Saturday, April 4, 2009

The character of 5 tomato plants

Tomato plants are distinct .... each has different pace and health level..... just like kids growing up .... never the same.

So our five tomato plants are no different ......

I do notice new shoots coming out from the bottom node on four plants .... Are the plants preparing themselves for eventual collapse?.... Thats has always been the case with our cekur manis or asin-asin where new shoots will appear at the lower nodes when there is excessive bending at the upper half... But should I nib the new shoots at the bottom halves?... arggg!


Oh.., there is so much to observe on the character of tomato plants...


plant 1

plant 2

plant 3

plant 4
and for plant 5, there is no lower shoots.


The following snaps show the general look of shoots and fruits of each plant. Seeds from the same tomato we bought at the hypermart, and yet they are not meant to be identical as they grow!

plant 5

plant 4




plant 3


plant 2



plant 1

The spot of the sixth tomato plant which we eventually pulled out after suffering from wilting is disturbed by the night crawler, snails! We placed 4 marigolds there, and 2 gone! .... arggg!

Now the weather is getting hotter, with less rain, and I suppose the earlier tomatoes will ripen a lot sooner .....

13 comments:

  1. Very nice, did you know if you remove the foliage that grows in each of the v part of the branches they produce tomatoes faster?


    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  2. On some plants, I let side shoots grow into leaves and pinch off their resulting flower buds. I read somewhere that the additional leaves on the side shoots help produce more energy for the plant to grow bigger, better tomatoes. On other plants, I let the extra flowers grow and fruit into tomatoes, getting more tomatoes from the plant, but smaller ones. Probably NEVER pinch off side shoots of determinate tomatoes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cathy.... I pinched most suckers in v part before the first flower ... then I sort of leave them alone ...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Swimray ... thanks, ... but i am trying to figure out if the five tomato plants are determinate ...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interesting about night crawlers. We've never had them but did have something else.
    It was sorta funny...
    My husband has been growing over one hundred tomato plants for years and always has extra plants just in case...one year everyday in the same location the plant was cut right off at the bottom and everyday he would replace it with another plant. Well after 4 dead plants he was losing his mind and went to the "growing tomato forum" and asked about his problem and found out about the "cutworm" and all he had to do was find and kill it then the problem went away.
    Ok, not so funny now but anyway the forum may be helpful to you.
    He dosen't remove anything from the plant except wilty limbs which won't produce good tomatoes anyway. These plants are pretty hardy and don't need much help.
    Hope I was of some help.
    Good luck

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's so exciting when those first yellow flowers appear, isn't it! I'll be checking in to see how your tomatoes are doing... Are you able to grow them all year round there? - Avis

    ReplyDelete
  7. I enjoyed this post, focussing on the character of tomato plants. I am also aware of the wonderful smell of tomato plants. So far technology hasn't enabled us to communicate the smell as well as the look.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, big tomato-plants in Malaysia. Here in Germany the plants are still babys. ;-)

    Greetings - Ulrike

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks Patsi.... oh, enough with snails and now you are adding another one! cutworm ...hahaha .... The other day we, (me and Kakdah) had a fun time, turning everything over looking for snails .... yeah, we found some ... cheers! ~ bangchik

    ReplyDelete
  10. hi catmint .... the smell of tomato plants is very perculiar ... something like lemon... and the stems feel feathery, silky and oily..., very perculiar indeed. .. cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  11. hi Ulinne ... We dont have snow and spring here ... Its summer all year long.. we can just plant almost anything, anytime of the year .. When rain is heavy, it gives alot of problem to the leaves .. veggies will succumb to heavy rainfall..., so must so that price of veggies shoot up during rainy season. .. cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi avis.... oh, to see the first flower ... hmmm... no words can describe the feeling ... yes, it is year long planting season.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi KakDah,
    My tomato flowers but does not produce fruit.
    Also it is very difficult for me to germinate tomatoes from seeds.
    Welcome your tips on how you grow your tomatoes...

    Thank you...

    ReplyDelete