@Fairygirl I’m not sure what other options there are.. do you have any suggestions? I have looked up online on wind breaking ideas on a high rise balcony but nothing seemed suitable. I can’t erect any physical structures because I don’t want them getting blown away and hit anyone downstairs..
@purplerallim My tumbling bella is growing in a hanging planter.. it’s does hook onto the railing really firmly though
@strelitzia32 All of my tomatoes are cherry varieties.. three cordon type and one bush. Beefsteak sounds like a fun variety to grow.. if only I have the space...! Sounds like a monster..
I have some tomatoes beginning to ripen I can never bring myself to pinch out the growing tips when it gets to 4. I do get lots of lovely tomatoes... Does anyone remove foliage to help ripening. Does removing foilage help ripeneing? I don't mean a lot. Just leaves in front of tomatoes. Some of mne are on a balcony too but are against the wall. Plants currently vary in size from 2 inches (thanks for that, Marshalls ) to 3ft to nearly 5ft.
Can you move them at all @celcius_kkw ? Maybe a slightly more sheltered spot? Or - have you other plants you can put 'in the line of fire' as it were? Difficult if you can't really create something more permanent, like a little trellis screen or similar. If not- a bit of fleece would be your best option. Bit of a faff though!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@Fairygirl Yes I can move them around as they’re in pots. There is a sheltered spot on my balcony which I do move plants to when it’s windy but it also receives much less sunshine. The spot where I’ve put my tomatoes now is the ‘prime’ spot so to speak, as it receives almost 10 hours of interrupted direct sunlight. On the contrary the sheltered spot gets about 6 hours.
@REMF33 I have read about the foliage removing trick too.. but the argument against that is although the fruit ripens quicker they may be less sweeet as there would be less photosynthesis to produce the sugars.. that’s all just from what’s said on the internet though, would love to hear from actual tomato growers ha!
@REMF33 I remove all the foliage slowly from the bottom up as the trusses start to ripen, i.e. A couple of branches every time, August onwards I think. I leave the top third of the plant untouched. I found it does help speed up ripening.
Perhaps worth experimenting with the locations, and see what happens. Certainly useful for future growing too I remove old foliage from the bottom too. I've never noticed any difference in flavour of any tomato. I don't remove it unless it's either really tatty [and therefore no further use to the plant] or is touching the sides of the little greenhouse. I simply cut those stems back to alleviate that. It also helps with the airflow, especially when I don't have a lot of room
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I remove the lower leaves on a tomato grown as a standard when it gets to 4-5 foot tall. I read it helps guard against blight. Usually the older lower leaves are not looking great by then on outdoor plants, so I suspect it does help keep fungus like things at bay. I have heard of removing upper foliage to aid ripening, might be tempted if there was a nice bunch of toms being shaded heavily, but not something I do routinely.
The plants with ripening toms on them are already that tall but looking pretty good. I shall tentatively remove a few, though. I have some further down the garden, and curses, they are getting less sun than they were when I put them there. Can't really move them as on quadgrows. They'll probably get enough though. I usually put them on the patio (best spot) but thought it would be nice to have a clear patio for once this year, so we can sit out without feeling crowded. And guess what. The patio is doing a good imitation of a garden centre - seedlings on the table and pots of flowers (a new departure for me) and herbs on the ground. And some aubergines and peppers.
Pete8 and I had this discussion two years ago about removing leaves, up to that point I had removed the bottom leaves and any shading the toms. So last year I took two Gardeners Delight , one just the damaged leaves removed the other as usual. The result was the de-leafed one was considerably less healthy, and finished a good 2/3 weeks before the other. The down side was with all the leaves the trusses became heavy and bent before I saw them. So this year just the bottom leaves up to the first truss will go, when it reaches full height, and then maybe a few leaves that are in the way. It seems Pete8 was right heat is more important than sun!
P.S. Don't worry if your toms seem to pause for a few days, as the temperatures are high photosynthesis seems to stop at 30°C but they will then recover.😁
Posts
@purplerallim My tumbling bella is growing in a hanging planter.. it’s does hook onto the railing really firmly though
I can never bring myself to pinch out the growing tips when it gets to 4. I do get lots of lovely tomatoes...
Does anyone remove foliage to help ripening. Does removing foilage help ripeneing? I don't mean a lot. Just leaves in front of tomatoes.
Some of mne are on a balcony too but are against the wall. Plants currently vary in size from 2 inches (thanks for that, Marshalls
Or - have you other plants you can put 'in the line of fire' as it were?
Difficult if you can't really create something more permanent, like a little trellis screen or similar.
If not- a bit of fleece would be your best option. Bit of a faff though!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I remove old foliage from the bottom too. I've never noticed any difference in flavour of any tomato. I don't remove it unless it's either really tatty [and therefore no further use to the plant] or is touching the sides of the little greenhouse. I simply cut those stems back to alleviate that. It also helps with the airflow, especially when I don't have a lot of room
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have some further down the garden, and curses, they are getting less sun than they were when I put them there. Can't really move them as on quadgrows. They'll probably get enough though.
I usually put them on the patio (best spot) but thought it would be nice to have a clear patio for once this year, so we can sit out without feeling crowded. And guess what. The patio is doing a good imitation of a garden centre - seedlings on the table and pots of flowers (a new departure for me) and herbs on the ground. And some aubergines and peppers.
So last year I took two Gardeners Delight , one just the damaged leaves removed the other as usual.
The result was the de-leafed one was considerably less healthy, and finished a good 2/3 weeks before the other.
The down side was with all the leaves the trusses became heavy and bent before I saw them.
So this year just the bottom leaves up to the first truss will go, when it reaches full height, and then maybe a few leaves that are in the way.
It seems Pete8 was right heat is more important than sun!