[tonel]

Hello,

Hoping I could get some advice about tomatoes (am a newbie, haven't grown them before). Basically we have a few tom plants growing in a growbag in a small greenhouse/frame (one of the upright metal frames with plastic covers). They seem to have done quite well but unfortunately we didn't pinch off sideshoots at the beginning, they grew to be quite large so we had to remove the plastic cover. We finally have some fruit (only 2 ripe so far and both have split), along with lots of green tomatoes.

Question is, as it's now September and the weather seems to be getting cooler, should we risk leaving the rest of the fruit to ripen outdoors, or should we remove it and bring indoors? Just worried as the weather seems to be turning for the worse and would be a shame to lose all the fruit. Any advice gratefully received

[Nobbie]

I did the same, but have now trimmed off all the leaves and shoots with no fruit and put the cover back on and zipped up. This will give a bit of extra warmth. You could try hanging old banana peels in there as they release a gas that aids ripening. I'm off to the lotty now so I'll see how they're doing

[tonel]

Have taken your advice and given them a trim and replaced the cover. Hopefully will get some nice red tomatoes. Thanks for the advice

(Ironically I don't actually like tomatoes, but my wife loves them..heh)

[azubah]

Sounds like good advice. Take care with the watering and ventillation too. These might cause splitting.

[cooperman]

Hope the previous advice helps, heres my bit of sagely wisdom.....

Firstoff what varieties did you plant? 

Growing in a tomato growhouse is fine (I use these as well as my greenhouse) I use two methods, the greenhouse toms are grown in 25ltr square pots (ex-florists ones got for free)
the "outdoor" toms (in the growhouses) are grown in JUMBO organic growbags (NOT the thin usual ones which are about as much good as growing them in a crack in the paving!)
Dont forget to pierce the growbags to allow excess water to drain.  I start my toms off in about mid march under heat.  Grow on and pot on as necessary.
Once the toms are planted out (remember to plant DEEP, upto the first leaf axiel) keep to a rigid regular watering and feeding regime, this is VERY important for a successful crop. Dont get bored and stop doing it its will have been a total waste of time....
Remember regular watering means a good crop AND less problems ie irregular watering = chances of blossom end rot and/or splitting.....

[mumofstig]

Be careful with ventilation at this time of year. It's easy to think that the doors must be kept shut all day if it's not very warm outside.....but this will just cause humidity and Botrytis and you'll lose your crop anyway. Make sure they get enough fresh air during the day, but keep them cosy at night if you can.