The Harlequin cherry tomatoes have been cropping for a couple of weeks now and the fruits are a uniform plum shape with attractive calyces. They're also quite tasty and very meaty for a small tomato.
The only thing about this variety is a very weird leaf habit. They really do twist and curl up far more than any other tomato i've ever grown. I've been on the verge of pulling them up a few times as they look as if they're dying but other growers have reported the same on their plants.
I've managed to grow my best ever aubergines this season after several years of failure. I harvested 7 'Bonica' yesterday which Leesa made into a blinding mousakka.There are several more smaller fruits forming on the plants which will hopefully give me fruits to enter in the any other veg classes at local level. Be careful on the calyces however as they have incredibly sharp spikes sticking out of them that pierce the skin very easily and deeply. They bloody hurt!
There are plenty of crops that can be sown between 8 and 12 weeks before your show so I like to sow little and often crops such as lettuce, french beans and kohl rabi. For the first time this season i'm growing pak choi as there is a class at Westminster for a collection of salading vegetables. As space becomes available I shall plant these out although I shall make sure my lettuce gets planted where my broad beans were to take advantage of the nitrogen fixed in the soil by the bean roots.
As well as veg I usually like to grow a few dahlias for my local shows only. Thanks to Kev Broxholme I'm growing Blyton Softer Gleam this season which was raised by Les Stothard of the marrow Blyton Belle fame. The first bloom has just opened out and it's a lovely apricot coloured small ball. I only have three plants of three varieties so getting three matching blooms isn't going to be easy.
As i've said in the past growing a variety of veg for show is like one of those plate jugglers that used to appear on the Generation Game. Getting them all timed to perfection for the same date takes some doing and it's inevitable that some plates come crashing to the ground. Perhaps I ought to consider just growing 3 or 4 things to perfection? Nahhhh.
7 comments:
Couldn't agrre more about growing lots of different veg for the local show. I am entering approx 30 classes this year but as I started our local show up only last year I feel duty bound to get as much stuff on the tables as I can.
Help, my greenhouse has been infiltrated by caterpillars that are beige/brown in colour and are chomping on my tomatoes. I found and removed three today, but looking at the damage on some of my tomatoes I reckon there must be more but I couldn't find them. Any tips on how best or when best to find them, our show is on the 17th and 18th, and I don't want to lose good fruits due to chunks being eaten out of them in the meantime?
Other question, the fruits on my Cedrico F1 Toms are still green, but some are quite large now. Will they still be likely to ripen in time for a show that is only 12 days away, (they show no signs of changing colour at all yet)?
The tomato moth caterpillar is becoming more widespread and indeed for the past couple of years I've suffered damage myself. They always seem to go for the best shaped fruits too! To keep them out try and erect a mesh screen if you keep your greenhouse doors open, which you should be doing to allow good ventilation. You very often see the droppings before you find the caterpillar so look above them and you usually find the little critter.....but by then the damage is done.
As for toms not ripening try the hanging ripe banana trick and cut back a lot of the lower foliage to allow more light in.
The first of my Cedrico are just starting to colour up now, which is fine by me as my show is late September. Have to say, they look really good - the best looking tomatoes I've ever grown.
The 1st truss on my Cedrico have all ripened now and the 2nd and 3rd trusses are just ripening. I did what Simon suggested Misty and cut all of the bottom foliage off about 2 weeks ago. It really does bring them on quick. I have my 1st show in 3 weeks so hopefully should have quite a few to choose from as Cedrico seem to stay ripe on the plant for a long time.
I did try looking above the droppings, but they must have hidden when they saw me coming as I struggled to find any using that method. I found one actually eating a fruit, one curled up on the floor and one walking along the wires that I ran around the top of the greenhouse. Might have to leave the mesh screen until next season now as we might have to move house in a month or so (nasty landlord trying to add £200 a month to our current rent), so the greenhouse will have to be moved too, (nightmare, we only just put it up).
Will definitely try the banana and the lower leaves removal tips as well. Thanks Simon (and Marcus)
Ha, found another one today, so that is one less. Cut off lower foliage too, not sure how far up 'lower' counts as, so I cut of the bottom third I would say.
I don't leave the greenhouse door open normally, but I have two window vents which are on solar powered auto-vent openers, so the ventilation is pretty good, plus trees behind and to the left of the greenhouse, so the shade kicks in around 5pm.
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