This years tomatoes

[Steve]

that sounds really good for the plants, like compost tea. and best part-its free for you. i bought a sack of cow manure this morning, would rather have sheep or chicken as i understand they have more nutrients, but all they have is cow.

steve, if you dont mind me asking, do you water with mix every time or maybe a couple times a week? i've never tried that and would be afraid of maybe over doing it.

The plants have only had a couple of feeds so far, it's the first time I've tried making my own feed, but they will be getting some twice a week as it looks quite rich (Actually it looks pretty horrible, but they should like it).

I intended to collect a load of dandelion leaves and make them into a feed tea but forgot and now they're swamped by the grass and too difficult to collect. Next year I will be better prepared and will make a load with dandelions, nettles, dock and whatever else I can find.

[Straight Shooter]

My toms been real slow to germinate ( as a lot of other stuff ) and that's in heated green house, raised beds doing okay, runner beans are slow out in the ground, can't make it out this year its real odd, steve the farmer said he lost some sheep ( sheered them ) and due to the cold nights found some under the hedgerows because of the cold ....its colder and later , he says at least 3 weeks late .

[Sunna]

its been said a lot on tv lately that we heading to just two seasons ,no spring or autumn .
i love both

[bigpaul]

can confirm that, here we had no spring just a very long wet winter then a slow starting summer.

[MaryN]

Things are definitely later this year, and I would agree that the growing season is about 3 weeks behind. With what appears to be a changeable and wetter season ahead it is a bit worrying if you rely on your own veggies. By now I usually have a good courgette crop on the ground - not this year; they're so slow in getting going. Nothing I can do this year, but I my change the type of things grow.

[Scythe13]

To increase fruit production, have you tried nipping the upward growth of the plant and forcing more energy through the branch system?

[Sunna]

nr started this thread 18 days ago , iv still no toms yet plenty of yellow buds and the weathers been smashing

[NorthernRaider]

I've got loads of decent sized Cherry tomatoes on various vines but all are going black and mouldy before they reach maturing. I think I may have overwatered them?

[MaryN]

I've got loads of decent sized Cherry tomatoes on various vines but all are going black and mouldy before they reach maturing. I think I may have overwatered them?

You are probably right, NR, it's most likely irregular watering that has done it. Do you have any black splodges on the leaves as well - first sign of blight??

[NorthernRaider]

I've got loads of decent sized Cherry tomatoes on various vines but all are going black and mouldy before they reach maturing. I think I may have overwatered them?

You are probably right, NR, it's most likely irregular watering that has done it. Do you have any black splodges on the leaves as well - first sign of blight??

Nothing on the leaves they are fine, its just the fruit rots on the vine before maturing, they turn black??