Tomatoes are ropey this year but I also have self seeded ones, whats going on?

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I am not great at gardening. We had one year where I had a bumper crop of tomatoes I dont know what I did then compared to other years but yet again ropey rubbish crop this year

But, surprisingly, I seem to have a range of self seeded tomato plants popping up all over the place which actually have tomatoes on them. I dont understand why. They're also in places where they cant possibly grow like in the cracks between the conservatory and the paving and its the drainage bit where there are gravel bits and no soil

How have they chosen these spots, one is completely in the shade and its got big green beefsteak tomatoes on it. I dont think they will ever ripen which is a shame

What did I do wrong this year and how on earth have tomatoes self seeded and seem to be growing at a rate of knots in zero soil AND in the shade?

They self seed like that just to piss you off. Plants pull this stunt all the time. Nurture seedlings in the perfect compost, control the temperature and moisture, attend to all their needs diligently? Spindly growth and death follows. Meanwhile, a dry crack in the shade? Full of robust self seeders in rude health.

It is the way of the world.

Seriously though, do you feed your tomatoes? It makes a huge difference to productivity. And don’t over water - they are tastier if kept on the dry side.

I fed mine regularly and they are all tiny bitter balls. Not worth the effort. The cucumbers have been brilliant though. I've eaten runner beans nearly every day and have a freezer full and a steady supply of courgettes from one plant. My garden is tiny, any plant that doesn't earn its keep isn't welcome.

So they're like the cats of the plant world. There just to cause problems.

Typical

😂

Same! I planted a couple which immediately shrivelled and died but I’ve got a 2 footer growing in my flower planter , no tomatoes tho.
I’ve also spent many weeks feeding watering and staking my peas , only to find out they are weeds. Very disappointed.

LOL at the weeds pretending to be peas.

I have self-seeded tomatoes everywhere this year too! Though my official ones are doing OK (unusually).

You can pick the big green tomatoes and put them by a sunny kitchen window to ripen.

Tomatoes have been ok but have self seeded, cucumbers have been bitter and normally I am ok growing these. However this year I'm have managed to grow small melons in my greenhouse so honestly no idea where my gardening is going wrong! I am not that great at it but every year I try!

Or in a sealed box with a ripe banana

Depends where you live
I'm in the SE UK corner,10 minutes away from the sea
.I sow tomato and pepper seeds in a north facing window sill in January , then they go into the conservatory. I used quarter size trays.. they just fit in the window sill.. around Easter they go into a frost free greenhouse,start hardening them off may, planted out in the soil June. They don't need feeding or watering. We get very little rain, have 5 water butts. This is why I stopped growing them in pots twice a day watering, weekly feeding.. have been picking a couple of kg a day, already made cream of tomato soup. Next will be chilli sauce and jam. I vary the varieties, this year Gardeners Delight and Garden Pearl. Have found tomato plants that have self seeded in the compost bin, which is completely shaded and covered in, and some in the veg plot that have survived the winter.

Tomatoes ripen better in the dark than in the sun. There's always green chutney.

We probably live fairly close but I dont have the space or facilities to do seeding so always buy the plants. One year I had a black Russian and it was the best tomato ever and Ive never seen it sold anywhere to buy. This year we have small black tomatoes but they havent done very well. Im sick of cherry tomatoes which we grew for many years. I want the massive plum ones and beefsteak but cant seem to get them doing well.

Roma for plum,mamande french heritage beefsteak..you don't need much room for seeds..as I said I use a north facing kitchen windowsill, quarter size trays.. I've never bought plants..I used to put them in our bedroom window sill,it's a bungalow, the dog when a puppy,put her feet up on the window sill being nosey at passers-by,I had just watered the trays,so wet compost all over the then green carpet. It's all laminate flooring now. Do you have an airing cupboard?

Cream carpet!!

I think that @pigletjohn said that if you have wild tomato plants growing near drains, it may indicate a broken pipe.

Oh this is a bit of a worry, I dont know how to describe it and dont want to take a picture as such, the bits they are growing out of is the gravel drainage bit around the edge of the conservatory, I cant remmeber the technical term for it and then another strip of gravel where a step down from a slightly higher bit of patio goes to the lower bit of patio.

They put those drainage strips in, you often see them on the edges of driveways and then gravel over the top to look nice.

No pipes along them as I understood it, although who can be sure.

Got an airing cupboard, full of my bedding

Roma - yes got these
Marmande - this might be them but the name has fallen off

I think the general eating tomatoes might have been Shirley or something?

Then I have some small black ones, they're not cherry but they're not big either and again the name has fallen off

I think I need to be a bit more organised next year

I read your reply and thought you meant bedding plants in the airing cupboard...you can see I think about gardening a lot! I have bedding and towels on the 2 top shelves, the bottom shelf is for airing clothes from the line or germinating seeds. I've got Terry Waltons book "Tales From the Plot", he has an allotment in Wales and starts off a lot of seedlings in the airing cupboard. I was on the forum for Gardeners World,I was assured that you couldn't germinate seeds in a north facing window sill,there wasn't enough light. I start after Christmas,peppers and chillis need a long growing season. I didn't always have greenhouses and a conservatory . When our youngest DD was small, I used to grow seeds in the living room window. We have a grapefruit tree,30 years old, huge. It flowered after 10 years, never since. DH pushed a grapefruit pip into one of my seed trays. Started growing melons last year, only got one this year,it's been too hot, they get stressed and only produce mail flowers. Yes, Shirley is a good all rounder, for salads or cooking.

My tomatoes have been phenomenal this year - it's the heat that ripens them. I buy only 6 sungold plants every year - they are about 3-4" high in small pots and plant them in a raised bed. I do remember to feed them and nip out the shoots growing in the armpits! This year has been possibly the best in the last 5-6 years - last year was dire. I put a bag of well rotted manure on the raised bed before Christmas. I cab recommend the sun gold variety - they are small tomatoes that don't turn red - they are ready when they are yellow/orange - small, tangy and sweet. I have about 3 big sandwich boxes in the freezer as we had so may we couldn't eat them all - ideal for throwing in to spag.bols, chilies and making pizza toppings.

Please post some photos showing where the tomatoes are growing, and also the house showing all soil pipes, drains, gullies and manhole covers

Thanks

We never feed or water them in the ground, they are in raised beds, topped autumn and Spring with homemade compost. Just waiting for them to Finnish to get the winter crops in.