As growing and cooking go almost hand in hand and some of you are keen gardeners I thought I'd ask....

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1837719&l=f12ae3c9ae&id=759322738

These are looking ok but the instructions on the seed packets were going on about first trusses? cutting this, side shoots, tying that...

Well I've tied them to the posts where nothing seems to be sprouting out of the stem. I've not cut anything off etc... should I be doing something to this lot ?

Thanks

Steve

Chilli plant - http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1838222&l=6f1301cbfe&id=759322738

Broadbeans - http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1837718&l=81e6fe0db2&id=759322738

Hello steve

For home grown tomatoes, that you are not planning to 'show', no need to remove side shoots. They are just to reduce the burden on the plants, so have better size of tomatoes. Can you imagine big growers going around picking off side shoots of acres of tomato plants?

If you do remove them, don't throw them away. If you stick them in coompost, they will make new plants.

Your chilli plants are a lot further than mine, did you grow them from seed?

Mamta

thanks for that ! can stop panicing about the plant not flowering or something now !

I bought a little chilli plant in the middle of last year from the green grocers. It had chillies on it and quite a few kept coming over the summer. By winter time it really died off with some of the last chillies shrinking and drying up on the plant (the stems of the plant were quite woody by then and dry themselves). I pulled the chillies off and put them at the side of the pot to deal with them later (didn't want to throw them as I wondered if I could use them like dried chillies?) Anyway sometime during last winter I picked them up and they fell to bits releasing seeds all over... So I pushed a few back into the soil and left them... I must have watered them a little all winter and as the weather warmed up some little shoots appeared. The plant then grew and grew around the old stems and thats what its like today !

Steve

The moral of the story is that you can start growing your hilli plants a lot earlier than the packet says ;-)!

Mamta

I am a keen gardner and grow few vegetables as well.

Tomatoes are always a problem with me, After the first few fruits they become diseased (viral blight) and the whole plant ultimately turns black and dies. So less success for me in tomato but good results in potato, courgettes,green and dwarft beans,patchoi,spinach,onions, spring onions, chinese cabbage and pumpkin.

As of now my tomato seedings are still indoors and will plant them out in a week or so under a plastic roof protection against frost.

My tomatoes are out since last sunday until yesterday, they are about 1 foot tall and have some flowers. I heard someone mention 'expected hail storm', so i brought them in last night. they will be out again tomorrow. I will plant them in beds this year, pots/bags need too much watering!

Other vegetables are doing well.

Mamta

Yes Mamta it did hail storm yesterday morning, i had to rush my tomato seedlings inside (I started to keep them outdoors (2-4 hours daily) for acclimatisation). I grown them from seeds.

This year I am trying to grow watercress (we cook it like "saag")lets see it it is successful.

How do your grow your watercress? Let us know if it a worthwhile thing to grow yourself.

Mamta

Mamta,

I tried Land cress last year, it tastes just like watercress but the leaves and stems are a bit harder than water cress, hence not so popular.

Water cress can be grown on well composted land and needs loads of water. In Dehradun it grows wildly near river sides, with the price of about Rs 8 per kg. Here it is ?1 for a small pack (20 grams?).

Deahradun? I go to Haridwar and Roorkee at least twice a year at least, never seen it in shops. As you know, these places are very near to dehradun.

What is it's Indian name please Rajneesh?

Mamta

I'm growing to many things this year, I went a bit mad. I'm growing 18 different varieties of chili plant (Dorset naga, bhut jolokia, bih jolokia, naga morich, Trinidad seven pot, Trinidad scorpion, yellow scotch bonnet, red scotch bonnet, Caribbean red, fatalii, tepin, hot lemon, jalapeno, tabasco, cayenne, ring of fire and prairie fire. Yeah, I went mad and I have 75 plants in all LOL.

We're also growing tomatoes (normal and purple cherry, tomatillos, multi coloured carrots (purple, orange, white, yellow, red), green cauliflower, purple cauliflower, purple-sprouting brocoli, leeks, onions, garlic, fenugreek, mixed radish, salad peppers, beetroot (golden, white and purple and purple), lettuce, turnips, cucumber and a few other things.

Has anyone had any experience at growing tomatillos on here?

John - you sound like a friend of mine that grows all different kinds of chillies. He makes the most beautiful sauces. Everyone says he should go into business. Luckily for him though he lives a lot further north than me so his plants dont get hammered by the frosts that I get down south (my plants die off in winter). He gave me a jar of crushed bhut jolokia! Holy Moly! You dont want to mess with those.

Anyway - Asky, you can pinch the side shoots as they grow. I do so they grow taller and easier to control. If I dont the shoots grow out and the plant turns into a big bush that is harder to tie to the stake.

Cheers

Steve

Vow John, so many varieties of vegetables, especially vegetables! You must have a big plot. I saw tomatillo seeds this year and was almost tempted. I have eaten them in South American countries and I liked them. Please let us know how well you do.

Steve, I don?t pick the side shoots off but do remove a lot of large leaves later on in the year, so that the sun gets to the tomatoes to ripen them. I just tie the central stem to a strong stake, sometimes a few times as the plant grows, and it is enough, only occasionally needing a second stake. My late friend Tom always pinched the side shoots off, but stopped after seeing me not do it. Many varieties don?t ask for it anyway. I guess it is a personal choice.

Hi John,

You sure are a chilli fan, I am sure you reside in a warmer country, here in UK it is difficult to grown them (and most veg as a matter of fact)except in green house (if can afford it).

Cheers!!!!!!

Hi Mamta,

Water cress is not avaialble in the shops as far as I know. Some people in fact dont even know about it, in European countries it seems to be consumed as salad only.

We cook it as saag - heat oil --brown chopped garlic (add 1-2 dry red chilli- if you want)- just add water cress--cook and adjust salt. we do not add tomatoes to "saag" as it gives it a sour taste. This saag has some texture (unlike spinach which just melts like a puree)and great taste.....can be dry cooked with lamb /goat...yummy.!!!!!!

Water cress is called as "Kholay saag" in local lingo, (Kholay = river, rivulet).

IN dehradun guys in bicycle with jute sack filled with "saag" comes early in the morning (in selected localities)to sell it...he gets it free from the rivers where it grows naturally. I don't think it is well known in Rishikesh side.

@Rajneesh - I am in the UK, North Wales to be exact. It's difficult to get them to grow outside in this country, but it can be done indoors. Ideally you'd start the seeds off in January or February to ensure a long fruiting season. Chilies such as the nagas, jolokias and habaneros all need a longer fruiting season. I have mine on windowsills. I am a chili an for sure.

@Mamta - I don't have a large plot to be honest. You'd b surprised what can be grown in quite a small place.

@john

You must be having big windows then!!!!

By the way where did you get these exotic chilli seeds from??

Take care

Rajneesh, yeah they're everywhere in the house LOL. I do admit that I grew to many, but having never grown chilies before I was unsure how well they'd germinate ... so I planted loads. When they germinated they were all healthy-looking seedlings. It seemed a shame to get rid of them for that reason. I don't know anyone who likes chilies like I do si I ended up keeping them all. I wont plant so many next year.

I bought some of the seeds from nickys-nursery.co.uk and chileseeds.co.uk

This evening I posted an update on my blog with pictures if you're interested: andrewwilliams.net. (I hope it's ok for me to post that link.)

My tomatoes are outside but in "tomato Greenhouses" which are like a small square clear plastic tent...(available from several diy type places and even a large catalogue shop chain)... lots of leaves but can't see any flowering yet !...

Steve

Last year I had a small plastic "green house", but strong winds blew it away making a mess of all the plants inside. Terrible english weather.

yes mine went for a walk a few weeks back so I got some large cable clips and fastened them to the fence and walls....

Steve

This one is my experimental up-side-tomato this year http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamta1/3556809160/ . It seems to be doing better than all my other tomato plants, which I planted outside yesterday. There better not be a hail storm now!!

Mamta

I like the look of that !!!

Is that a normal variety that you've poked through a hole in the bottom and then filled up with soil ?

Hanging baskets of tomatos all over the place..using normal varieties would be great for loads of people !!!

I know my dad once told me his mate (about 40 years ago) had hanging baskets of special tomato plant types but I've never spotted any in the shops etc....

Steve

Yes, I put in a normal variety, I think it was plum tomato plant. See here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qldyP4Lh3eU for instructions, dead easy!

I have grown tumbling cherry tomato in basket before, but not with much success. This works well.

Mamta, this is something different, but my concern would be that shoots naturally grow against gravity so it will tend to curve skywards and when the fruits arrive then giving support to the plant will be a problem as it wont be able to take the weight of fruits.

watched the video ! he says he water once a day?.. and he says water till the water is running out of the bottom ! Is that not a lot of water?.. mine are the right way up and I'm probably only watering once a week !(if that)..

Steve

Rajneesh

This year is an experiment, I will follow it through. If you watch the UTube videos, the method does seem to work, without support.

Steve, I water mine when the soil feels dry, which is about every 3 days in a hot conservatory.

Mamta

Mine are outside and its raining again.. maybe thats why I'm not needing to water mine as much..!

Steve

Why are you groing a tomato plant upside down, Mamta?

Are they supposed to yeild more fruits or something?

Looks interesting nevertheless.

I'm guessing for space, if you can grow them upside down hanging on a wall it means anyone can grow them that has space on a wall outside even if they only have a yard and not a garden.

Steve

I am growing it for fun plus they are supposed to be more insect free. I don't know why it should be so, but wouls like to find out how they do through a full season and to see if they are worth it or just a gimmick.

It certainly sounds interesting, Mamta.

I suppose many bugs crawl along the ground and up the plants...so it would make sense that having them 7 foot off the floor makes it difficult for them...

Steve

I can see all these poles with hanging baskets (or buckets) all over my garden next year, with tomatoes tumbling down! LOL!!

now theres a thought.. a completely inverted garden, all the plants growing downwards giving more space on the ground.. lol

Steve

It shall be interesting to see how green beans will grow inverted.

Anyway, I found out that as the tomato plant grows we should pile soil /compost around its base (same as we do in potatoes) for it promotes more root growth and hence more fruits, in America some farmers use old car tyres with the tomato plant in the middle and they fill the tyres with soil/compost.

Thanks for that tip Rajneesh, I will try it on half of my tomatoes this year and see if it makes a difference. I had never heard of it. My dad did this (piled earth around the roots) for root vegetables, but never with tomatoes.

Mamta

Hi all,

I am still trying to built a temporary green house of about 7 X 6 foot for my tomato plants, yesterday I just put in the wooden pillars and cemented it to the ground. I would grow about 10 - 12 tomato plants in there. Lets see if it is successful.

Good luck and post us some pictures when they are ready.

mamta

Hi all,

Before I put the plastic cover on the green house I was wondering what about pollination? How will the bee enter the greenhouse? Rolling the covers up during day time and down in night time i guess?

I do not think tomatoes are self pollinating and I remember last year i saw lots of bees on the flowers.

You can tell I'm not a farmers son !.. I never thought of that.. I've been leaving mine closed in all day and night !....

anyone know for sure what needs to be done ????

Steve

My tomato plants are doing okay outside, not as luch as in green house, but beginning to flower and set fruit. Let's just hope that there is no more hail storm! My up-side-down one is the best looking one, not sure how well it will fruit; http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamta1/?saved=1

mamta

Crikey !!! that things going to takeover the garden !!! its grown a lot since the last picture !!

Steve