I think what I may do next year is fill the border where the growbags are now with well manure soil and compost mix. I won’t be putting these growbags anywhere near my garden which I normally would. When you think about it Gardeners in France, Spain and Italy all grow directly in the soil with terrific results. Massive crops of Everything. I know they get a longer growing season and warmer weather, that’s why we have to have greenhouses. I’m glad that at least the plants that weren’t grown in a growbag are doing very well with a good crop of tomatoes. And you have to ask what did gardeners do before the “Growbag”, I cant remember what I did 45-50 years ago but I’m sure I didn’t use a growbag.
I did have blight once on my tomatoes but that was because it spread from my potatoes. Nothing I could do as we were away on holiday at the time and by the time we got back there was devastation. And I know what Blight looks like. im sure it was Levingtons way of just passing the buck.
I've got about twenty tomato plants planted out in the veg patch in a row in front of a south facing fence ... they had some Growmore when they were planted, and have had one dose of Tom feed, and apart from the week when they were planted, they've only been watered three times since the beginning of June ........ they're healthy sturdy plants absolutely dripping with fruit. I'm never going back to growing in containers again ... far too much like hard work. This year I'm growing San Marzano, Sungold and Red Alert, but I've grown all sorts in the ground in the past ... including Anna Russian ... a great citrussyla-flavoured Oxheart variety with a habit rather like an octopus. I remember when I was a small child seeing a villager's veg patch with tomato plants covered with fat red tomatoes ... every time I hear 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' the line about 'The ripe fruits in the garden .... ' I see Don Rowe's garden in my mind's eye ... and that must be nearly 65 years ago.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Infuriating for you @Robertsprr, and I think you're right about the buck passing. Dreadful customer care too- they should have made an effort to look at it properly, instead of assuming it was you, and not their product. It would be interesting to see if others have had the same problem. There are often ways of addressing it - using social media. Many companies take no notice of problems unless they get named and shamed. Someone recently on the forum had a problem with an order not arriving, then being told it was in dispatch etc, and was being ignored by the company, until we suggested going on Facebook or similar. She got a response , and more importantly, a refund. While I appreciate that many companies have had, and are still having, problems of all kind, customer care is a top priority.
I'm fortunate that I've never had blight, as we always have to grow undercover, which definitely makes it easier. No one near me grows toms anyway which also helps. @Dovefromabove -I've seen a difference being able to grow in the ground this year, but I'm also growing a commercial variety, so it's hard to tell whether it's that. I might experiment a bit more next year with some that I've grown before.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Here is an email I received from Levingtons this morning. Note the amount of water they recommend per day. Four and a half Gallons Spelling is not the best either
Response By E-mail (Justine) (26/07/2021 13:17)
Dear Mr Roberts,
Thank you for contacting us regarding the issues your Tomatoe plants are having growing in Levington Tomorite Giant Planter with Seaweed.
We recognise that there is the potential for herbicide residues to be found in green compost, which could cause damage to plants. However, we would like to assure you that we have implemented significant quality controls to minimise this risk.
As you may be aware green compost is sourced through kerbside collections, amenity sites and professional sites, which can be variable in quality. To ensure that the green compost that we receive is of the best quality we only use one supplier who we have partnered with over a number of years. They have British Standards certification for composted materials and have worked with us to add further steps to raise the quality of green compost. Each batch of composted materials is bioassay tested at our Levington Research Station to ensure there are no issues and that it can be used in our composts. We grow beans, which are known to be sensitive plants, following an externally recognised protocol, visual assessment determines whether there are signs of contamination.
Only batches of compost that pass this test, together with the standard physical and chemical analysis required of all growing media components, are released from the composting site for dispatch to our factories. Only material that is fit for use will reach the production site.
So, although the symptoms you have seen are similar to those associated with hormone herbicide contamination this may not be the case. In the course of our analysis we have not found traces of aminopyralid residues in our Levington Compost.
Therefore, we would like to reassure you that, of the number of products sold, we receive a very low level of complaints and fewer still relate to the potential damage of plants through herbicides such as aminopyralid.
Although we have no doubt that your plants have experienced issues, in no case have we found aminopyralid when we have conducted detailed chemical analysis prior to packaging and sale of our compost products.
Tomatoe plants in Grow bags need 4.5 gallons of water a day. If you still have plants in the gro bags can I ask you to lift the plastic from the compost with your hand and fill the bag entirely with water before returning to your regular watering and feeding routine, this should help revive the plants.
If you are still concerned after doing this please let me know.
Yes if they can’t even spell tomato or get the correct amount of water right what hope have we got. Don’t they have spellcheck? They are supposed the professionals and we are the Plebs, seems it’s the other way round.
Their MP is rubbish this year as well, it did say on the bag that they’re using more green waste so they can use less peat. It’s not working is it, probably the same with your gro bags. Less peat, more rubbish waste. Green waste composted is no good for growing stuff in, its a soil improver, we cover our ground in piles of it every year, the soil’s lovely but I wouldn’t grow young plants in it, or sow seeds.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Posts
When you think about it Gardeners in France, Spain and Italy all grow directly in the soil with terrific results. Massive crops of Everything. I know they get a longer growing season and warmer weather, that’s why we have to have greenhouses. I’m glad that at least the plants that weren’t grown in a growbag are doing very well with a good crop of tomatoes.
And you have to ask what did gardeners do before the “Growbag”, I cant remember what I did 45-50 years ago but I’m sure I didn’t use a growbag.
im sure it was Levingtons way of just passing the buck.
I remember when I was a small child seeing a villager's veg patch with tomato plants covered with fat red tomatoes ... every time I hear 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' the line about 'The ripe fruits in the garden .... ' I see Don Rowe's garden in my mind's eye ... and that must be nearly 65 years ago.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'm fortunate that I've never had blight, as we always have to grow undercover, which definitely makes it easier. No one near me grows toms anyway which also helps. @Dovefromabove -I've seen a difference being able to grow in the ground this year, but I'm also growing a commercial variety, so it's hard to tell whether it's that. I might experiment a bit more next year with some that I've grown before.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Note the amount of water they recommend per day. Four and a half Gallons
Spelling is not the best either
Response By E-mail (Justine) (26/07/2021 13:17)
4.5 gallons a day! They'd be drowning!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
They are supposed the professionals and we are the Plebs, seems it’s the other way round.
Green waste composted is no good for growing stuff in, its a soil improver, we cover our ground in piles of it every year, the soil’s lovely but I wouldn’t grow young plants in it, or sow seeds.