[mumofstig]

It must be that time of year - I did mine over the week-end, removing everything below the first trusses and anything else that was in the way 
I had the first taste of the blue ones, which were horrid  :blink: so they got chopped out completely leaving room for a couple of potted chillis to be brought inside 

[JayG]

First ripe tomato - a solitary Sungold F1 !   

Actually, I'll probably leave it a day or so because I don't remember seeing it on the turn yesterday so it's probably not quite ready yet, but it has beaten the Sweet Million, Inca, and outdoor Red Alert to be the first to deliver a ripe'un.

Sweet Million not far from the apex of the greenhouse now, so I'll be able to stop deploying increasing yardage of green plastic twine in ever more exotic and imaginative loops in favour of some more drastic pruning.

Now is hopefully a good time to ask all tomato growers to make a note of how their different varieties have performed this year, particularly as far as taste and yield are concerned, as I will hopefully resurrect the Home Grown Tomato Survey (probably sometime in October.)
Last year was so poor blight and weather-wise there seemed little point trying to run it.

Link to 2011 survey for those who haven't seen one yet:
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=85094.msg946636#msg946636

[Optimistic Gardener]

Ate the first of my cherry hanging tomatoes yesterday and also picked 3 of my mini cucumbers.  The tomatoes in the greenhouse will need a real cutting back as I can't get in easily now!  Sweet Million plants are loaded with green ones ready.  Amateur are coming along as well and so are my Italian plum variety.  Can't wait.

[Totty]

I was at an open garden yesterday and I saw the very thing that Monty was on about. Tomatoes in pots on patios with hardly any compost. So, I know what he was on about. It's what people do and the poor results he got confirmed it to be a bad idea.  He was testing out the various ways that folks grow tomatoes and why they sometimes fail.  I think we all got the message 

Initially he said when starting the small pot experiment that he was trying to emulate a very successful commercial grower he had seen grow excellent toms the previous year, in these small, half filled pots. This grower fed his toms every day. Monty has not, therefore a bit of a waste of time.
 I have one sungold in a smaller pot than he was using, and it's getting fed comfrey five days a week, and nettle the other two. It's spindlier than all the other plants grown in large pots or the border, but it was weeks earlier and still doing ok.

Totty

[Martin70]

Picked and ate my first ever tomatoes yesterday! All the hard work has been worth it. I won't grow so many next year as it's too crowded but I wasn't expecting everything to grow 1st time. Should have plenty more to eat soon.

[NewSteve]

Do I detect a faint red tinge on the Cossacks?

It might be my imagination 

[mumofstig]

Vist the doc if it turns painful  ....................................

[JayG]

Norty Mum! 

+++++++++++

Initially he said when starting the small pot experiment that he was trying to emulate a very successful commercial grower he had seen grow excellent toms the previous year, in these small, half filled pots. This grower fed his toms every day. Monty has not, therefore a bit of a waste of time.

Only just caught up with that episode; what a strange experiment - half starving, and starving two tomato plants to see if they grow spindly or very spindly respectively without any food!   

[mumofstig]

He didn't even water the grow bag ones properly cos he got BER if I remember correctly 

[JayG]

Not quite Mum, it was the tomatoes which got BER!   

[mumofstig]

Your turn for norty 

[rowan57]

I have about 20 plants of Czechs Bush, a VERY compact bush tomato, mine are no more than2-3ft tall. Meant to yield extremely heavily, first flowers have come out over the last couple of days so hopefully when I come back from holiday end of August I should have some nice ripe fruit.

[surbie100]

I took out a lot of tomato foliage from the growhouses today - with the mesh doors they don't get as hot as a greenhouse, but I can spy a Tigerella on the turn....

I had very itchy hands after messing about with the tomato plants for 10 minutes...

[Springlands]

Toms still very green - not a sign of them turning and now the weather has gone downhill. 

[RJR_38]

Toms still very green - not a sign of them turning and now the weather has gone downhill. 

Green Tom chutney is yum though!