Why tomatoes haven't grown more than 1 metre ?

It's possible that your variety isn't a climber as your neighbour's is. Also possible that the growbags contain some sort of super-feed to compensate for the small size, something in the line of Miracle Gro. But I'll bet your neighbour's won't taste as nice as yours.

Just been looking again at your piccies posted earlier this month.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=40506.msg480515#msg480515

There's a few things strike me.

1 - The pots are very close together.

2 - The compost level is not very high

3 - No shading on the greenhouse - it can get very hot in there!

4 - There's a lot of side shoots on what looks like an indeterminate variety.

Of coursee that was a few weeks back & may not be the case now.

Thanks for all your replies and suggestions and without sounding ignorant I'll try and rule out what is similar and what is the same.

It's possible that your variety isn't a climber as your neighbour's is. Also possible that the growbags contain some sort of super-feed to compensate for the small size, something in the line of Miracle Gro. But I'll bet your neighbour's won't taste as nice as yours.

I have the same varieties  - Gardeners Delight and Moneymaker which are what my neighbour also has.

And I think his growbags are organic peat free ones and he feeds once a week with wilkos feed just as I do!

Mine are in buckets with the bottoms cut off and sat in growbags.

I Feed in the pots and water via the growbag.

I also put a little growmore in the pots once a month and feed with tomorite twice a week now.

They are are on the fifth truss and now stopped. and have reached to greenhouse roof.

How big are your pots ? only thing i can think of is if they are too small.

Steve

My pots are a bit small, I have bought the buckets you have for next year, but I thought that even because the pots are small mine would be better than 3 plants in one small grow bag.

Just been looking again at your piccies posted earlier this month.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=40506.msg480515#msg480515

There's a few things strike me.

1 - The pots are very close together.

2 - The compost level is not very high

3 - No shading on the greenhouse - it can get very hot in there!

4 - There's a lot of side shoots on what looks like an indeterminate variety.

Of coursee that was a few weeks back & may not be the case now.

Nothing much has changed in the last few weeks just the fruit that actualy developed ripening.

My neighbours plants are a thick hedge packed together into one side of his greenhouse and he's just ran wires from one side to the other to support them.

I haven't shaded the greenhouse at all and I think it gets sun all day (when there is any !) -
my neighbours have trees on one said so I think that shades it a bit.

Variety of tomato will also make a considerable difference....

My dad has a mixed row of tomato plants - some are quite short by comparrison with others - the short ones being "beef steak" type. (Grosse Lisse)

I have lots of different varieties and they are all the same size reallly.


Thanks for all of your suggestions- please keep them coming I really like to hear them.

If you can think of an answer to the answers please let me know.

Thanks again

Garddwr

I think you'll find that the volume of compost in a grow bag is significantly greater than the volume of three of your pots as shown on the piccies.

It is also possible I suppose that your virus mentioned earlier in the year could have affected your plants whereas his weren't affected.

As DD said, it is also possible that the difference in shading is relevant to the growth and transpiration rates of the two locations.

Hi,

Of course Yorkie now I come to think of it, I made 1 grow bag go much further than it should and I'm sure from some I had 5 or 6 pots from 1 grow bag. So it dosen't mater about the depth my nieughbours have much more volume of soil than mine.

I see thanks very much for explaining that to me.

And they've lost more water due to not shading and the virus hasn't helped either !

Lots of lessons for next year then.