I can’t believe that it is nearly October and my crops are still growing. Bigger as well as bountiful.
Okay, there aren’t as many tomatoes as last year – a lesson learnt: tomatoes prefer being in the ground to pots. But I am proud of the beef tomatoes. And discovering a cucumber, hidden behind the mangetout, which is the biggest yet, really made my day yesterday evening.
All being well, next year will give us a warmer spring so that plants can get a better start, but my food bill has taken a healthy dive over the last few weeks. Feeding from out the back door is one of the best feelings ever!
Growing out of chaos 
Lucky you! Garden cukes are what I miss the most. Enjoy!
Why do you miss them?
Sweet, tender, and wax-free!
I mean, why can’t you grow them?
awesome update thank you for sharing Helen have a blessed afternoon
Thank you, Linda!
Fabulous. Well done!
Thank you!
That’s a nice beefsteak. They are so tasty!
I love them too!
I read somewhere recently that beefsteak don’t ripen outside in Britain. I do, however, have one tomato on another plant that is ripening a bit.
Beefsteaks will ripen happily in all of the UK….
they just need sun!
Leave them as long as possible out there… then put them in a drawer with a ripe banana… works every time.
That’s good news!
If you set them in the window do they ripen? You don’t get an abundance of sunlight there do you?
At the moment, I’ve picked one or two half-ripe (cherry) tomatoes and after a day on a windowsill they are fully ripe. But in December on a dull day that would not work lol.
Then, as Tim said, a banana helps them along. Last year, I was eating tomatoes up until Christmas after picking the green ones.
Right now, we’ve got 13-14 hours of daylight. Because of neighbour’s trees, there are shadows where there shouldn’t be, otherwise yesterday the beef tomatoes would have got about six hours sun at about 16 degrees (Celsius). (That’s about 61 degrees Fahrenheit.)
I actually took one off yesterday that was almost ripe – could have waited a day or two as there are lots of cherry tomatoes which are perfectly ripe (I’ll definitely grow a pot or two of them on the patio next year!) but I was curious 😉
That’s amazing you got to eat them up to Christmas! I noticed our tomatoes we bring in, ripen in a few days too. Too bad about the trees!
Yes, they are too big but heho!
“Feeding from out the back door is one of the best feelings ever!“….
Oh yes!!! Indeed…
and you can be more impulsive!!!
Especially with a well established herb bed!
I’m planning one of those next year.
I understand that on the Permaculture Design Course I will work on a project so it’s good timing to do the two together 😊.
I’ve had good luck with cherry tomatoes in a pot. Maybe it depends on the type of tomato. I grew San Marzano tomatoes this year in a pot and also in the garden. The ones in the pot are not as big as the ones in the garden, but I still got a good yield. However, they are not as prolific as my cherry tomatoes were. Also, I was not good at watering the potted ones as often as I should have. I kept forgetting. You can’t do that with tomatoes. They need water as much as they need sun. I put all my slightly ripened tomatoes in a bowl along with any other fruit I have like bananas, peaches, nectarines, pears, whatever. They all ripen eventually. You have to be careful because fruit at the bottom can spoil if you don’t pay attention! I have sometimes overfilled the bowl! LOL!
Yes, tomatoes need a lot of water. The plants in the house have been duly looked after but outside watering was a bit hit and miss, so I’ve ended up with blossom end rot on some and cracks on others!
Glad your tomatoes have been a success.
I’ve got blossom end rot too and blight and cracks but for the most part, good tomatoes and lots of them. I’ve baked some with lots of basil and then put them in the freezer for use on pizza, or on pasta.
Sounds yummy!