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Fruit and Veg

TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
in Fruit & veg
Now that Autumn is on it way and I still have beans, tomatoes and sweetcorn still growing what should I do leave them to keep growing. The sweetcorn I don't think is ready but is a good to big size tomato's some are ripe but most are green the beans if I could reach them could be blanched and frozen. If I take the tomatoes off but leave them on the vie will they ripen and what should I do re the sweetcorn.
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  • bookmonsterbookmonster Posts: 399
    Tomatoes ripen well in the fruit bowl. They should be ok outside til we get frosts. Don't pull the beans when they come up, chop them at ground level as the roots are nitrogen fixing
  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
    Thanks bookmonster, will need load of fruit bowls as there's load still to come. Beans there won't be many more  but what about the sweet corn that's not ripe yet, there's around 20 corns out there.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Depends where you are @NannaBoo , here I will wait until frost catches the leaves of the toms before bringing in as the flavour is compromised by inside ripening ( but still makes them as good as shop bought)

    The corn is still in the fields here so you should be ok yet, unless there is a heavy frost.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Had heard that about bean roots @bookmonster , but is it true of tom roots too?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited September 2019
    purplerallim said:
    Depends where you are @NannaBoo , here I will wait until frost catches the leaves of the toms before bringing in as the flavour is compromised by inside ripening ( but still makes them as good as shop bought)

    The corn is still in the fields here so you should be ok yet, unless there is a heavy frost.
    I wouldn’t use the corn in the fields as a guide ... almost all of it will be harvested for cattle forage or biomass fuel. Neither care if it’s a bit over ripe. 

    I harvest each cob as soon as it’s anything like ripe and pop it straight in the pot for 8 mins then slather with butter and black pepper ... even if we’re eating corn for supper several days running 😋 😂 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057

    purplerallim I'm on the Beds/Bucks border so down south from you. I've been cooking tomatoes again today must make a note to self not to do so many cherry tomatoes next year but will try the black cherry instead. Was wondering if they would rippen ok in the greenhouse but will now leave them till the first frost.

    Dovefromabove I was told that corn is ready when a milky liquid comes out when pressed. The top fluffy stuff has gone brown but the cob or ear whatever it's called is still very green and tight. I have hospital tomorrow morning for my heart but I'll take a photo when I get back and put it up on here, perhaps you could advise after seeing a photo.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    https://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/blog/article/the-nitrogen-fixing-myth-exploded-bgid53.html

    I am sure I read about that research in the RHS magazine a few years ago. Seems logical to me that the nodules would support current year's growth to produce seeds (beans). Recycling via the compost heap seems like the best option.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Some of us don't have room for a compost heap @steephill,  so if we can use nature to help us with soil  health all the better. I didn't know if plant roots would release their stores of nitrogen once the stem was cut to ground level if left to decompose over winter.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Even when ripe the leaves are tight @NannaBoo , so you have to carefully peel back the leaf and tassels to see the kernels if they are creamy in colour then they are ready. Even if the end is still green as long as 3/4 are ripe I would pick them , as there is little time to get them finished now.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    I think the point was that there is very little fixed nitrogen left in the roots at the end of the season so there is no real benefit there. If they rot down over the winter then you do get the benefit of added organic matter. I found that they remained largely intact in my soil but I suspect it may work better in other soil types or colder/wetter areas. In more benign climates beans are perennials. 
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