[solway cropper]

Whether or not Monty's method is an improvement on what most of us are doing is only part of the point. It was a television programme and television programmes are supposed to be entertainment. Having twice been a participant in TV news items that lasted no more than 30 seconds and took hours to shoot I'm well aware that things are not always as they seem!

[Madame Cholet]

Whether or not Monty's method is an improvement on what most of us are doing is only part of the point. It was a television programme and television programmes are supposed to be entertainment. Having twice been a participant in TV news items that lasted no more than 30 seconds and took hours to shoot I'm well aware that things are not always as they seem!

ditto and he bet he has help in the garden too theres only me 2 allotments and a garden. my small cherry toms will go in tubs at home for convinience and the bush outdoor type will go on the lotty for drying cooking ect in the soil.

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.

[gavinjconway]

About using Terracotta pots...

Plastic heats up far too much as the sun hits it it is thin and plastic absorbs the rays ant transfers it straight away immediately to the soil in the pot so it "sweats" ... just gets too hot and cooks the roots and dries out. Terracotta absorbs the rays and dissipates slowly.. Also absorbs moisture so soil stays wetter longer than plastic. 

In Zimbabwe, all our orchids and bonsais (we had over 500) and really for most pot plant we used asbestos cement pots for the same reason.

My view on the GW show is that anything will grow if fed and watered religiously.. Nothing new - he was just highlighting the system of growing in pots with limited compost.. 

[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

[Salmo]

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.

[A Reyt Tayty]

You can also give a glut away to friends and neighbours. Never had anyone refuse a homegrown tom yet.

[aelf]

All very interesting, but I'll stick to my usual method because it works well and gives me good crops. As someone said earlier, if it ain't broken...
 

[Mark's Sussex Allotment]

Continuing the thread, what sort of yields do people get from say, Gardeners delight?

Outdoors, and are there any tips you would advise?

[mumofstig]

in a good year more than the family can eat in daily salads
In a bad year - very few  it's impossible to generalise.

If you get a Blight warning either cover with polycover of some kind, to keep the spores off,  or spray with protective fungicide
http://www.bayergarden.co.uk/en/data/Products/f/Fruit-and-Vegetable-Disease-Control.aspx

[angelavdavis]

About using Terracotta pots...

Plastic heats up far too much as the sun hits it it is thin and plastic absorbs the rays ant transfers it straight away immediately to the soil in the pot so it "sweats" ... just gets too hot and cooks the roots and dries out. Terracotta absorbs the rays and dissipates slowly.. Also absorbs moisture so soil stays wetter longer than plastic. 

In Zimbabwe, all our orchids and bonsais (we had over 500) and really for most pot plant we used asbestos cement pots for the same reason.

My view on the GW show is that anything will grow if fed and watered religiously.. Nothing new - he was just highlighting the system of growing in pots with limited compost..

I read about Richard Sandford separately before he appeared on GW in the Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/9508417/The-Michelin-starred-chef-who-is-gardening-to-fight-cancer.html).  He switched to growing his own veg his way to fend off cancer, he ditched all plastic for gardening - he even used wooden seed trays, so hence the terracotta pots.

I was impressed with this guy to be honest (his gardening theory - I don't know if he is having conventional treatment for his prostate cancer).  He made a lot of sense generally about growing.  I have always wondered about whether plants like tomatoes benefit from being root bound (in the same way other plants like figs benefit) by producing more fruits from being stressed effectively?

I am sure we will see the results on GW later this year.  It might be good to see a successful Monty experiment(!) 

[gavinjconway]

You can also give a glut away to friends and neighbours. Never had anyone refuse a homegrown tom yet.

Nooooo... don't give them away - freeze them whole... they keep really well.

[maxibo]

If you are really lucky and also plant LOADS of plants (was it DD that had 100's?! ) you will have enough for salads, make tom sauce which will freeze well, chopped toms freeze well too.  Also, if you have lots of toms that don't ripen then the green tomato chutney recipe on here is FABULOUS!  It's how I got addicted to this site years ago, waaaaaay before we got our lottie 

[gavinjconway]

If you are really lucky and also plant LOADS of plants (was it DD that had 100's?! ) you will have enough for salads, make tom sauce which will freeze well, chopped toms freeze well too.  Also, if you have lots of toms that don't ripen then the green tomato chutney recipe on here is FABULOUS!  It's how I got addicted to this site years ago, waaaaaay before we got our lottie 

You got it totally right there maxibo ... 

[A Reyt Tayty]

You can also give a glut away to friends and neighbours. Never had anyone refuse a homegrown tom yet.

Nooooo... don't give them away - freeze them whole... they keep really well.

I do freeze some. I usually take off the skins and half them. Is just freezing them whole a better way of doing it?

[snowdrops]

You can also give a glut away to friends and neighbours. Never had anyone refuse a homegrown tom yet.

Nooooo... don't give them away - freeze them whole... they keep really well.

That brought a memory back for me,my Dad used to freeze them whole,the first time my Sister & I saw them in the freezer we thought they looked & sounded like snooker balls. It made us laugh & we still do. dad used to play snooker as well.