This is all Random Orbital Bob's fault...

[Farmer Giles]

Ever tried electric fencing Giles. I kid you not. Look it up.

Interesting When we had wooden raised beds I had copper then galvanised wire around it so that when a slug crawled up it the slime would carry a current between dissimilar metals, seemed to work. Trouble is with permaculture, raised beds are just mounds of mulch so no vertical surface to fix the electric fence too. It may work in the green house and polytunnel though, I shall let her indoors know, many thanks!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

only Khaki Cambells really like slugs ...

Where did that come from? I kept half a dozen or so different breeds and they all ate slugs ... and none of them were Campbells.

 

[Farmer Giles]

Interesting, I believe the wife got it from another small holder, I shall as. A neighbour has a mixture of various ducks, I did suggest we bring them around for a day and try them out.

 

[Farmer Giles]

I asked the missus about ducks and she denied telling me that, evidently I must have had my usual selective hearing turned on. Evidently although Khaki Campbells are superb slug eaters, they also eat your veg as well. Other ducks are better suited and she wants some Indian runners, she reckons the going rate is 6 per acre to keep the slugs at bay without losing your crops.

 

[whiskywill]

Quite possibly! But those are only 4ft canes, so I don't think it is too OTT, is it?
BTW the other two varieties are Roma and Ailsa Craig, whoever she is.

Ailsa Craig is an island in the Firth of Clyde off Scotland.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Slightly more seriously, you must get them watered daily when you go on hols, toms don't tolerate wilting at all well and I suspect our friendship would come under some strain if they croaked before ripening

But keep the faith Steve, I stand by my promise that you wont regret it....it's a long term payoff, like all good things in life

I've had a thunk.

I have some scrap hosepipe. Could I spike holes in it and thread it through the bags and leave the tap on a bit? Can you get toms too wet? Drainage holes in the bottom of the bags? What do you think?

 

[dynax]

what about a timer, http://www.screwfix.com/p/programmable- ... UQodCsUOmw

 

[Steve Maskery]

what about a timer, http://www.screwfix.com/p/programmable- ... UQodCsUOmw

These tomatoes are getting more expensive by the post.

 

[CHJ]

They could save you a fortune, don't go on holiday.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Too late, I've spent on both!

 

[AES]

Steve, Steve, give it all up NOW, before it's too late!!!!

I'll SEND you some "blooming" tomatoes - VERY nice ones, free of charge. We just CANNOT afford to have yet another member going over to the "wild, nature side"!!!!!

Hose pipes & timers? What next. In our DIY & Garden Centres we have some wonderful (so they say) automatic watering systems with timers, pressure sensors and Gawd knows what else. Only cost about 2 million quid.

This is even worse than festool and all the other slippery slopes. STOP NOW I tell you, and ENJOY your leisure. Do NOT become a slave to yer "garden".

AES

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Slightly more seriously, you must get them watered daily when you go on hols, toms don't tolerate wilting at all well and I suspect our friendship would come under some strain if they croaked before ripening

But keep the faith Steve, I stand by my promise that you wont regret it....it's a long term payoff, like all good things in life

I've had a thunk.

I have some scrap hosepipe. Could I spike holes in it and thread it through the bags and leave the tap on a bit? Can you get toms too wet? Drainage holes in the bottom of the bags? What do you think?

There are a whole bunch of different strategies for slow watering a crop while not there, some cheap, some less so and they range from simply upending a 2 litre pop bottle with the bottom cut off and shoving it in the pot, filling with water but only providing a narrow outlet from which the water drips over time. But that would never work in a grobag. The solution really is the friendly neighbour/friend/Ray option because that person will come in once daily and do the lot. You also get a security check for free and they can message you if there's anything untoward going on.

In terms of your hosepipe idea, I've not tried it myself but it sounds plausible if the flow rate were slow enough (Tomato's don't like continually wet feet). I would be inclined to do a prototype and try it for a few days to see if it works and to figure out how "nearly closed" the tap needs to be. But first choice, that friendly neighbour.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have seen systems with raised water containers and wicks down to the beds/bags - but I would think they work better with the wick put in before anything is planted. Best of luck with them - I've tried them outdoors numerous times and not yet picked a single ripe tomato. I've tried the bottle method, it's not particularly good, as to keep the flow slow the holes need to be small, and small holes block. It's not a bad idea to part bury a flowerpot or something in the bag so you can fill it rather than watch the water run off the top (especially if you've allowed it to get a bit too dry. I must admit to not liking growbags, I always did better with them in the ground. I had a four and a half pound truss on a Shirley once.

 

[Steve Maskery]

The problem with the friendly neighbour option is that he is going on holiday with me.

I think the timer idea with some sort of sprayer arrangement would be best. I could sit my hanging baskets by them and get them watered at the same time.

I could ask my mate Charlie to come in now and again, but it's 15 mins drive each way, so I can't expect him to do that daily.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Best of luck with them - I've tried them outdoors numerous times and not yet picked a single ripe tomato.

Jeez, thanks, Phil, I think... :-?

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Don't listen to him Steve, they never get any sunshine in Cornwall anyway :shock:

 

[Steve Maskery]

Is this OK? One of my plants isn't looking as good as it was. It's grown, sure, but the leaf is not so pretty. Is this something I should be concerned about?

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I'm not big on Tomato diseases but I have experienced blight and that's nasty. You often find that kind of leaf spot on the older more mature leaves and particularly close to the ground. I also notice on your plants there's lots of growth on the stem near the ground so I think you need a little updating in tomato plant husbandry/maintenance to reduce the risk of the crop being poor so here goes:

Tomatoes will tolerate well the constant removal of bits of their body! So if something looks bad, generally pinch it off and keep it well away from other plants (Blight spreads fast). Also remove all the growth near the base of the stem once the pants are a foot or more above ground. The principle behind this quite brutal removal of lower growth is twofold: firstly it prevents disease, bugs etc getting a hold down there where its moist and ideal for them and second, it concentrates the plants growth energy into the fruit rather than the stem etc. So to that end the other golden rule is you must pinch out the side shoots that appear (prolifically) between the stem and each main leaf branch. That job needs doing at least weekly because they come back FAST. Your goal here is to have a single growing tip which you will be stringing to a long cane so it goes up and not sideways. The plant will end up a good 5-6 foot by the end of the summer and tomato trusses will form all the way up directly off the main stem but NOT in between the stem and a leaf branch....those are the pesky side shoots that will rob your plant of fruiting energy. If you let them grow, those side shoots will form a second growth tip and the poor plant has it's limited energy supply diverted into too much green stuff and insufficient red stuff! I've got to go to the nippers sports day in a mo so have no time but later I'll snap some of mine to illustrate what I mean as I appreciate a picture here is worth a thousand words. But bottom line.....

.....pinch out individual leaves that look ropey, pinch out all growth off the stem near the bottom (unless its got a tom truss on), pinch out the side shoots and finally water once a week with tomarite once the 2nd truss has set.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That advice on side shoots is sound, but not for ALL types of tomatoes - look up individual needs.

 

[Steve Maskery]

The plant will end up a good 5-6 foot by the end of the summer

But my canes are only 4'...