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Tomatoes


La Vette
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I have only ever grown Moneyspinner in the UK - in growbags.  This year I have planted cherry tom plants and so far so good until they start to fruit.  Once the fruit has appeared all the other shoots have died.  That means I have only one or two shoots carrying about 10 fruits.  Should I have been doing something.  Total newbie and don't know much about pinching out etc.  They are like small bushes rather that the tall plants I am used to.  Don't be too hard on me.
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It seems very early to have fruits on tomatoes. But your problem could

be due to lack of water. Where are you? We haven't had any rain for

weeks and a few plants have shrivelled up and died in the scorching sun

and warm wind. Last year I remember having to cover my tomato plants in

the heat of the day as they were flopping. Pat. ps I grew cherry tomatoes once and the plants were smaller than normal tomatoes.

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I have cherry toms growing and the tomatoes are appearing. I always pick out the side shoots, it sounds like lack of water, I water mine daily and still there are some smalls toms falling off but it has been very hot, we are in 17 and hoping for some rain this weekend.

aj

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La V - did the leaves turn brown at the edge and curl before the shoots

died? If so, you many find that the soil is defficient in phosphorus,

which tomatoes need in abundance. You might try adding "superphosphate"

(not organic), "rock phosphate" (considered organic by the

supermarkets, but not really as it requires lots of energy to extract

and transport) or bone meal (if you can find it) as a top dressing. If

your soil is acid, try liming it to release bound up phosphorus. Longer

term, just dig in as much orginic matter as you can lay your hands on.

On pinching out of side shoots, given the length of growing season here

(my

sixty or so plants - I really like tomatoes - are heavy already), I

don't bother any more - it is a practice, I think, more useful in

cooler climates

(you don't say where you are) where it speeds up the ripening of the

fruits on remaining tresses. For the same reason, there really is no

need to denude the plants to "let the sun get at the fruits". Mind you,

evryone has their own approach and what works for one may not work for

another.

What type are you growing? There are quite a few "bushing" strains around, so you may have got one of those.

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I'm not really clear what has died. If you are growing your tomatoes as  vines tied to stakes and pinching out the side shoots, you should have a growing tip, which just keeps going onward and upward, which should be producing flowering / fruiting trusses at intervals from the main stem. The bottom leaves die of as the plant grows taller and should be removed anyway.

It could of course be that they have blight.

Have you got a photo?

Chris, homme sauvage.

 

 

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[quote user="chris pp"]

It could of course be that they have blight.

[/quote]

I rather thought that blight was more a damp climate problem, and that

it also attacks the fruit, not just the leaves...mind you, at least it

would be treatable with Bordeaux mixture if its not too advanced.

Tomato mosaic virus might be another possibility, I suppose, 'cos that

would leave the fruit unaffected. Whether they would rippen or not, I

could not say.I can never call them trusses as I can't help thinking of

the particular smell of changing rooms (sweaty blokes, Sloanes

linament) which rather puts me off eating the fruit, so I'll stick

quite erroroneously to "tresses".

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You can get a type of bush tomatoe plant that grows cherry toms , I forget the name at the mo But it might be "tom thunb" they are easy to look after as you dont need to pinch out, just feed and water they will give you loads of small tomatoes, they dont grow very tall
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As Jond has said, the locals do not pinch out side shoots over here,  its only necessary to keep the plants tidy and in the UK to reduce the amount of energy being used to produce shoots and fruit that may never ripen.  The growing season outdoors is long enough in most of France to support and ripen most types of tomato and four to five trusses per plant will ripen nicely.  I was told, even in the UK,  never to pinch out the side shoots of cherry tomatoes, they just like to grow upwards and sideways.  Apart from what has been suggested,  regular watering is a must if you are in a hot area, something like 2 litres per plant per day is required but avoid watering the leaves in the sun, that can cause leaf drop.  If the leaves had a purple hue on them before dropping off, its sounds like a virus in which case you should dig them up and burn them, its not too late to get some more in, there are still plants available in the garden centres.
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Thank you all for your responses.  The toms are called Super Sweet F100.  A hybrid.  To answer your questions:-  I water every evening but it is hot and dry and they are in full sun most of the day (I am waiting for the laurel hedge to grow for shade).  I feed weekly with Parcour granules (riche avec potassime).  My soil was a maize field until I bought the land 18 months ago.  I originally planted 6 plants, 2 died fairly quickly, probably too cold at the time.  One nearly died but has come back and 3 thrived.  Of the 3 that thrived 1 got fruit and the leaves started to shrivel.  One is getting fruit and is starting to shrivel and one is getting fruit and looks really healthy and bush like.  I have taken piccies of these 3 but someone will have to tell me how to attach to my reply.

Thanks again

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Land that was a maize field until 18 months ago doesn't sound too great, it will have been stripped of all life and I would think be rather solid or at best dusty. If you haven't already done so you will need to add loads of organic matter, as much compost and manure as you can get your hands on. The problem with land that has been used for intensive cereal growing is that it has only been used as something to hold the crops down while it is feed chemicals. SS100 is normally a very easy plant to grow and can be allowed to bush, ideally with some supports. I personally would be slightly concerned about using the granules that you mention as there is a risk of over doing it which can affect the roots and base of the plant and cause an imbalance in the soil, too much potassium can lead to a deficiency of Magnesium and Boron.

Soil structure is more important than any other single factor and rarely considered or understood by the average gardener. I would recommend "The soul of soil" which is a soil building guide for master gardeners and farmers, for anyone who is interested in understanding just that little bit more. ISBN1-890132-31-4

That's my two pennies worth, but I grow "organic".

Chris

 

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Thanks Chris, you may be right.  The soil certainly is rock hard when it is dry and I have to prick holes in it when I water or it just lies on top.  This is my first year with my little patch and I was so impatient I didnt do any soil preparation.  However, my lettuce are like footballs as are my radishes like golf balls and my herbs are lovely.  I dont believe in giving up, I will definitely try again.

Thanks to you all for your help - by the way, I just love it here. [8-|]

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