In This Week’s Newsletter …
Note From The Polytunnel
This week’s action
Cuttings From Tomato Plants
Increase your plant numbers
Three Topical Challenges
Coping with the poor weather
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Nick’s Note This Week
Aeration not condensation!
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Tomato Cuttings
Easy to do and great fun too!
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Three Challenges – Right Now
A poor weather period can do a lot of damage to tomato plants – keep them ticking-over and healthy.
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Have your say!
Do let me know if you have any ideas or would like to make a contribution in some way. Free seeds if you tell of your tomato growing experiences or have an interesting story to share – please email me here. Comments can also take place at Facebook or in the comments section below.
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anne tracy
Dear Nick,
I wondered if you could you answer a question that has always puzzled me? – Why is it important to start any seed in a tiny pot then pot up by degrees until the final large pot is reached? When seeds fall natuurally into the soil they grow regardless of the fact there is unlimited soil around them so what is it about being in a small pot that encourages growth?
thanks anne
Nick
Hi Anne,
The reason is that when roots reach the sides of a pot the plant thinks that, it must get a move on, to create fruit and seeds to continue its kind. The problem is, if a plant remains in a small pot it will become root bound and run out of steam. If a seed is planted in a large pot or the ground with unlimited amount of space, it will take a lot longer to produce mature fruit.
It’s a balancing act to produce mature fruit at the earliest time, otherwise, you’ll be lucky to end up with small green toms at the end of the season when the weather is too cold for further growth.
Hope that explains it a bit.
Regards,
Nick