Tea? (Part 2)

[TheDoctor]

Uggber, Waffles!!! That doesn't sound good.
Have a brew.

 

[wafflycat]

Brew? Did someone mention brew? Yes please.

Just planted seeds for some mini tomato & mini cucumber varieties.

This cucmber variety

This tomato variety

Wonder if I manage to bring any to harvest?

 

[Amanda P]

Just filled my china bucket with tea...

Yes, I got some tomatoes and cukes in a week or so ago. Cukes are the usual "burpless", and tomatoes are Sweet Millions. Take the name literally: we were still eating cherry tomatoes in the run-up to Christmas last year.

The plan this year was to put some very early early potatoes in the polytunnel, and be lifting them when it was time to put in the toms and cukes. But the seed potatoes came rather late, so that plan might not work any more...

Have the knees improved with a little gentle gardening?

 

[wafflycat]

If anything, my knees have got worse.Bah!

 

[wafflycat]

Just been to check on the seed trays. Now got two varieties of tom poking their heads above the soil: Garden Pearl & Tumbling Tom Yellow. Some pak choi, scorzonera and little gem are sprouting. And my first bean seedling is starting to poke its head through the soil. Hurrah!

 

[Speicher]

How often do you need to water tomatoes? Yes, possibly a very silly question.

There is a very sunny spot on my patio, right next to the water butt. Can you get thingymajigs what soak up water from a butt and drip it into a tomato grow bag. Do they even need to be in a grow bag? I have a very long (about one metre) sort of long narrow pot, which might look better than a plastic growbag. Is it too late to plant some cherry tomatoes like Sweet Millions? Tia for any advice.

Off now for a bath, as I have been tidying/sorting the garage. Btw how does a garage get so messy? Garden tools, and car cleaning wotsits, not to mention bikes, and spare saddles etc etc, (and lots of recycling - don't ask ) do they have parties in the middle of the night, with the sole intention of completely muddling themselves up? I am sure I used to be able to get a c*r in the garage.

 

[wafflycat]

Tomatoes are water-hungry, especially when fruiting. If you don't keep them well-watered, you can get splitting of the fruits (dought followed by lots of water). No, they don't nbeed to be in a growbag - deep pots are better. I find that that the cheap & effective pot are from Morrisons - they sell off the black plastic pots that bunches of flowers were delivered in at 8 for 99p. Drill/poke some drainage holes in the bottom & voila - instant ideal pot for container-grown veg. Last year I did tomatoes and dwarf beans that way - worked a treat.

 

[Arch]

Afternoon all! Another glorious day today, I spent the afternoon washing old recycling boxes in the sun.

I cycled the 'big' trike today, the one with the trailer, so my 2 miles should count for triple I reckon....

Tea?

 

[Speicher]

I knew there would be a use for the three buckets with cracks/holes in the bottom, and large white sturdy plastic tubs with damaged bases.

I also have a short piece of hose, and a connection to the tap on the butt*. There is also some green canes in the garage. What compost would be best, is there one specially for tomatoes, or just a multipurpose one?

The local ironmongers and the market sells tomato plants. Presumably when I get too many tomatoes all at once, they can be made into soup and then freeze the soup.

* The mention of this is not a licence for lewd comments.

 

[wafflycat]

I use ordinary compost, muli-purpose, nothing special.

One can never have too many tomatoes...

 

[Arch]

I use ordinary compost, muli-purpose, nothing special.

One can never have too many tomatoes...

Is that for growing mooli in?

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/seeds1/product/826/1.html



I'm not growing anything at the moment beyond some weeds in one window box and some chives in the other. But there's a lady looking after a little veg patch at the centre, so I'm enhoying seeing that flourish. It's a 'square foot' garden, divided into a grid of, yes, square feet, each with a different crop - one broad bean plant per square, or a little row of carrots. (the spuds have a bigger area). It's very neat, I might tell my Mum about it, she has a raised bed she wants to grow veg in, and it would fit nicely.

 

[wafflycat]

Oh - you *need* to know if any tomato plants you buy are of bush or cordon types.

http://uktv.co.uk/home/stepbystep/aid/585764


Personally I prefer bush toms, much easier to grow without having them growing hugely tall and falling over

And for the bush toms I grew last year (Garden Pearl) I got toms for months from them.

This year I've got to try:-

Totem
Tumbling Tom (red)
Tumbling Tom (yellow)
Garden Pearl
Greensleeves

As mcuh as I adore Sungold, the plants just get hugely tall and in my limited space, too much of a hassle to deal with.

 

[wafflycat]

Is that for growing mooli in?

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/seeds1/product/826/1.html



I'm not growing anything at the moment beyond some weeds in one window box and some chives in the other. But there's a lady looking after a little veg patch at the centre, so I'm enhoying seeing that flourish. It's a 'square foot' garden, divided into a grid of, yes, square feet, each with a different crop - one broad bean plant per square, or a little row of carrots. (the spuds have a bigger area). It's very neat, I might tell my Mum about it, she has a raised bed she wants to grow veg in, and it would fit nicely.

Square foot gardening is fun but it is maintenance heavy in terms of succession planting and requiring feeding IMO.

 

[Speicher]

Thank you Wafflycat, for that excellent link. I can see an advantage in bush toms.

 

[wafflycat]

Thank you Wafflycat, for that excellent link. I can see an advantage in bush toms.

Most welcome.