This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Tomato answers (was re: tomato question)

When my tomatoes fell over last year, I had to trim away some seriously
damaged branches, but the plants did survive and continue to produce, so
give them a chance. I also had some square cages and some round. The square
ones seem to want to fold up when they fall... I think I didn't push them
far enough into the ground.

I'm not a botanist (sticking my neck out here -- and probably making some
scientists smile), but I believe photosynthesis is what makes the plant
turn green. 
It has to do with carbon dioxide and light energy and chlorophyll, but I
don't recall that it has anything to do with the ripening of fruit.

Pat
Zone 7, Maryland

At 08:35 PM 7/22/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>At 12:14 PM 7/22/98 -0400, Pat wrote:
>>>I had a very bad experience last year when I tilted my cages to reclaim my
>>>"isle" in the tomato garden. After a drenching rain, everything fell
>>>completely over in the direction I had tilted.
>
>The day after I wrote my note I accidentally left the sprinkler on for 1 
>1/2 hours...right next to my 'matoes. DUH!! They had been staked with 
>long branches from our woods(obviously not well enough...), and all of 
>them were prone. In a panic I raced in to rescue them and have one that's 
>barely holding on. His base is split but bandaged together. Lookin' a 
>little beat up, he is.
>
>>Margaret Lauterbach tapped the keys thusly:
> 
>>I was not being facetious when I asked what made you think tomatoes had to
>>have sun to turn red.  
>
>O.K. I'll take your experienced word on it! I got square cages for my 
>plants and there's about 6" between all plants, some more some less. And 
>sure enough the ones in the densest part are the ones that have ripened! 
>How 'bout that. I suppose the whole thing about photosynthesis was 
>pounded into me at some point and i just ...assumed. But as I type, I'm 
>picturing shade flowers and trees that do swell without any light at all.
>
>Thanks to all that have helped with my questions. Hope your gardens are 
>thriving!
>
>M-DONNING A DUNCE CAP
>
>
>
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index