@Fairygirl oh certainly! Wouldn't dream of growing anything like that outside - you'd never get anywhere! This sort of thing is all in the greenhouse, and even then as I say sunlight this year hasn't been brill. What I'm wondering is if tomatoes and similar plants that need sunlight to ripen would do ok in a poly tunnel given the covers are usually opaque - what do you think?
I grow 8 plants every year in my greenhouse that has shading. They are later then usual this year, but I harvested the 1st on 8 July which was Stupice - always the 1st to be ready - and usually the last too (mid October last year) - so I get a long season from Stupice. Rosella is the next to be ready Then Shirley Then Rose de Berne - my all time favourite tomato
Rosella yesterday-
PS - as mentioned earlier, it's warmth that ripens the tomatoes not direct sun. That said, with some leaves removed where the fruits are fully formed, direct sun on the fruits will make them warmer and therefore ripen sooner.
Rose de Berne for dinner last night
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Ooooh thanks for the variety recommendations @Pete.8, they look so nice! I've Roma, beefsteaks, gardeners delight, and orange bourgoin but those don't seem to have produced anything. I shall have to try your types out especially that long producing one.
Aha thanks @Fairygirl and @Pete.8 - I thought it was the other way round and they needed sunlight more so than heat, that ends that angsting over poly tunnel vs greenhouse!
That doesn’t look like blight to me! You can see from the picture attached what blight looks like and what it does to the plant. The ghastly disease just ravages the plant and turns the stems, leaves and fruit brown. I’ve always found that the older leaves on my tomatoes go a bit speckled with age, but I tend to just whip most of them off anyway to let light get to the bottom of the plant where THERE SHOULD BE FRUIT IF BLIGHT DOESN’T HIT 😂😂😭😭. Mine are about to be chopped down actually.
Hopefully you’ll have more success than me this year (all of mine were blighted, but managed to salvage a fair few too).
@Luke_S oh lord your poor tomatoes! I feel so lucky that i've had no blight as it sounds as though its been a serious year for it. Fingers crossed you have a better one next year!
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They are later then usual this year, but I harvested the 1st on 8 July which was Stupice - always the 1st to be ready - and usually the last too (mid October last year) - so I get a long season from Stupice.
Rosella is the next to be ready
Then Shirley
Then Rose de Berne - my all time favourite tomato
Rosella yesterday-
PS - as mentioned earlier, it's warmth that ripens the tomatoes not direct sun.
That said, with some leaves removed where the fruits are fully formed, direct sun on the fruits will make them warmer and therefore ripen sooner.
Rose de Berne for dinner last night
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Toms need warmth rather than sunlight to ripen though, so a polytunnel should be fine
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...