Tomatoes topple in mini disaster (From Blackpool Citizen)

Tomatoes topple in mini disaster

2:45pm Thursday 21st June 2007

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WE have had the first minor disaster this week - the flourishing tomato plant in the conservatory has toppled under its own weight.

It grew so much that what we should have done was put in bigger canes to support it, but we waited too long.

The plant was doing fine and four fruit at the bottom are almost ripe, but during the night the strain became too much and on Tuesday morning we discovered the right side of the bush had bent double.

Unfortunately, this side of the bush has the most flowers and fruit, so it could be serious if the plant doesn't revive.

We propped it up and put in higher, stronger canes to support it to see if it can survive. We hope so, as we are looking forward to tasting our home-grown tomatoes.

Meanwhile, the garden continues to bloom and the rain this week will no doubt prompt the plants into another growth spurt.

Regular readers will know we have been eating the salad leaves. Now we are taking cabbage leaves and cooking them as spring greens.

Cooked with a little butter and a dash of pepper, the greens are delicious and it is fantastic to eat something you have grown in your own garden - and we've got lots more to go at!

My wife spotted the first pea pods developing and we also disovered we had a number of courgettes growing under all the foliage. They look amazing - the yellow flower on the end of the vegetable appears to draw the courgettes out.

They are about four or five inches long and an inch or so in circumference and look very healthy to my untrained eye.

No sign of any cucumbers yet, though.

As I have discovered, it is amazing what you can grow in a small northern garden and fellow urban gardener Roseanne Walker has been successfully growing vegetables in a restricted space for five years.

Now that her husband Kevin has removed an old shed, she has a bit more space in her back garden in Chapeltown Road, Bromley Cross.

"I have been growing potatoes in tubs for the last few years, along with sweet courgettes, also in tubs," she said. "I am also growing runner beans, peas and brussel sprouts and I grow lettuce, peppers, chillies and outdoor tomatoes in my greenhouse.

"This year, greenfly has been a problem and I am looking at how to get rid of these pests without using any chemicals."

Mrs Walker also has a cherry tree and an apple tree of a variety called Bountiful, which last year lived up to its name by producing 47 apples. However, this year only 12 have grown so far. She also has redcurrant, white currants and blackcurrants as well as gooseberries.

Next year, her husband will retire and she plans to give up her job as a domestic helper so she can devote more time to her vegetable garden.

l If you are proud of your vegetable patch, however large or small, or have any gardening tips you would like to pass on then email: wwright@theboltonnews.co.uk or phone 01204 537352.

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