Tag Archives: gardeners delight

tomatoes

Experimental Tomatoes

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selection tray

 

For the last couple of days, I have been surpressing the urge to sow tomato seeds. This time last year, I had sunk some very, very early ones. Daresay that is what made me do it again. Last year, the early sowing keeled over due to a cold snap. We are experiencing a cold snap right now, actually. This time last year, the plot was under a foot of snow. I wouldn’t rule out that snow coming back, to be honest. Making this sowing very precarious.

Sunk today:

  • Gardeners delight
  • moneymaker
  • marmande
  • aisla craigh
  • black cherry
  • yellow stuffer

I don’t have any window sills, sadly, to sow them on. The experimental premise comes from them being positioned in the 4TB. Sown in a modularised tray in a gravel tray, covered by a propogator lid. With fleece for insulation, and reflective foil on the base of the tier.

This could take sometime, I realise that. That this could all go pear shaped, and I should really sown them inside. Hopefully, the tomato faery is reading, and will help nurture them. I could sow a handful inside, if I get the chance. These are babies that would be going into the poly tunnel along with the chillies and super hots. If the superhots decide to germiate.

In other news, we have a few experimental chilli babies coming through.

The next urges, are probably going to involved aubergines and melons. You have been warned 🙂

classroom experimentation, success, Taking stock

You say to-may-to, I say tomato #2

Bit of a tomato humdinging special for you all today. Thought it might be useful to take some photographic evidence. I like taking photographic evidence, and it makes you all pay some welcome, loving  attention.

I have never grown so many tomatoes, or had this level of success with triffid like vines and bush habits. These are, with the exception of the Ukrainian Purple; the tiddler tomatos who had tantrums from the classroom. The weather has helped, and we have a sprawling mass of foliage and fruit. A feat of engineering is required to truss up….the trusses.

It would be nice to actually get some ripened, red and yellow fruits. So to facilitate that, I have been trimming off the excess foliage. This should help the air pass through, and stop the leaves getting sweaty and horrible; as well as prevent any of the fruits being shaded. There are some large fruits, and also some diddly ones. A testament, to the different varieties that were sown. It is very hard to believe, that these are the tiny tiddlers that were started off in the classroom. They aren’t particularly pretty, either! You would never associate the fruits cropping here, with the smooth, shiny fruits that you would find in the supermarket. I think there are some yellow and black ones in there. Again, you wouldn’t see these very often in the supermarket. Will be intrigued to see the yellow ones and the black ones. The black ones are cherry tomatoes, I think.

 

Some silent movies for you, to peruse at your leisure. I do hope that they are not like watching paint dry. You might have to spot the tomato, and look very carefully.

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A bit wonky, yes. How many of you tilted your head to the left to watch it? 😉

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The colour is a bit off. The green is starting to change, actually. Going from green to yellow.

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The plum shaped ones-the wonky ones-are ukranian purple. That was an adopted one. There is a non-wonky ones in there too.

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I couldn’t tell you, what is which variety. One day I will label. I did actually find that one of the beasts is still in a paper pot. This has in turn rooted out of the paper pot and into the dirt of the raised beds. Had to dig it in a bit without pulling it out. 

 

Shall see what happens

 

Yours in anticipation,

 

Horticultural Hobbit