Comments on: Review of Alicante

By: Sally

Sally — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:37:42 +0000

Hello
You are right – overwatering can cause splitting in fruit once the fruit are on the vine. I certainly have that problem with thin skinned cherry varieties such as Sungold and Black Cherry. And over watering can dilute the flavour of the tomato as well. There are growing methods whereby when fruiting you really restrict the water intake of the plant to boost flavour. But of course too little water and it’s all over – so it is very much about reading the situation and responding correctly – although easier said than done as I have found out at the expense of split or as you say black bottomed – which is blossom end-rot in tomatoes.

By: Colin

Colin — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:08:18 +0000

Hi. I know its late to reply but, in response to Marilyn, I notice she feeds and waters daily. Surely that is too much. I found last year that overwatering causes splits so I watered every other day. Over feeding caused black bottoms so I fed once a week

By: craig sharman

craig sharman — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:52:12 +0000

hi,,just noticed loads of greenfly on my tomato plants, how do i get rid of them?,appart from manually going round squashing them.

also i have a very small plum tomato plant(only about 2 inches high,it was green,but the last few days i see it turning yellow,,is this ok?
please help,,, craig, X

By: craig

craig — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:11:28 +0000

also,,sally,,i see the corner shoots coming now,,do i take them off at this stage?,,,(about 6 weeks old)

By: craig

craig — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:09:51 +0000

thankyou sally,,,whats the problem with money maker?
also,in yuor eyes,what is the best tomato to grow,,for taste etc.

some of my plants are big,strong stork,some still small with thin stork,,,but i assume they will all grow at different stages.

im enjoying doing this tomoto growing,,they are all in my greenhouse at the mo,,,also is it too late to grow more from seed now?,,hope all is good with you sally,,cheers

By: Sally

Sally — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:19:52 +0000

Hello
Glad you love the site and even more important tomatoes!
Different varieties do grow and fruit at different rates so just keep the faith with the Marmande. I saw some Moneymaker plants for sale this weekend and the plants were so healthy and strong looking that if I had just been going on the look of the plant alone I would have bought them. But Moneymaker isn’t a variety I want to grow and some of the more unusual ones don’t grow as vigourously so just keep looking after them and see how it goes.
Water – keep the compost moist but not soaking.
Feeding – you could start with a very diluted general feed now – something like a seaweed one. But if they are in fresh compost then there might not even be a need to do that. At the moment you will be feeding for the leaf and plant growth only – so that’s a balanced general feed.

By: craig sharman

craig sharman — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:54:32 +0000

sorry,,i forgot,is this because the marmande is a bigger fruit that is may grow slower?

By: craig sharman

craig sharman — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:53:00 +0000

hello,,(new here) also im a virgin,,in the tomato growing sence,,lol.

ive planted some ALICANTE,and MARMANDE,at about the same time,both about 1 month,my ALICANTE are growing quite well,,but the other MARMANDE,look smaller,and not so good,,,as it is a different variety is this normal?. how much should i be watering them per day?

also when do i start FEEDING the plants,,love the site,,,thanx craig,X

By: Sally

Sally — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:34:09 +0000

Hello,
Thank you for getting in touch – and I am so sorry that your tomato growing has taken a turn for the worst after you have given it such loving care and its rewarded you with lots of green tomatoes.
It sounds very much to me as if your plant is suffering from Blossom End Rot. That turns the bottoms of the tomato fruits black/brown and a bit leathery looking. It is related to calcium. When the tomato fruit is developing the cell walls inside the tomato need calcium to form – and if suffer any shortage at that time then the cell walls don’t fully form – and the result is what you see.
It is very frustrating and some varieties of tomato are more prone to it than others. How calcium is distributed to the plant is through water travellling through it. So you will often read that it is caused by irregular watering. That may be true – but in my experience you can have the exact same watering routine for all your plants and some get it and some don’t.
The bad news is that those fruits that have it won’t come good so you will have to take them off and discard them. The good news – or at least I have found – is that the later fruits don’t seem to get it even if they are on the same plant. So you should hopefully still get some good fruit – but it will be the later ones.
I hope that helps even if it’s not very good news.
Sally

By: marilyn

marilyn — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:15:14 +0000

I bought a single plant in April from a shop in Ripon and transferred into a topsey turvey grow bag in my conservatory. I now have a very large plant( which I water and feed daily), with lots of green tomatoes but to my disappointment they are all turning black on the underside. Help I have no idea what is happening and if there is anything I can do to save them. I was so looking forward to eating my first home grown tomato!