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2nd January 2009 (pre-planting out) Happy New Year! The tomato seedlings are pricked out and potted on. Some are in compost, some in rockwool cubes because both mediums will establish good strong healthy plants.
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9th February 2009 (pre-planting out)
Growing strong, the tomatoes will soon be ready to plant into our hydro systems.
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27th February 2009 (week 1)
The plants are ready to be planted up into their GS100 Hydro Systems.
Looking good!
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Height at planting GS100 mark1:
Sungold:
Height: 29cm
Tigerella:
Height: 30cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Height: 33cm |
Height at planting GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Height: 33cm
Cristal:
Height: 31cm
Country Taste:
Height: 36cm |
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16th March 2009 (week 3)
Wow! The tomatoes have really settled in well.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2:
Sungold:
Growth: 25cm Total height: 58cm
Cristal:
Growth: 23cm Total height: 54cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 29cm Total height: 65cm |
Growth since last update GS100 mark1:
Sungold:
Growth: 14cm Total height: 43cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 36cm Total height: 66cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 29cm Total height: 62cm
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31st March 2009 (week 4)
The tomatoes have really come on leaps and bounds in the past two weeks. For the first month they put steady growth and plenty of roots. The roots look really healthy. Top growth is superb! The two Sungold plants are growing really strongly. The diameter of the stem is over 2.5cm. There are now trusses of flowers forming on all the tomatoes except Cristal which tends to be a bit slower to get going but it more than makes up for it when it does.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1:
Sungold:
Growth: 37cm Total height: 80cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 28cm Total height: 94cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 34cm Total height: 96cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2:
Sungold:
Growth: 47cm Total height: 105cm
Cristal:
Growth: 31cm Total height: 85cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 42cm
Total height: 107cm
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3rd April 2009 (week 5)
Excellent news! Our very first tomato of the season. Sungold, always quick off the mark and never disappoints.
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7th April 2009 (week 6)
Country Taste is enormous already standing at over 1.3m. Sungold in the GS100 mark2 is the same. The tomatoes in GS100 are all big and healthy but ever so slightly smaller than those in GS100 mark 2.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1:
Sungold:
Growth: 16cm Total height: 96cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 15cm Total height: 109cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 22cm Total height: 118cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2:
Sungold:
Growth: 22cm Total height: 127cm
Cristal:
Growth: 15cm Total height: 100cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 20cm Total height: 127cm
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15th April 2009 (week 7)
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1:
Sungold:
Growth: 20cm Total height: 116cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 19cm Total height: 128cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 26cm Total height: 144cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2:
Sungold:
Growth: 32cm Total height: 159cm
Cristal:
Growth: 18cm Total height: 118cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 26cm Total height: 153cm
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22nd April 2009 (week 8)
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 10cm Total height: 126cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 10cm Total height: 138cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 18cm Total height: 162cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 18cm Total height: 177cm
Cristal:
Growth: 11cm Total height: 129cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 15cm Total height: 168cm
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28th April 2009 (week 9)
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 9cm Total height: 135cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 15cm Total height: 153cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 28cm Total height: 190cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 29cm Total height: 206cm
Cristal:
Growth: 14cm Total height: 143cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 25cm Total height: 193cm |
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12th May 2009 (week 11) Look how thick the tomato plants have become! They've grown so much since I planted them in January.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 31cm Total height: 166cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 28cm Total height: 181cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 23cm Total height: 213cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 14cm Total height: 220cm
Cristal:
Growth: 33cm Total height: 176cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 53cm Total height: 246cm
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19th May 2009 (week 12)
The Sungold are ripening quickly and taste delicious! We can’t get enough of them.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1 Sungold:
Growth: 10cm Total height: 176cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 13cm Total height: 194cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 23cm Total height: 236cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 30cm Total height: 250cm
Cristal:
Growth: 16cm Total height: 192cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 14cm Total height: 260cm
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27th May 2009 (week 13) The Tigerella are developing thick and fast! This week, we performed
solution changes to rebalance the nutrients in each tank.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1 Sungold:
Growth: 30cm Total height: 206cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 18cm Total height: 212cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 41cm Total height: 277cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 32cm Total height: 282cm
Cristal:
Growth: 28cm Total height: 220cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 31cm Total height: 291cm
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4th June 2009 (week 14)
The tomatoes on the Country Taste, this week, are looking superb. The early fruits were a little small but as the plant is maturing so are the fruit.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1 Sungold:
Growth: 24cm Total height: 230cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 18cm Total height: 230cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 26cm Total height: 303cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 25cm Total height: 307cm
Cristal:
Growth: 15cm Total height: 235cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 20cm Total height: 311cm
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10th June 2009 (week 15)
We harvested some of the fruit from the Sungold and Cristal this week and they were delicious!
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1 Sungold:
Growth: 28cm, 13 fruiting trusses Total height: 258cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 15cm, 10 fruiting trusses Total height: 245cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 36cm, 4 fruiting trusses Total height: 339cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 20cm, 17 fruiting trusses Total height: 327cm
Cristal:
Growth: 18cm, 7 fruiting trusses Total height: 253cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 24cm, 6 fruiting trusses Total height: 335cm
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17th June 2009 (week 16)
The tomato systems have had a solution change this week. The Costoluto Fiorentino is a tremendous 366cm long!
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1 Sungold:
Growth: 24cm, 14 fruiting trusses Total height: 282cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 15cm, 12 fruiting trusses Total height: 260cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 27cm, 4 fruiting trusses Total height: 366cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 36cm, 19 fruiting trusses Total height: 363cm
Cristal:
Growth: 21cm, 10 fruiting trusses Total height: 274cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 23cm, 9 fruiting trusses Total height: 358cm
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24th June 2009 (week 17)
Growth for the longest tomato, the Costoluto Fiorentino, has reached 4m! The Sungold are producing new fruit on a daily basis.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1 Sungold:
Growth: 31cm, 15 fruiting trusses Total height: 313cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 16cm, 13 fruiting trusses Total height: 276cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 34cm, 7 fruiting trusses Total height: 400cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 31cm, 21 fruiting trusses Total height: 394cm
Cristal:
Growth: 14cm, 12 fruiting trusses Total height: 288cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 25cm, 11 fruiting trusses Total height: 383cm
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1st July 2009 (week 18)
This week we have yielded over 2kgs of fruit from all of the tomatoes. There were plenty to enjoy from the Tigerella, and the Sungold has been keeping us fed for several weeks. We now have three tomato plants over 4 metres long!
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 37cm, 16 fruiting trusses Total height: 350cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 15cm, 14 fruiting trusses Total height: 291cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 38cm, 9 fruiting trusses Total height: 438cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 47cm, 22 fruiting trusses Total height: 441cm
Cristal:
Growth: 22cm, 13 fruiting trusses Total height: 310cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 19cm, 12 fruiting trusses Total height: 402cm
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8th July 2009 (week 19)
This week I have changed the solutions of the tomatoes and done some remedial maintenance to the root matter to help the nutrient solution to flow more readily. The roots have grown so well that they are blocking the flow of nutrient a little. The hot weather has reduced growth rates a little but the fruit are still coming thick and fast; in fact I took a bagful home yesterday!
The largeCountry Taste tomato was picked this week and it weighed a staggering 501.9g!
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 23cm, 18 fruiting trusses Total height: 373cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 17cm, 15 fruiting trusses Total height: 308cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 21cm, 9 fruiting trusses Total height: 459cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 10cm, 23 fruiting trusses Total height: 451cm
Cristal:
Growth: 4cm, 14 fruiting trusses Total height: 314cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 18cm, 12 fruiting trusses Total height: 420cm
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15th July 2009 (week 20) Everyone here was able to take home a bag of delicious tomatoes last week. Paul was the lucky one to be the first to try the huge Country Taste tomato. He had it lightly cooked in olive oil and described it as ‘delicious’, ‘sweet’ and ‘the nicest beefsteak tomato he’s had in ages’.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 33cm, 19 fruiting trusses Total height: 406cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 18cm, 16 fruiting trusses Total height: 326cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 27cm, 10 fruiting trusses Total height: 486cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 2cm, 24 fruiting trusses Total height: 453cm
Cristal:
Growth: 9cm, 14 fruiting trusses Total height: 323cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 19cm, 13 fruiting trusses Total height: 439cm
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22nd July 2009 (week 21)
The tinkering I did with the roots of the tomatoes worked wonders. The plants have responded by growing even more healthy white roots. At this rate, I am going to have to petition for a bigger greenhouse!
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 28cm, 20 fruiting trusses, 5 trusses yielded Total height: 434cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 15cm, 19 fruiting trusses, 3 trusses yielded Total height: 341cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 25cm, 10 fruiting trusses, 2 trusses yielded Total height: 511cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 6cm, 25 fruiting trusses, 5 trusses yielded Total height: 459cm
Cristal:
Growth: 10cm, 14 fruiting trusses, 1 truss yielded Total height: 333cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 19cm, 14 fruiting trusses, 1 truss yielded Total height: 458cm
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5th August 2009 (week 23)
In the two weeks since the last update the Sungold in Toms1 has grown a staggering 68cm! The fruit on the Cristal are developing beautifully and look delicious.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 68cm, 21 fruiting trusses, 8 trusses yielded Total height: 502cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 38cm, 19 fruiting trusses, 5 trusses yielded Total height: 379cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 45cm, 11 fruiting trusses, 5 trusses yielded Total height: 556cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 3cm, 25 fruiting trusses, 8 trusses yielded Total height: 462cm
Cristal:
Growth: 17cm, 14 fruiting trusses, 3 truss yielded Total height: 350cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 42cm, 15 fruiting trusses, 3 truss yielded Total height: 500cm
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12th August 2009 (week 24)
After a small set-back a few weeks ago during the hot weather, the Sungold in toms 2 is making excellent progress and looking healthy. We managed to take home 3 bags of tomatoes this week so everyone has a fridge-full to keep them fed over the weekend.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 40cm, 22 fruiting trusses, 9 trusses yielded Total height: 542cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 31cm, 20 fruiting trusses, 7 trusses yielded Total height: 410cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 22cm, 11 fruiting trusses, 6 trusses yielded Total height: 578cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 7cm, 25 fruiting trusses, 11 trusses yielded Total height: 469cm
Cristal:
Growth: 29cm, 15 fruiting trusses, 4 truss yielded Total height: 379cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 31cm, 16 fruiting trusses, 4 truss yielded Total height: 531cm
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19th August 2009 (week 25)
I am afraid I had a little accident with the Costoluto Fiorentino whilst tying it in last week and I accidentally snapped off the top. A small set-back, as I am sure it will not take long for the side shoot to take over.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 21cm, 23 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 563cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 17cm, 21 fruiting trusses, 7 trusses yielded Total height: 427cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 0cm, 11 fruiting trusses, 7 trusses yielded Total height: 578cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 14cm, 25 fruiting trusses, 12 trusses yielded Total height: 483cm
Cristal:
Growth: 14cm, 17 fruiting trusses, 5 truss yielded Total height: 393cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 19cm, 16 fruiting trusses, 5 truss yielded Total height: 550cm
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26th August 2009 (week 26)
As predicted, the Costoluto Fiorentino is making a healthy recovery. The Country Taste is producing some beautiful, slightly striped fruit of an impressive size.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 50cm, 23 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 603cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 23cm, 22 fruiting trusses, 9 trusses yielded Total height: 450cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 10cm, 11 fruiting trusses, 8 trusses yielded Total height: 557cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 33cm, 26 fruiting trusses, 13 trusses yielded Total height: 516cm
Cristal:
Growth: 30cm, 17 fruiting trusses, 6 truss yielded Total height: 423cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 33cm, 17 fruiting trusses, 5 truss yielded Total height: 583cm
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2nd September 2009 (week 27)
Having had a bumper crop so far we are eagerly awaiting the ripening of the latest batch of fruit.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 28cm, 25 fruiting trusses, 14 trusses yielded Total height: 631cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 15cm, 23 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 465cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 4cm, 11 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 561cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 29cm, 27 fruiting trusses, 15 trusses yielded Total height: 545cm
Cristal:
Growth: 17cm, 18 fruiting trusses, 6 trusses yielded Total height: 440cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 19cm, 17 fruiting trusses, 5 truss yielded Total height: 602cm
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9th September 2009 (week 28)
All ripe fruit are being saved, this week for the Mawdesley Funday.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 14cm, 26 fruiting trusses, 15 trusses yielded Total height: 645cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 15cm, 23 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 480cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 11cm, 11 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 572cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 17cm, 28 fruiting trusses, 15 trusses yielded Total height: 562cm
Cristal:
Growth: 8cm, 19 fruiting trusses, 6 trusses yielded Total height: 448cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 16cm, 17 fruiting trusses, 5 truss yielded Total height: 618cm
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18th September 2009 (week 29)
I have had something of a disaster with the Tigerella. A wound has become infected and I have had to remove 118cm of growth. There is good side shoot to grow on so while I am disappointed, it’s not too devastating.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 26cm, 26 fruiting trusses, 16 trusses yielded Total height: 671cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 19cm, 21 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 381cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 11cm, 13 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 583cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 26cm, 29 fruiting trusses, 16 trusses yielded Total height: 588cm
Cristal:
Growth: 17cm, 19 fruiting trusses, 7 trusses yielded Total height: 465cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 16cm, 18 fruiting trusses, 5 trusses yielded Total height: 634cm
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23rd September 2009 (week30)
There is no real growth to report on the Tigerella but it will soon recover from it’s little issue last week. Meanwhile, the Country Taste is coming on leaps and bounds. There are plenty of fruit still to ripen of a good size, perfect for stuffing.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 16cm, 27 fruiting trusses, 16 trusses yielded Total height: 687cm
Tigerella:
Growth: 0cm, 21 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 381cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 9cm, 13 fruiting trusses, 10 trusses yielded Total height: 592cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 18cm, 29 fruiting trusses, 16 trusses yielded Total height: 606cm
Cristal:
Growth: 13cm, 20 fruiting trusses, 7 trusses yielded Total height: 478cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 36cm, 18 fruiting trusses, 5 trusses yielded Total height: 670cm
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30th September 2009 (week 31)
After a tense week, I am afraid that the Tigerella must be removed from the GS100 system it currently occupies with Sungold and Costoluto Fiorentino. Infected material has been removed and the area sprayed but because of the high humidity in the greenhouse, Botrytis continues to thrive. It is sad, but something that every gardener has to come to terms with at some point.
On a positive note, the Sungold has broken the 7 metre mark which is a fantastic achievement!
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 16cm, 28 fruiting trusses, 18 trusses yielded Total height: 703cm
Tigerella:
Total height: 381cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 17cm, 13 fruiting trusses, 5 trusses left Total height: 609cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 25cm, 30 fruiting trusses, 17 trusses yielded Total height: 631cm
Cristal:
Growth: 12cm, 21 fruiting trusses, 7 trusses yielded Total height: 490cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 13cm, 19 fruiting trusses, 12 trusses yielded Total height: 683cm
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7th October 2009 (week 32)
The weather has been quite grim this last week so the tomatoes haven’t really done much. The Sungold tomato plants continue to romp away though.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 26cm, 28 fruiting trusses, 18 trusses yielded Total height: 729cm
Tigerella:
Total height: 381cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 21cm, 13 fruiting trusses, 5 trusses left Total height: 630cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 24cm, 30 fruiting trusses, 17 trusses yielded Total height: 655cm
Cristal:
Growth: 8cm, 21 fruiting trusses, 7 trusses yielded Total height: 498cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 12cm, 18 fruiting trusses, 12 trusses yielded Total height: 695cm
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14th October 2009 (week 33)
I have taken the decision to remove the Toms1 system and create some space in the greenhouse. The Toms2 system has been moved over a little so that it is not in competition with the chillies for light. The root mat in Toms1 was lovely and healthy but not as thick as that in Toms2.
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Growth since last update GS100 mark1: Sungold:
Growth: 12cm, 28 fruiting trusses, in total Total height: 741cm
Tigerella:
Total height: 381cm
Costoluto Fiorentino:
Growth: 26cm, 13 fruiting trusses, in total Total height: 630cm
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Growth since last update GS100 mark2: Sungold:
Growth: 19cm, 31 fruiting trusses, 19 trusses yielded Total height: 674cm
Cristal:
Growth: 7cm, 21 fruiting trusses, 9 trusses yielded Total height: 505cm
Country Taste:
Growth: 19cm, 17 fruiting trusses, 12 trusses yielded Total height: 714cm
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