Terence Jones

Tomato growing tips

A bad year for growing Tomatoes in the uk this year due to climatic conditions.

I have been growing Tomatoes since 1994 when I first started to research the best way to grow them and found the tastiest variety to be "Gardener's delight". I grow them by the Hydroponic method in a greenhouse, and would myself never consider any other method. Yield is far and away above conventional methods and, blight has never been a problem, but it is essential to keep ventilation going through the autumn.  Attached find my final harvest picture in mid November 2012. another bonus with Hydroponics is that the pile of green tomatoes that we are all left with with at the end of the season will ripen over the next few weeks if layed out on trays, probably due to the nutrient balance in the feed, In the past I have been able to have a few Tomatoes left into January the following year. A retired friend of mine in the mid nineties asked me if my Tomatoes had a chemical taste due to the hydroponic feed? I gave a bag full the next week. His comment later was that they tasted like real Tomatoes used to taste!

method

Where have all my beans gone!.

In this case I would just open the pods you have picked and lay the beans out on  a flat or mesh surface to dry out, discarding any that are mouldy

Next season you could try leaving one of the early pods to mature on the plant during the summer. As a plant ceases flowering once it has completed it's cycle of flowering and producing mature seed, keep regularly picking the rest of the beans while they are young to keep the plant producing.

good luck.

TJ.

Where have all my beans gone!.

I regularly save (White Lady) runner bean seed every year by designating just one plant in the row, usually end of row, to be my seed providor. I don't pick any beans on this plant though  the growing season, just let them all mature. At the end of the season as the pods start to dry off naturally. I pick all the pods and find I have ample seed for next year, albeit redirecting any smaller ones to the kitchen for consumption.

tomatoes

Many years ago I learned that Tomato seeds can survive transportation through the human digestion system and find their way, (via the sewerage system) to the local sewage works, where solid matter is extracted before the contaminated liquids are processed.

This solid matter is exttracted and stacked in a mound and left to drain. It was observed that in a couple of weeks there were Tomato plants growing on the surface this mound!

If human waste was distributed on a garden there may well have been Tomato plants germinating and growing there in the same way.?

Shallots first time

Thanks Bob, I will pinch off the buds as they appear.

Regards TJ.

Shallots first time

I am growing shallots from sets for the first time.

Planted out in early April and making good growth. This week flower buds are starting to appear, should they be removed so that all the energy is concentrated in the bulbs or left to mature?

organic lawn feed

Comfrey, Nettle, and Urine can all be used as plant feed. The Center for Alternative Technology in Wales uses these organic nutrients. Check out their website.

http://www.cat.org.uk/

I am going organic myself this year and I would suggest you read "Liquid Gold" by Carol Steinfeld, and "101 uses for Stinging Nettles" by Piers Warren.

waste fish tank water

I have a hydroponic system in use in my greenhouse using commercial nutrients. I have heard of fish tanks being used for hydroponic growing, as plants filter out nutrients in fish waste from the water, returning clean water to the fish. I have not tried it myself but I am sure that online search and visits to aquatic/hydroponic sites near you would provide you with more precise information.

Hard water problem

I have a water butt next to my growing patch that I fill with a long hose once a week. I can then fill a watering can from the butt for daily use. Being in a hard water area I would like to know is there anything I can add to the water butt to make the water softer while not harming the plants?

I have no lawn left...help

You do not mention the age or breed of dog you have. It seems to me that the dog could be simply burning off energy and needs more excercise. Try taking the dog for a good long free run first thing in the morning, before letting it free in the garden, this usually helps.

Shallots first time

Hard water problem

Hydroponics