Sounds very plausible Bob. I've got blinds on the south side of my g/h and they've been down since around May this year. Maybe that's helped, though the temps are still around 40c most early afternoons. I've not removed any leaves yet either which is giving shade and the toms even in deep shade at the back are ripening nicely too
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
You were the inspiration for my experiment @Pete8 As I had always removed leaves between sun and toms thought I would see what happened. The only problem I've had is seeing all around the plant and nearly missing side shoots.
I'll be interested to hear your results @purplerallim I will start to remove the lowest few pairs of leaves as the trusses ripen. As you say it's easy to miss side shoots - I found one about 2ft the other day right at the back. But all coming along nicely now
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Apparently extreme heat causes a chemical change in plants and causes a delay in ripening.
My Gardeners Delight tomatoes have just started ripening but I was very, very late sowing the seed and therefore the potting on and planting out. The skins seem tougher than in previous years so the weather is again, probably the cause. By sheer coincidence, I used white terylene lace curtains as shading, draped over the outside of the greenhouse. It has worked a treat. The greenhouse is only 6ft X 8ft with one roof window, not enough, despite leaving the door wide open night and day it has been extremely hot inside. I have also had a good crop of cucumbers, Burpless and Telegraph Improved. Have ended up making Cucumber relish to use some of them up. Also have made some runner bean chutney, delicious with cheese or sausages as I have a mammoth crop of runner beans.
The tough skin is probably a result of the very hot, sunny weather.
A large company here in Holland specializes in growing those little snack tomatoes you see in small tubs in supermarkets. They grow all their tomatoes in huge climate controled greenhouses, but when the temperatures got over 35 degrees here a couple of weeks ago, even they couldn't cope.
They had to discard a huge batch of tomatoes, around 6 million of them, because the skins had become tough, and sometimes even a bit wrinkly.
According to them, once the weather gets back to normal, so will the skin of the next batch of tomatoes which still have to ripen.
Posts
I've got blinds on the south side of my g/h and they've been down since around May this year. Maybe that's helped, though the temps are still around 40c most early afternoons. I've not removed any leaves yet either which is giving shade and the toms even in deep shade at the back are ripening nicely too
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I will start to remove the lowest few pairs of leaves as the trusses ripen. As you say it's easy to miss side shoots - I found one about 2ft the other day right at the back.
But all coming along nicely now
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Apparently extreme heat causes a chemical change in plants and causes a delay in ripening.
My Gardeners Delight tomatoes have just started ripening but I was very, very late sowing the seed and therefore the potting on and planting out. The skins seem tougher than in previous years so the weather is again, probably the cause. By sheer coincidence, I used white terylene lace curtains as shading, draped over the outside of the greenhouse. It has worked a treat. The greenhouse is only 6ft X 8ft with one roof window, not enough, despite leaving the door wide open night and day it has been extremely hot inside. I have also had a good crop of cucumbers, Burpless and Telegraph Improved. Have ended up making Cucumber relish to use some of them up. Also have made some runner bean chutney, delicious with cheese or sausages as I have a mammoth crop of runner beans.