Kitchen Garden Forum

Just returned from a couple of days away to find my outdoor planted tomatoes pushing through the roofs of their individual cloche bottles and looking rather stunted. Dare I leave the protection off now? Has anybody else got them planted outside unprotected yet?

Mine have been out since the lst of May Primrose unprotected. Here in the south one or two nights were a bit on the cold side but they don't appear to have suffered at all. The bush Red Alert are flowering away now. I do well mulch them which I think does give some protection and always put out good sized plants. Warm days and nights forcast now I would think you would be OK.

Beryl.

Dear Primrose, mine and Old Coders are out, but we did put a bit of fine netting round them, to keep the wind off them the other day

Just planted mine out today, fingers crossed.
Bren

Thanks. Always useful to know what other people are doing, especially if they're in your own part of the country. I'll leave them covered for today as severe thunderstorms are forecast for parts of the south east and then leave them to take their chance.

Am about to plant out my outdoor tomatoes, and they're really ready for it. We haven't had frost for a while, but last night was forecast to be cool - down to about 7, which probably means 5 for us, as we're in a frost pocket. For the next few nights,though, the nights are forecast to be warm, and then we're into June. Tomatoes don't like temperatures below 10. In the past, I've had a few tiny tomatoes which have never grown properly. Only a few were affected, but the RHS told me it happened because the temperatures was too low at a critical time in the development of those particular fruit.

Hi Ken,
I am growing Purple Teepee Dwarf Beans this year and the seed is 2002 but has been stored at approximately 5C since then. I have 2kg in stock so I thought I would give them a try at least. I am amazed to say that germination has been above 80% which I really didn't expect.
Whether the plants will have the vibrancy of new seed is yet to be tested. If I can grow these successfully then I will save some seed and ditch the rest. I sowed 90 and 11 failed to germinate. I have sown another 30 in the hopes that I will get the 11 I am after.
JB.

Hi Johnboy

Haven't sown my dwarf beans yet. I sowed the climbing French bean Cobra first, in Rootrainers, and they really need planting out now. Another job for this weekend. Then I'll be sowing dwarf beans - Minidor, which are yellow, keep their colour when cooked, unlike the purple varieties, and are very productive. These seed are old, too - I reckon three years old without looking at the packet. But they have been kept in the firidge, like yours, and have germinated well/grown well for the last three summers.

I have put almost all mine out now during this week. The wind mid-week doesn't seem to have done them any harm. The first week of June usually gets quite cool and windy, but maybe we had all that last week and this. Anyway, on Sunday out go the squashes and a couple of "Masterpiece" cucumbers. It could be that the long hot sumer being forecast has now begun.