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 I
have decided to set up this page so people can access it for
vegetable growing advice. Basically all the home vegetable growers
are dying off. A lot of children today think peas and beans
come from plastic bags in the supermarket. There is however
a movement back to vegetable growing. Some schools, especially
Primary Schools are setting up vegetable plots. And as my dad
says (there is no substitute for experience) So if you are a vegetable grower and have some
experience you wish to pass on then please e-mail me on sales@hunkin.co.nz
and I will add your ideas / suggestions to the page. If you
have a picture by all means send it in. You can remain anonymous,
or I will print the initials your name and area you come from,
it is up to you. The area you are in could be important for
some things due to differences in climate. It will take some
time for this to get going but once it gains momentum we will
have a very useful database. As it grows I will start to put
the advice under different categories.
Some marketing Gurus would say this is an
excellent way of getjustifyting a database, and they are correct.
However that is not the intent of this forum. I stress this
is not an e-mail gathering exercise for Hunkin Garden Products,
so your e-mail addresses will not be stored by us or sold on
to other companies. You will not be contacted with offers. If
you want to check on any of our products or specials you will
have to go back to our website.
Graham Hunkin
Managing Director
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Growing Tomatoes
Collecting your own seed. Every season I choose my biggest tomatoes,
the ones with a lot of flesh and few seeds and remove the seeds.
I cut a piece of paper to the size of my seed tray and then
lay out the wet seeds onto the paper at about a 2cm spacing.
The paper is allowed to dry and then it is rolled up and put
away in the pantry. Next season I partly fill a seed tray with
seed mix, lay my paper with the seed that has been stuck onto
the paper in the tray and cover with it with about 5mm of seed
mix. Water gently and then cover with glass and a sheet of paper
on top. (this keeps the moisture in). Keep an eye on the tray
and remove the glass once germination starts. If you have a
heated plant raising panel you can start this earlier in the
season.
Tomatoes require a lot of light, feeding and
water. If you are growing them in a container choose a large
container. It may look ridiculous when you first plant them
out, but by summer you will wish you had chosen a bigger pot.
I grow my tomatoes in the greenhouse and then
plant them out in the middle of November when it is a bit warmer.
If doing this you need to harden them off by putting them outside
in a sheltered position. My plants are so big they often have
fruit forming. If you strip off the bottom leaves and plant
the tomatoes deeper than they were in the pot, they will soon
develop roots up the stem. Take off the side shoots as they
grow and tie up the central leader to stakes. I use a tripod,
one plant on each leg. You can put the side shoots in potting
mix and they will grow into new plants.
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Problems with tomatoes
If new leaves are distorted then you have probably used too
much fertiliser and there is not much you can do about it. The
plant will eventually use up the fertiliser and grow out of
it. Brown spots appearing on the leaves and sometimes stems
is blight, a fungus disease. Cut off the infected leaves and
burn. Spray with copper oxychloride. Copper only prevents the
fungus from spreading and will not kill the disease. If you
can get Thiram it will kill the fungus. Caterpillars can also
be a problem. If you have only a few plants then you can pick
them off. I use insecticide. I pick off every tomato that is
red and going red and then spray. This gives me a big safety
factor as most sprays have a waiting period of a few days and
I won't be picking tomatoes for a couple of weeks. I have not
had to spray insecticide this season, but if I do, I generally
only have to spray once.
Everyone has their own ideas on using sprays.
My philosophy is they are a tool to be used sparingly. Spraying
once early before infestation and preventing problems is better
than resorting to sprays all season. Double or triple the waiting
period, after all you are going to be eating your produce.
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Tomato sauce recipe
Once you have tried this sauce you won't every buy any again.
This recipe is so old it is in imperial measurement so I have
added metric equivalents.
12 lbs ripe tomatoes (approx. 5.3kg)
3 oz Allspice (75 gms)
3 lbs brown sugar (approx 1.3kg)
3 oz of salt (3 tablespoons)
Wash and cut up tomatoes. Tie spices in muslin.
Put all the ingredients in a pot and boil for 3 hours. Stir
frequently. When cooked put through colander and bottle. Cork
when cold. A wax seal is a good idea.
2 lb of fruit equal 1 bottle
12 lbs makes 6 bottles. (5.3kg fruit makes 6 bottles)
by
GH, Tuakau
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