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Dolmio Tomato Growing Seeds - progress reporting thread

471 replies

AnnMumsnet · 06/05/2011 09:26

This thread is for the MNers who are growing tomato plants from seed courtsey of Dolmio (well at least they are hoping to Grin). The project is designed to highlight the fact that 100% of Dolmio tomatoes are grown outdoors in the sun (not in greenhouses). For more info on Dolmio please click here

If you are a tomato grower and part of this project please add your updates below - we'd love to know about the plants at each stage - from humble seedlings to the fully grown fruit! Do let us know how, if at all, your children are getting involved as well. If you are not so succesful don't worry please also let us know here. If you need any advice please ask and if you can offer advice please do so!

Details for sending in photos is on the email sent.

Everyone who takes part in this project and who adds their feedback and sends in at least one photo will be entered into a prize draw to win one of two £200 John Lewis vouchers and a Dolmio hamper (to be mailed out in September).

Thanks and best of luck
MNHQ

OP posts:
gazzalw · 24/08/2011 11:15

Am I alone in finding the smell of tomato plants actually quite musty and suffocating particularly if they are being grown in a greenhouse?
We will be lucky if, by the beginning of September, there are many posts of totally ripened tomatoes converted into some delicious meal! Not looking promising at all at the moment....

MNHQ
AnnMumsnet · 26/08/2011 13:02

have a scroll down this page and I guarantee you will go 'ohhhhhhhh' well done!!!

OP posts:
CharlotteBronteSaurus · 26/08/2011 20:21

why aren't mine all lovely and red and ripe like on the photos??? why??

ouryve · 26/08/2011 23:18

You got it.

We ate the first of the tomatoes I planted a month before these, this week. These ones have barely visible green tomatoes on them!

And I always end up with loads of green tomatoes to deal with at the end of the season. Good thing I love green tomato chutney!

WynkenBlynkenandNod · 27/08/2011 21:01

Mine definitely have blight so had to dig them up today and now have a carrier bag of green tomatoes.

welliesandpyjamas · 27/08/2011 22:41

Two of my plants snapped off at the base today when an empty water butt got blownover on to them Sad Down to 7 plants now.

TheGhostNotMe · 28/08/2011 18:20

We have our first orangey tomato!! We have 7 green, and one which has distinctly changed and is (dare I say it) almost red!!

The boys are amazingly excited, we cant wait to pick it and eat it, hopefully next week Grin

TheGhostNotMe · 28/08/2011 18:24

Whats Blight Wynken ?

Wow at the tomato crop in the last picture!! I have a total of 8 fruits, from 3 seedlings that lasted! My fingers are most definitely not green!

missorinoco · 28/08/2011 18:26

Mine are still green. I presumed green tomato recipes were for tomatoes that are meant to be green, rather than stubborn red ones. Is this not true?

TheSkiingGardener · 29/08/2011 04:28

Nope, they're for stubborn red ones, although you can put them in a brown paper bag with a banana instead.

Only small green ones here so far, but they were horribly neglected. They are in a sheltered suntrap spot though, so we should have some growing to go.

missorinoco · 29/08/2011 14:40

Thanks. I shall now fish my stubborn green ones that are in the house out from the fruit bowls where they were snuggled up against the apples and stick them in with a banana. If that fails I will chutney them. That'll teach them.

WynkenBlynkenandNod · 29/08/2011 16:28

Blight is a disease that hits tomatoes and potatoes. It starts with black patches on the leaves and stem which spreads to the tomatoes. You need to take the tomatoes off and dig up the plants if it spreads, or you can spray with Bordeaux mixture. My friend tried but it didn't work. I finally have one ripe tomato on the windowsill.

craftynclothy · 30/08/2011 13:50

WOW that crop of tomatoes is amazing.

We have a lot of tomatoes growing but they're all green and showing no signs of changing Confused.

LIZS · 30/08/2011 13:52

Getting tiny green tomatoes now...

Spirael · 30/08/2011 14:34

Very Envy of the red tomatoes... I have a handful of teeny tiny green ones on a couple of my plants. Still got quite a few flowers though, so hopefully we'll get some red tomatoes eventually!

jenniferturkington · 31/08/2011 08:06

I have loads of tomatoes....unfortunately they are all very green! I'm a bit worried that they won't ripen now as there isn't much sun around.

MadameBoo · 31/08/2011 21:24

I am just posting as I've been rubbish with this thread. I've still got to take photo's of mine - the mistake I made was planting them all too close together. I've got two weeks off now so I'm going to try and do something. But I fear I won't get any tomatoes this year. Still, it's learning curve isn't it? :)

LaVitaBellissima · 01/09/2011 14:35

Envy too of the red tomatoes, I have a few green ones and a few about to sprout, I hope the weather gets a bit better, otherwise it will be green chutney here too Sad

Ann please stop posting photo's until my tomato plants have caught up! it makes me very Sad & Envy boo!

AlmaMartyr · 01/09/2011 14:47

Mine are growing nicely in the bed with my strawberries and next to my hops plant but no tomatoes yet. I'm hoping for a nice warm September! Although I had loads of green tomatoes last year and made a rather tasty chutney.

missorinoco · 02/09/2011 14:13

I have a red tomato!!! It has been sitting in the fruit bowl for two weeks sniggering greenly at me, and when I looked this morning, it had given up and turned red. Hurrah! If only the children capitulated that easily.

pozzled · 03/09/2011 21:55

I got back from a week's holiday on Wednesday and although a neighbour has been watering the tomatoes, they were looking quite bedraggled, lots of yellow leaves and all falling over. On Friday I managed to get DD1 playing in the paddling pool and DD2 asleep in the pushchair, and set to work...

SO now I have 12 much healthier looking plants, all the yellow leaves are gone, they're all tied up. Lots of green tomatoes, a few orangey ones and still a few flowers appearing.

So far we've had about 8 or 10 red ones, I got a photo of the first two but after that DD1 has gobbled them all up before I 've had a chance to get my camera out- she can't get enough of them!

gazzalw · 04/09/2011 17:38

Grew tomatoes in the conservatory last summer and they had ripened by now, but for various reasons have had to have them outside this year and not quite so successful. But maybe it's been less warm and there's been less sunshine (what happened to summer?). We can only hope for a hot spell sooner rather than later...

Grockle · 04/09/2011 21:09

Mine are growing! They are still small (about 30 cm high) and no tomatoes but they are growing. Yay! How do I send in a photo?

lisad123 · 07/09/2011 23:08

I have green tomatos!!

spout · 08/09/2011 09:03

I have baby green tomatoes. Admittedly the size of petits pois but it's a result as I'd thought they were Done For.

Does anyone else have purple leaves Confused ? My plants look vair odd. I wondered if it's because I'd planted them in a blue tin bucket.