TROUBLESHOOTER

Q Why are my fruit splitting?

A Dry soil followed by a sudden deluge can cause fruit to swell rapidly and split. This is harder to control outside, but having a healthy soil with plenty of organic matter helps.

Mulch around plants with compost to retain moisture during dry spells. Indoors, try installing a drip irrigation system on a timer to keep things growing smoothly.

Q How can I protect plants from blight?

A Late blight is a fungal-like organism (Phytophthora infestans) that attacks both tomatoes and potatoes, causing browning of foliage, stems and fruit. It’s dispersed on the wind, so greenhouse plants tend to escape the worst of it, but those grown outside are more vulnerable. It’s favoured by damp conditions, which is why wet summers coincide with the worst blight years.

Put infected foliage in green bins for high-temperature council composting. Blightresistant ‘Crimson Crush’, ‘Mountain Magic’ or beefsteak

‘Oh Happy Day’ are all well worth growing outdoors.

Q What are the dark patches at the base of fruit?

A. These are a sign of blossom end rot, caused by calcium deficiency. Uneven watering is often the cause and it is fairly common in greenhouse tomatoes. Remove these fruits once you see them or they may start to rot on the plant.

Q Why are flowers failing to set fruit?

A Very low or very high temperatures can cause flowers to drop rather than form fruit. Don’t plant them out too early, and try to keep greenhouse temperatures as steady as possible. Pollination is usually carried out by insects and wind; you can mimic this by brushing the stamens with a paintbrush or gently shaking stems.