So, this year is the first year in a long time that I’ve not had a greenhouse (it is falling apart and I really need to dismantle it safely ahead of the strong autumn gales that will inevitably blow through.) Since I didn’t have a greenhouse, I decided to plant my tomatoes in pots outside the front door where they could grow up against the south facing wall. It’s usually lovely and toasty in the summer, and sheltered from the wind too and I thought they would do well.
I was wrong.
Several months on (I planted them in May) and they are still only a couple of foot tall, and they seem very weak and unhealthy. Actually, they don’t look too bad in this photo, with one little truss of green tomatoes – but look more closely at the leaves and you’ll see signs of nutrient deficiency in their colour.
So what’s the problem? I have two main thoughts on it – the first is that the multipurpose compost I used this year was not the best quality and I don’t think the tomato plants have coped with it well at all. In fact, I look at my neighbour’s plants (I gave her a few of my Rocket Gardens plugs as I had too many) which she planted in a grow bag, also in front of her house like mine, and they are positively thriving by comparison.
My second thought is that they just haven’t had enough sunshine – I did consider this in relation to my neighbour’s tomato plants and realised that hers get an extra 4 hours of sun in the mornings when mine are blocked by the shade of a building opposite. In truth, I don’t think this would have mattered as much had we had a generally warmer, sunnier summer, but given that temperatures were fairly low for much of June and July, it seems to have a strong impact.
As ever, it’s always good to learn and change things up – next year, assuming I am greenhouseless, I will plant them in better compost and move the pots across to a patch on the other side of my house, closer to my neighbour’s tomato growing spot, and see how they get on there.