Week 12 started sunny and warm. Hot enough perhaps to fool the tomato plants into thinking South America wasn’t so far away after all. Tequila not Tomorite would still be their tipple of choice but all things considered, not too bad. By the end of the week things weren’t looking so rosy and come Sunday morning , the thunder and downpour must have had them wondering how a pinata party could get so out of hand
But no casualties and all are now braving whatever the weather throws at them from their summer time pots or bags.
I think I might also have done a little cloud clearing of my own. If not please, put me right ! I can’t bear my confusion to continue.
It’s to do with feeding. The back of the tomato feed bottle reads ‘ feed 3 weeks after planting or when the first truss has set ’, leaving me confused by advice to feed before that point .
Then the very slow penny dropped, clanged in fact ! The tomato feed bottle is referring specifically to that targeted product , a feed high in potash/potassium, essential to fruiting. Before that need arises a general purpose feed could be used. Talk about feeling stupid !
As things would have it because my plants were put into pots or grow bags, they are in fresh compost which should contain nutrients for 4 to 6 weeks. But the cogs had barely stopped turning before I was in the car, in pursuit of all purpose feed.
Week 12 Summary.
Plants: All in pots or grow bags. The Tumblers which should be in hanging baskets are in taller pots which I hope have sufficient height for cascading down the sides.
Watering: I watered a couple of times at the beginning of the week and then the heavens took over; they were a little heavy handed.
Flowers: The Cream Sausage and the Darby Stripe continue to have flowers which come and go, with no sign of setting ! If, instead of hitting the road and tinkering with bikes, Robert Pirsig had stayed home to tend his garden he could still have written a timeless classic, only reworked as Zen and the Art of Tomato Growing.
Two Tumblers, one Moneymaker and the plant with no name in the blue pot now also have flowers. When it’s been dry and sunny I‘ve also been tapping away on their canes to aid pollination.
Feeding: None to date as no fruit set yet. But now I’ve been enlightened ..
And how are other tomato growers getting on ?
There’s an air and earth theme at Urban Veggie Garden Blog. Tomatoes are being grown direct in the soil in raised beds, supported by cages and also suspended upside down in mid air, supported by….?
Or if you’ve got the hang of cages and high wires then you might like to take a look at the Tormato.
If all this innovation above ground is too much then go underground and take a look at how to bury your tomato stem using the Sq. foot method as detailed over at Living the Local Life.
When we met Jim back in April we found out that Yorkshire tomatoes thrive on Sheep Soup , in Coastal Virginia they flourish on Geese Tea, brewed up in a paddling pool. Head over to My Island Garden for the exact recipe.
So much more exotic than General Purpose Food from a bottle!
How are your tomatoes coming along and what are they being fed ?
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