young and have back and health issues, but I’m trying! I didn’t press down firmly when I planted them. And I did mulch them about 2-3 inches deep. So far (it’s only been 6 weeks) everything looks good. Though I did have a couple zucchini plants with I guess borers. I pulled them up and used neem oil. I live in Florida so I won’t be doing the challenge of discontinuing water on a couple. If this year’s plants do well, I will add to the sides to get them deeper. Thank you and God Bless!
If you have back issues, Id recommend a 3-4ft raised bed. You can fill the bottom two feet with wood, cardboard, and moss/grass. Then the top layer with soil and compost. It helps with back issues so you don’t need to bend down too much
Hello and good evening dear Huw, What I did this year is not even plant the tomatoes deep but even horizontal nearly! So you have to dig a wider hole, quite deep and lay your rootball very shallow and just leave the upper part above soil. Fill everything up with soil and water around the stem. Next morning, the plant stands upright and is about for more! Did it the first time this spring and it works well. Maybe this technique will be of any interest so just leave a little comment if you wish. Regards Uwe
'Carrots LOVE tomatoes' Actually an excellent book filled with useful information. Regardless, Carrots Actually help your tomatoes to have deeper roots. So it's a great idea to plant them side by side for the best productivity
6:41 - I grow my tomatoes outside. And we get strong winds at times. So outside a poly tunnel, I recommend securely anchoring the string into the ground (either burying it tied to the plant stem when planted or using a stake), and not simply tying it loosely above soil. For outdoor tomatoes, this will provide for better support in an uncertain environment. Hope this helps.
Hi I have burried the string before but need to choose type carefully as can rot through and the weight of the crop caused unravelling and collapse. Thankfully it was possible to salvage most plants.
BRILLIANT IDEA. Thank you. If growing outside do you erect an overhead wire between two posts from which to anchor your string supports? I've not done so as I've revamped former "ornamental gardens" into veggie plots so was planning to use stakes to support my outdoor tomatoes. I see little mention of this type of support, so perhaps it is inferior to the string method. I'm curious to hear if anyone still uses stakes.
@@karikiiiks6880 yeah our house is small and dark so I’ve been using grow lights too! Thank god we’ve started having some warm weather here now, how is it in your neck of the woods?
I utilize fish remains ( heads, tails, scales & entrails) under the soil just before transplanting seedlings. Where as it does slightly impede growth of the vine, I get bigger, fatter, juicier tomatoes as a result.
I'd completely forgotten that I used to plant fish heads/bits in my veggie garden DECADES AGO when we used to fish and had easy access to fresh fish heads and guts. Two decades after that, I used to also use a fish head as a wasp trap. Native peoples used to suspend a head over a bucket of water as they intuited wasps will gorge themselves upon the flesh, becoming too corpulent to FLY...so they fall in the water and drown. This is an incredibly effective trap. One would think the head would reek, but, surprisingly, they did not. My eldest son was, at the time, a veritable "wasp magnet" and they would seek him out and sting him when he was minding his own business....it was unbelievable how often he was stung as an infant and toddler. I was loathe to have him in pain, (or develop an allergy from successive stings) so I employed various traditional/unconventional/non poison traps for wasps. This was by far more effective than any store-bought "solution".
Actually, you don’t even need to hold the tip upright. Just plant the tomato sideways & let the tip angle out of the hole. Within 24 hours, the tip will upright itself with far less stress than trying to bend it while planting. 😊
60 plants?? 😱😱. I’m wondering how many people are you feeding from your garden? Everything seems to be on such a large scale. Watching from NZ with seasons out of phase with Wales is good for forward planning. Will use a few of these tips next spring. Great videos Huw. Cymru am Byth!
How many do you have? I have 8 and thought I was "going big or go home" then I go on YT and see people with gardens of 20something tomato plants! For a family size like mine. Im like oh so I should have gotten more than twice as many OOPS.
I live in an area of Canada where we can easily grow tomatoes outdoors. One tip I learned for increased harvests is to help with pollination. When the tomatoes begin to bloom, I walk by each day and give the flowers a gentle tap. That way even if the small native bees don't get to each flower, most of the fruit is pollinated.
@@dncviorel My tomatoes are outdoors and in spite of the wind, I still notice a marked improvement with the tapping. It is especially noticeable in the tomatoes that produce long trusses, where this technique results in nearly 100% fruit development.
Tomato & pepper flowers, unlike squash or cucumbers, have male & female parts in each flower. No need to dab it around to other flowers. I used an electric toothbrush, with a used brush head, to simulate the bee activity. Just rest the toothbrush on the stem of each flower for 3-5 seconds & the deed is done!
Hi Huw, I've been watching your clips for a while. They're all fantastic and invigorating! In this clip you focused on Tomatoes and how to stop watering them in order to get better taste. I have made my experiences too. Big farmers have found out that the tomato is very adaptive to its climate and will send roots up to 2,5 meters into the ground to reach water within the season. Knowing this, I planted my tomatoes using a teaspoon of epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) mixed into the planting hole in order to enable root building. Watered lightly at planting and sparingly after that. Adult plants hardly got watered, and the yield/crop was incredible. Try it out!
ANOTHER interesting, helpful comment. I typically watch Huw's videos and then READ THE COMMENTS/individual comment THREADS as there are typically so many great TIPS shared therein. Thanks for the comment.
Would putting a load of comfrey and nettles in the water butt be ok as consistent nutrients when watering or would the plant be over fed ? Informative video Thankyou
Good vid, and useful tips- Ill be doing much more pruning this season as we have high humidity and blight problems. Would love to see some of your preserving methods too.
Huw, thank you very much for sharing your experience, I’ve learned a great deal, and just in time as the season takes off. Your tip to create a well around the plant base is very clever. And your advice re watering cadence and ground cover is equally logical. Last season I didn’t prune my plants correctly (suckers!) and my greenhouse became a jungle! I have learned my lesson, and together with your tips, I’ll fail better this season;) Big warm hug from Ireland. Thank you.
as for lawn clipping, people it work marvelous at keeping weeds down, went from full on forest to nice looking beds with lawn clipping. been filling every spot where i usually use woodchip
Just a quick question regarding the snipped of leaves when planting deep, wouldnt it be a good idea to put them down in the hole with the compost? As extra nutrients, for free?
I honestly wouldn’t for two reasons: 1) your soil is suddenly expending the nitrogen in it to break down the green you’ve introduced, 2) if there’s any sort of disease on the leaf. I personally would just throw it on your compost pile to let the heat kill any nasty microorganisms on it in the usually way. Frankly I’m surprised he placed still-wet grass clipping on the top of his soil as it’s a sure way to get very stinky and slimy stuff on top of your soil. Blech.
It rained SO much last year that put my tent canopy frame over my raised tomato bed. I had taken off the velcroed cover that came with it and draped the frame with a large cotton canvas paint drop cloth. When it rained I pulled the canvas up and over. As soon as it stopped I lifted the sides for air circulation. When the sky stopped threatening I pulled it off. It saved my tomatoes. Thanks for your info
Hi Huw,I have watched a few videos on RU-vid with reference to not removing the suckers on cherry tomato plants,Just wondered what your thought are on this subject,apparently,you achieve a higher yield !!!
Don't forget...those suckers are technically a new tomato plant, if you want them. Root them in water, put them in a pot...and have them ready for a second, or backup planting!
I've just used your diagonal planting method only for fitting in my potato containers in a smaller area. Hopefully they'll be OK like that but its definitely helped me fit them in a smaller space than I calculated I'd need. Next year I might grow more in the potato section I think I can fit in an extra 13 containers at a guess in the originally planned space for them.
I received an heirloom cherry tomato plant this week from a Mennonite lady who said they keep coming up ever year as extra fruits dropped and seeded themselves. I want to be sure to make the most of it! Thank you for these tips.
I planted all of the tomatoes this week, and can't wait for the first juicy tomato to harvest. Since we have hot, dry summers, I use drip irrigation with them.
@@redpilled9595 The tomatoes are doing great! We have canned a lot of them for this winter's use, and we are still harvesting more than we can use every day - neighbors and the food pantry have benefited from the bounty of tomatoes.
@@ohio_gardener Nice, I have romas with plenty of flowers so I am excited,I am new to gardening and I am from South Africa so our weather is warming up nicely.
I still remember ~ almost 6 decades later ~ the phenomenal TASTE and QUALITY of the homecanned (glass mason jars processed in a water bath) tomatoes my mom put up every year when I was a small child. The "taste" and "quality" of even the best store bought canned tomatoes are nowhere near that of homegrown. It's definitely not nostalgia but quality as well you know when you eat your homegrown/home canned produce! Kudos to you.
I’ve been looking for some definitive info on how much & when to water tomatoes. Unbelievably, despite searching and searching, I hadn’t found anything that told me exactly when and how much, until this video. Thanks!
Huw, having binge watched several videos going back 7 yrs , I must really commend you on how your style has improved, your editing and quality. Everything is so informative but calm and well presented . thanks, i still have many more to binge on.
Great video and very informative. How often do you change the soil in the raised beds that you grow the tomatoes in? I am asking because of issues with blight and repeated growing in the same soil.
A very warmly hello to you ! Thank you for the useful informations! I am Austrian and I'm learning a lot of new things because of your clear and slow pronunciation. The subtitles make it a lot easier to understand. So I can ideally combine both hobbies ...gardening and English ... As a primary teacher I know how important good preparations are ! My compliments ! I' m looking forward to each of your videos ! Greetings from Gumpoldskirchen .... a wine village / 20 km far away from Vienna Sabine Wienerl
I think it's been a year or two since I watched this video and many thanks Huw , I do't have as many plants as you but my 20 plants are very well established now and delighted with the progress.... the stinging needles are also in full growth and soon with be in the watering feed - great video and I'm sure I'll be commenting next year lol!! Take care Huw
I managed to take a couple of tubs of veg to my last semester at uni but I've left my mum in charge of everything else at home and the tomatoes are stressing her out! I definitely need to send her this:) great tip about grass clippings because I have to grow lots in pots and keeping them all watered takes some doing xx
I use Soil Moist granules for those sites which tend to dry out and endanger the plants. This is the stuff that is found in non cloth diapers and the small Crystals grow to massive dimensions as they absorb water...only to slowly release in times of drought. I planted wild Strawberries (and other ornamental plants) on TREE STUMPS and whereas I drilled holes in the horizontal and vertical surfaces to create "planting pockets" the species of stump was so HARD it made it very difficult to create this bespoke planter. Gledisitia is a surprisingly dense wood. My wee transplants INITIALLY were suffering greatly as (understandably) there was little soil to support the roots....until I struck on the idea to use this product. It is vastly superior to other such products in that the Crystals are disturbingly hydrophilic. One needs very few Crystals to aid a planting site which is utterly unsuited to plant growth. I wanted to use the "funky" stump and trunk sections of my dead tree to form a bespoke planter and the wild Strawberries are far more easily harvested growing on a stump (as opposed to in the soil). If you fail to follow the directions (the product is so absorbent it comes in little proportioned envelopes) and use more Crystals than strictly recommended....a torrential rainfall will reveal why the ratio of Crystals to pot area are so.....meager. The hydrated Crystals literally explode out of the soil and (in the case of stumps) cascade down to the ground around your plantings. Its a laughably BOOGERY effect. I simply scoop the excess wibbly-wobbly boogers up and toss them below any plant which is stressed due to the increasingly hot summers. It's a MOIST EFFECTIVE solution. Pun intended. ❤
I have to admit, the polycrub is the most intresting... most of the other info is a kind of a reminder for me, but I think very usefull for more beginner like gardeners... keep up the good work!
Huw, I would love more videos of you going to others gardens and talking with them. They are so beautiful, inspiring, and my absolute favorite!! Thanks for all you do!
Two questions: how do you keep gnats and other pests at bay indoors and, how do you get sturdy plants if there's no strong airflow? I tried greenhouses a few times and failed spectacularly.
So is your area so free of diseases that you don't spray your plants with anything like Topsin and Champ 77WG? How about Cropmax and Tomato-Stim? No youtuber is talking about these steps and i do not understand why!?
Yes ... I really need to work on consistent watering. I'm doing better, because I had very little blossom end rot, but I did have too much splitting in 2020. I'm about a week out from transplanting all my starts ... tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. The only thing that I have planted was onions so far. Thanks for the reminder .... take care.
I really appreciate your tips, as always very useful. Can you please work on sound levels? Lots of people watching RU-vid on smartphone and it's just not loud enough. Thanks
Thanks for the videos - always helpful and inspiring! One question - you mention pruning off the suckers, but as suckers can also be fruit-bearing, how do you distinguish them from the branches you want to keep? Thanks again!
The main stem, then the branch is at 90 degrees, the sucker is the bit in between at 45 degrees. You can put the sucker in water to root & it will become another plant 🌱
He prunes off suckers to keep the plant a manageable size, and get larger fruit, and sooner. An un-pruned tomato plant still produces fruit (some smaller, and later) but easily spreads to a huge size. To keep it all very tidy (and Huw exemplifies tidy!!!!!) prune the little sprouts appearing at crotch of main stem and leaf branch. A picture is available here: images.app.goo.gl/cm5Eakt9U8dGRH396
I really like your ideas for the tomato planting and growing. I don't do any of those things and now I know why my crop is just ok. Thanks for the tips.
Cherry tomatoes produce fruit almost exclusively on the suckers so you are correct in leaving your cherries unpruned except for pruning to increase airflow.
Like the tip on no watering for flavour I do that for my jalapeños , another tip pick your tomatoes 🍅 in the afternoon when all the sugars have gone into the fruit
Look into how no dig raised beds are made, they can be made in different ways, maybe you can do layering, maybe just top soil, or a mixture of both soil and compost, not really knowledgeable in the area yet, just things i've seen
Thank you Huw, great advice. Is there a specific reason why the skins on my tomatoes are quite tough and chewy? Could it be due to the extremely hot weather we have had recently? I live in the South East. Thank you. Just found your channel and loving how you make growing vegetables so simple and easy. 🙏🏼❤️
Hi, Mabbi, any stressor will cause the skins to thicken. Too cold, too hot, too wet, too anything! Since we don’t control the weather, there’s not too much we can do about it. Frost blanket if it’s too c9ld or shade cloth if it’s too hot. Hope that helps. 🤗
Is it safe to have root vegetables grown right under the vine ones when the root ones will be pulled out before the vines are done producing? I've been afraid of damaging the tomatoes and such with underground undercroft crops.
If you put soil back there it shouldn't be any problems. Vines should already have deep root system. I'm also using space for roots veggies. I noticed that if you plant carrot... Not a lot.. Just few. There is no fungus...
What would have you used for your planters? I am wanting to build my own raised beds but I see conflicting on the wood to use, pressure treated vs non treated and lined and not lined, any advice would so very welcome
Hey Huw, Paul Wheaton (permies.com guy) thinks tomatoes that grow volunteer from last season out-perform transplanted seedlings. He doesn't transplant anymore. What do you think? Have you experimented with direct seeding tomatoes?
One tip I would suggest for your blight issue is planting tomatoes in more than one area of your garden, with space between plants, so they're not touching. Also, drip irrigation, and pruning the bottom leaves of the stem and thinning out excess foliage can reduce the spread of disease. I had one plant get blight last year, but the rest were fine, because they were separate from that planting area.
I love your polytunnel. Great tips. QUESTION: since there are two different kinds of tomatoes, determinate Indeterminate, would you still take the suckers out of both of them or only one? I look forward to reading your reply. Thanking you in advance.
@@karikiiiks6880 Kari I just posted again to this video. Apparently I didn’t think of these questions when I watched it the first time. It was only in scrolling through the comments before posting that I see I saw this before. Since you were so kind to reply the first time, I am hoping you might have some thoughts on my second post. I see that Huw doesn’t respond to posts made on his channel like other gardening channels do. So any input you might have would be appreciated.
Me interesa esto de los tomates hay cosas que no sabía, yo no puedo comer tómate pero el resto de mi flia si, muchas gracias por la informacion es importante!!
Estimado caballero, adoré este video, sin desperdicio muy detallado. Tomaré la idea de sembrar muy profundo, regar abundantemente antes de transplantar y posteriormente acolchar, vivo en el caribe Venezuela 🇻🇪 las temperaturas en verano pueden alcanzar hasta los 35 grados. Excelente información. Bendiciones! Gracias a Dios por descubrir su canal, me suscribo.
This young Gorgeous Man sure makes it a bit difficult to pay attention considering his Beautiful Accent & Voice & HE sure makes gardening Sexy! Coming from an ole' girl soon too be 65 & Absolutely Not a Cougar! Just still Alive & appreciate a Hunk Of Burning Love!!! 😅😊😂😮😅
Why don't you dig your beds down deeper, below the ground level, so that you could plant deeper rather than raising the sides of your beds? Also, your raised beds look like they're made from untreated pine. How do you keep them from rotting out? Lot's of videos use other materials or line their wooden beds with plastic sheeting. I like your beds and they look easy to build, but will they last? What's your secret? Your earlier videos used recycled plastic planks but these are an entirely different color.
I always wanted my own garden, and now that I have one I find myself so overwhelmed with work. My first geenhouse wasnt anquerd and blew away on the first day. Suddenly it was gone, and it freaked me out abit and I put up signs in the shop and afew places. One day a farmer came by and said it was stuck to his barn a few kilometer away. When I came there it was only a bunch of broken metal inside a heap of plastic. The metal was laying in my garden a few years and the metalscrap man wanted to take it but I said no afterall it could be used maybe. Last year I got help to put it up and planted lots of beautiful tomato plants I had raised. But there was a daily war with snails that I collected and told not to come back. Eventually they grew high and set fruit. Then the storm came and the Green House collapsed. We managed to put some wind protection up and raised it again, then another storm came ftom the other direction and it collaped again. After all of that the plants didnt look so well so I just collected the green fruits to ripen inside the house. They did turn red but tasted bitter and most just rotted. This year I again got help to raise the greehouse with a sturdy woodframe inside. Lots of rope over the top tied to wood pegs in the ground it has lasted through 2 storms already but not one of my tomato seeds sprouted. I will have to buy plants but the cost 5 $ each, and if snails will eat them again Im not sure my nerves can handle it. I love these gardening shows, but must admit I have been avoiding them for awhile :( Im not sure I can handle gardening sometimes I think better leave it as it is :)
Oh gosh it sounds like you've been through quite some trials! I'm so impressed at how many times you've picked things up and tried again. Maybe give yourself a little break and grow something that's less work this year, potatoes, radishes...or maybe plant a fruit tree? Sounds like you need a win to restore some energy for gardening.
Try to make sure the position of the greenhouse is good for sunlight, and it gets some ventilation. You can put a dish out with some cheap beer to trap slugs and snails. Maybe just grow no more than half a dozen tomato plants, and also grow some flowers or cut and come again salad leaves that will grow easily and reward you with colour. Marigolds are popularly grown amongst tomatoes to attract pollinators and deter some pests. Is it possible to try and grow two or three tomato plants up against the side of your greenhouse and see how they fare? People often grow what are deemed sacrificial plants in an area on their own. It would be an interesting experiment, too.
Thanks friends...I will try something for fun...otherwise Im just clearing some pathways through the grass and enjoy Dandilion flower on my sallad sitting under the appletree. Its also fine, I have found my level now. Your kind words helped :)
16 inches ROFL in my garden I need about 4 feet (and I do remove most suckers) it all depends on your soil. We are in Northern US, very short season, no polytunnel, tomatoes get 4 x 4 ft spacing to take advantage of sun and also to minimize disease. Use compost, chicken pellets, alfalfa meal, and compost to feed. Cannot imagine a mere 16 inch spacing! Maybe the soil is different in UK.
Thanks Huw…… you have given me gardening superpowers with your wonderful videos….. am growing lots of tomatoes and have been growing some herbs between .. ( BTW Thai Basil is simply amazing…. Such a strong plant with intense Basil / Liquorice flavours ) …but these plants eventually crowd out the space between tomatoes and reduce airflow and this leads to problems. Is there a specific plant / herb you would recommend that stays low and reduces evaporation and supplements soil biology ? Thanks
Great way make sure don't get Blight with Tomatoes is Remove all the branches an leaves below a Cluster of flowers. Get heavy rain, droplets won't bounce up lower leaves won't be there. Four years ago grew one tomato plant, lasted with Fruit until late September. Only used Fish Emulsion Fertilizer every 10 days.
Cool video! I planted my tomatos in my greenhouse around mid February and they are about 70cm tall allready with lots of green fruits. One of them (Ruthje) seems to get blossom rot. I thought it was because if the high humidity (65 to 80%). I water them only once a week because our soil is pretty heavy and retains water for a longer time. Should I water them twice a week with the same amount? I want to water the soil that the plant can access the water in depth as well. Soon I will get a watering system
