[Totty]

Another interesting point Bob Flowerdew recommends taking out the main leader early on to encourage fruiting sooner and less of a glut all at once. now thats more radical.

Pinching out the tip of a tomato, to encourage earlier fruit, umm, certainly radical. And you would get less glut, but also less tomatoes. Not a fan of his 'radical' ideas.

Totty

If you have lots of plants then you can just take the tips out of some of them, which will fruit earlier. You can do the same with runner beans.

This year I have 103 toms planted, about 30 were sown in January, the rest in mid march. This is how I get earlier crops. Same as I would with runners, multiple sowings. After pinching the plants out, when the couple of plants have fruited, that's it. I can however see the sense in topping outdoor toms, but only due to our weather not staying good long enough to ripen five or more trusses so I think they are generally pinched out after 3 trusses.
Back to the thread, I have had one plant that was neglected a bit in the corner of the greenhouse, so planted it up in a terracotta pot about two weeks ago, I have just been watering it upto now but will start feeding it with weak feed from tomorrow onwards. It has the first truss set already but looks a bit lanky, I'll post some pics later.

Totty

[Totty]

Here's the plant I'll try feeding everyday then. I'll pop it next to the others and see how it goes. Looks less sturdy at the moment, but we will see how it goes.

[mjw]

I will be using these new waterers - has a massive 15 litre reservoir, so should never dry out and will hopefully prevent fruit splitting and blossom end rot.  Also, includes support holders for canes too.

http://www.hozelock.com/growbag-waterer.html

[Totty]

Harvested my first two toms today. Have 102 plants this year. Both off of the plant in the little terracotta pot.
Plant is being fed everyday with very weak comfrey tea. One feed a week of phostrogen to give them some nitrogen and phosphorous. Majority of others are in the border with loads of manure etc, and some at home in great big pots with very rich compost. They are all healthy but much bushier.
The plant in the small pot is more thinner but very healthy, looks like its roots being restricted has made it concentrate on producing fruit and has five trusses already, will be thinking long and hard about the way I grow em in future if this plant does well. You could fill an awful lot of those pots with one grow bag............

Totty

[Beetroot queen]

Harvested my first two toms today. Have 102 plants this year. Both off of the plant in the little terracotta pot.
Plant is being fed everyday with very weak comfrey tea. One feed a week of phostrogen to give them some nitrogen and phosphorous. Majority of others are in the border with loads of manure etc, and some at home in great big pots with very rich compost. They are all healthy but much bushier.
The plant in the small pot is more thinner but very healthy, looks like its roots being restricted has made it concentrate on producing fruit and has five trusses already, will be thinking long and hard about the way I grow em in future if this plant does well. You could fill an awful lot of those pots with one grow bag............

Totty

Was the 102 a typo  :blink:

[seaside]

Quite like Bobby Flowerdew's point, and is especially suited to us people that just grow for ourselves and family. Longer fruiting and less glut suits me fine.
As for Monty's rehashed method, surely there has to be more to life than just producing fruit, even for the humble tomato. It is after all just one part of the life cycle. I gave up eating meat due to husbandry philosophy, I don't think I want to give up tomatoes as well 
Tomatoes like their life in proper soil, not some nightmare drip fed existence.

[Totty]

Seaside, out of curiosity, how does flowerdews idea about pinching out the tom plants early, give you longer cropping?

My little trial is using an organic, home made feed, and clearly not a hydroponic set up. So not sure where the "nightmare dripfed existence" comes from.
Everyone has there own way of doing things.

Beetroot queen, no typo, 102 plants.

Totty

[seaside]

No big deal Totty. Like others, I just see the Monty thing not a million miles from hydroponics, which I'm not particularly a fan of, let alone the fragile labour intensive nature of such growing methods, when as you rightly say, life is short. I wasn't commenting on your own trials at all. As you say,  everyone has their own opinion and way of doing things, and that's mine.