Tomatoes - are you pulling off all the lower leave

Page 1 / 2
matthews4, Jan 18, 6:34pm
with the weather we have been having, rain, sun, etc, lots of lower leaves are turning yellow.Pull them off, and dispose of them.Will not affect fruit, and will hopefully keep plants healthy.I always pull off lower leaves, but more important than usual this year - lots of people have lost their plants to blight.mine are still looking healthy at the top - took off lots more laterals and tied them up.also, broke top off - have reached top of my stakes, so that is it.High enough.
How are everyones beans going - I have heaps, don't like them frozen, so giving them away, to anyone who wants them.Triffids this year.
tehenga288, Jan 18, 6:53pm
Yep always clear bottom leaves with tomatoes & also clear some of the leaves around the fruit so they can ripen . Not many beans yet but I was a bit late getting them in& the weather hasn;t helped here in Ak - hopefully these sunny days will help.
budgel, Jan 18, 7:11pm
I dont think you need to remove leaves for ripening. I had been away for a few days and when i returned there were several very ripe tomatoes buried under thick foliage. Tomatoes will ripen in a paper bag.
stevee6, Jan 18, 7:31pm
I'm removing the lower leaves to keep the air circulating through the plants - had a bit of blight but so far(fingers crossed) it's under control.
wayne472, Jan 18, 8:30pm
The worst season I have ever had in my hot house!
It is 7 metres by 4 metres,at this time of year I am usually giving veges away,but this year its not to good!
gardie, Jan 19, 4:44am
I never liked frozen beans either - I got a spongs bean slicer off TM and now I just slice, place in bags and straight in freezer. (No pre preparation)I stir fry them from frozen and you wouldn't know that they had been frozen.They slice them very finely - the secret I guess.
lythande1, Jan 19, 4:52am
Remove too many and you risk sun scald.
kaliyuga, Jan 19, 9:21pm
I only remove lower leaves that are touching the ground or too crowded. you can also pinch out the growing tips when a few trusses of tomatoes have formed to make the plant put its energy into thosefruit and not unecessary leaf growth, Unless you have a long season any flowers that haven't formed fruit already might not ripen before the weather cools anyway. . make sure you cut the leavesoff leaving about 2- 3cm of the stalk still attached to the main stem, this will eventually separate from the main stalk naturally without dieback problems, also only do it on a dry day so the wound dries up quickly, otherwise you could encourage mould.
kaliyuga, Jan 19, 9:23pm
my beans seem very late, only had a few so far, good tip gardie, will try your freezing method (if and when they finally produce something)
matthews4, Jan 21, 3:13pm
good to see comments - tomato are the easiest things to grow.I have none near ripe yet, but when they start showing colour, I pick and take inside.they ripen from the inside out, so ripen as well off the plant as on it.Let's plant put energy into bringing more on.Have done this for years, and always have lovely toms, but late this year, because of rain.Still have heaps of beans - took them and gave them to tourists at the Info Centre last week, and will do the same this week - nice to give them some homegrown vege.
lynne06, Jan 22, 4:25pm
My first year of growing tomatoes, heaps of tomatoes but something is eating the plants (holes in leaves), what should I put on them! Thanks.
matthews4, Jan 22, 4:59pm
I don't worry about things eating leaves - will not hurt tomato.Don't put any sprays at all on mine, and have been growing for 50 years.Just pull off any yellow leaves and laterals (shoot's that appear in leaf nodes and don't bear fruit) to let growth of plant going in to producing healthy tomato.Green growth is not necessary, as plant grows up.
irenew, Jan 23, 7:16pm
My beans have been very disappointing and sparse this year.Have had a bumper crop of Courgettes though!My tomatoes seem to be suffering the same fate as everyone else's by the sound of it.Next year should be better .
glenn-ellyn, Jan 24, 8:04am
#5.Just up the road from you and my vege garden is rubbish.Beans very poor.Tomatoes very slow, chooks ate all the silver beet. Gourgettes just coming on now. White butterflies got all the caulis whilst we were away. Great beetroot though.
bev00, Jan 24, 4:47pm
great info -worth recycling
lodgelocum, Jan 24, 4:52pm
In Tauranga, and tomatoes leaves yellow at the bottom, very slow growing and ripening, planted two cucumber plants, got a total of 3 cucumbers out of both, one pepper plant nothing on it, planted around three months ago, a really bad season here.
ntalke, Jan 24, 5:40pm
Yep ,Tomatoes in the Bay have had the most rain this year for the last 20 odd years

That's why they look very average this year and most are lucky to have any
dibble35, Jan 24, 6:25pm
My tomatoes have been Ok this year, maybe a bit slower than usual, getting some really tasty ones coming thru the last week or so. Beans have been very sparse, zucchini are doing well although saying that they already have some powdery mildew. I've been pulling the bottom leaves off the tomato plants as well as they yellow, no blight yet (touch wood) but all this years toms are heirloom varieties so maybe they are a bit more resistent. Anyone else plant one called Copia - beautiful flavour.
lythande1, Jan 25, 7:00am
New tomatoes just coming ripe - fine. Old ones, nearly finished, starting to get yellow leaves now, just gave it a haircut but not too worried, they are nearly finished.
Beans, have you tried slating them! I am this year, they supposedly keep better that way and are still like fresh picked.
samanya, Jan 25, 9:05am
I'm sure you mean salting them .I remember my grandmother doing this.
I'd love you to share your recipe, to give it a go.
claire192, Jan 25, 9:36am
My borlotti beans are beant like bannanas! Anyone know why!
avkiwi, Jan 25, 11:33am
First time tomato grower here too. Some questions for you please: The first fruit to come on has brown spots on the bases, will this affect them for eating and should I leave those ones or pull them off. I have also had holes appearing in the leaves and picked of 4-5 green caterpillars and was thinking about giving them a spray of pyrethrum spray. I also have found one tomato with 4-5 holes in the side (close to the bottom) like something has burrowed inside any advice on what that could be and should I do anything about it!
thistle4, Jan 25, 11:45am
I remove all lower and yellowing leaves and laterals. I also take out the growing tip once they reach a certain height. The tomatoes in the garden aren't ripe yet but the Tumbler variety in the hanging baskets are profific and I get to pick some every day. I don't mind frozen beans so I freeze for using in stews etc and we eat them fresh with meals where we want them whole not sliced.
lythande1, Jan 25, 1:19pm
LOL, typo yes, salting.
Get a container, plastic is fine. Layer with cooking salt, slice beans lengthways, layer of beans, keep going, finsishing with salt. The salt should cover each layer completely.
It should be cooking salt - I found Pak n Save doesn't have it but Countdown did. 2kg bags for $2.03.
If the container is clear, wrap paper or something round it to keep the light out.
A pickle liquid will form, leave this alone.
When ready to eat, rinse thoroughly and cook as normal.
My first beans went in um, maybe 3 weeks, 4 weeks ago! No liquid as yet, they are still as they went in, bright green(I peeked at one).
This was in John Seymour, The self sufficient gardener book.
He says, pack the beans/salt down firmly.
deb1002, Jan 25, 4:18pm
I have loads of green fat good looking tomatoes in the garden but they aren't turning red, they have been like this for about 3 weeks, is this normal!