Under Control

Sunday was a poor day weather wise for June. It was a dull and windy day with the temperature only managing 15.6° the coolest of the month.

I took the opportunity to give our grape vine and tomatoes in the greenhouse a bit of TLC.

As the tomato plants get to this stage each year I make a sort of resolution to keep them under control, remove side shoots, keep them tied in, stop them before they reach the roof, and of course to feed them regularly. It’s much easier to plan than do for me and I usually miss some side shoots which fool me into thinking they’re actual main stems and as for pinching the tops out I’m just greedy and reckon another truss will be okay. It’s all under control after some side shoot removal and tying in today.

Our grapevine Himrod presents a similar problem. To be honest it’s a bit of a thug in the greenhouse and would happily take over the entire greenhouse through summer given half a chance. I’m managing to keep it in check at the moment which is my aim each summer but somehow behind my back it gets a little bit out of control. This year I need to make a better effort. Side shoots grow rapidly and need constant removal as the foliage casts too much shade in the greenhouse adversely affecting all our other greenhouse plants. So far so good it’s mostly under control with the promise of plenty of sweet juicy grapes by late summer and early autumn.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett