Small tomato plants, wood chipping and what happens next?

[@iandavies9154]

Don't worry, it has been a cold, wet spring and everything is weeks behind, a bit of nice weather and everything will be back on track.

[@SteveMonk1956]

Your tomato plants are about the same size as mine, I wouldn't worry about them, they will catch up in May when hopefully the weather is better.

[@AndyMac]

Splendid - thank you!

[@pinkshoes26]

Love the chipper!

[@andyc972]

Thanks for the update Andy, it's all looking grand ! I shouldn't worry about the tomatoes and marigolds it's early days yet and in an unheated greenhouse with the temperatures and light levels we've had recently I'm not surprised, the cooler climate plants like lettuce are looking great though ! That's a great little shredder, we've only ever had electric ones and they don't perform like that ! I'd be inclined to make a wood-chip pile somewhere - maybe just a wire mesh cylinder, it will rot down over time and can make an excellent addition to your compost mixes, it is after all a major component of most commercial composts now with the banning of peat products ! Ideally have one for leaves too as leaf-mould is gold-dust and best of all its FREE , see what Charles Dowden has to say about both products and their uses !

[@AndyMac]

Cheers! I feel like I need to make some bays for wood chip, sand, finished compost etc. Never ending list of jobs! 😂

[@andyc972]

@@AndyMac I have a wire "bin" for leaves but actually just dump most of the leaves and wood chipping in the wooded area at the end of our garden, then simply "harvest" some when its needed ! But then, I don't have a river beyond it !

[@paulhodgson4790]

Don't sweat the tomatoes, they will respond when it warms up. Don't plant out until the weather suits. Sometimes I don't plant out until mid/late May. If there is a chance of a frost keep them under cover.

[@AndyMac]

They'll never be leaving the greenhouse but thinking the same - couple of weeks. 🤞

[@jammymukka]

Yeah, I wouldn’t worry too much about your Toms. Mine are similar and it’s still relatively chilli at night… but when things warm up they’ll fly off. One thing I have learnt over the years with growing veg, is that it is better to sow a little later than too soon. Late sowings have a habit of catching up with the earlier ones once the summer hits. Oh and defo not root-bound.

[@AndyMac]

Great stuff - that makes me feel a lot better! 😂

[@shaun30-3-mg9zs]

Hi Andy, It's all looking good in the garden and greenhouse. Plenty of chipping with your wood chipper. your plants are coming on well in the greenhouse, some take longer to grow than others but most of them can be planted out side in the middle to end of May, I would say about a month from now. catch you soon Take care

[@AndyMac]

Fantastic stuff - exciting times! 😁

[@janevivian-smith4578]

Well done with your tomatoes yours are about the same as mine I'm not putting mine out till at least may in the greenhouse - they keep saying its gonna get cold again and I'm in Cornwall which is usually milder. Tip for you chippings are best left for at least a year then spread on flower beds veg plot etc as a mulch enjoy ❤

[@AndyMac]

I'm debating taking a couple of plants indoors as a 'backup'. 😂

[@janevivian-smith4578]

@@AndyMac Good idea we need a bit more sunshine it's still quite chilly down south west now we have dried out a bit.😁

[@RussellCram]

The Tomatoes are fine, they're probably better than mine are doing at the minute! It won't help that its been cold and there hasn't been much sun shine recently so they plants won't be doing much growing up over but will be growing their roots which is the important bit at the minute. Leave them for at least another few weeks yet and you'll see them start to grow especially if the weather improves but make sure you don't overwater them in the mean time and they'll be fine.

[@AndyMac]

Fantastic - they look healthy enough. Just small. That puts my mind at rest - thank you!

[@petercampbe11]

i covered my raise planter using the hooks you suggested last video, along with a viewers comment of using bottles on canes to hold the shape - works a treat, thank you

[@AndyMac]

Great stuff! Those hooks aren't working too great for me. A couple have already snapped 😭. Thought it was too good to be true!

[@franceswatts4001]

@@AndyMacwouldn’t large cup hooks work? Cheap too. What was your rationale to using the coat hooks.

[@janvereertbrugghen2775]

As far as I can see the tomatoes look fine. Different varieties grow at different speed. Mine are now exactly 1 month old and between 7 and 15 cm depending on variety. They start in 4 cm pots for +- 3 weeks and then transplanted to P9 pots like 1 week ago.

[@AndyMac]

This is fantastic news - thank you!

[@lynneclark5879]

K I’m in Canada - 27 in winter , I did my Tom seeds end of march, heat pads grow lights and in solo cups learned it on KZbin it’s worked so good my little babies are 5inch and best of all thick stems

[@AndyMac]

Fantastic stuff! I gather you mean 27F and not 27C? 😁

[@yolandafortenberry597]

Hi, from Houston tx, put egg shells closer to the wood inside snails don't like and the shells is good for the plants.

[@wjb2]

They look great andy , it’s been a terrible year for growth, ours have only flourished as they were started indoors.

[@AndyMac]

That's great to know - cheers!

[@wjb2]

⁠@@AndyMaclook up a youtube channel “Greenside Up” unfortunately Steve passed away last year, but his videos are great and in simple terms , yes there’s loads of gardening youtubers , but steve was the best i’ve come across along with Tony O’neil simplify gardening.

[@andyc972]

Btw, I'd be interested to see a review of the Chipper !

[@843thebear]

You can get shelves that bolt to the frame of your greenhouse (using those cropped bolts that slide down the frame) that give vital extra space. As your plants grow and you sow more seeds you may find you start to run out of bench top space. You can never have too much bench/shelf space.

[@AndyMac]

Yup defo on my 'to do' list. I need to buy a few more cropped bolts - I'll probably just make my own shelves. 👍

[@mikegleaden5096]

Tomatoes look fine to me. Way ahead of mine (I sowed very late). If you want to accelerate them, take them indoors onto a warm windowsill (bathroom where it's moist works well) for a few weeks. But they'll be fine in the greenhouse as they are. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy advice is always useful in these circumstances: Don't Panic!

[@AndyMac]

Great stuff - that's a relief. Wasn't sure whether to feed them or are they too young for that? 🤔

[@Joe90V]

Good work on the chipping. I use a chop saw on the intermediate stuff - wizzes through a pile like that. One thing a small chipper can't handle though is freshly cut conifers, as I've found out 😆 Being Irish I can only advise on potatoes ;) and always earth them up to increase the yield. Good luck!

[@AndyMac]

I sometimes use the band saw too for the chopping. Think I'll just chainsaw this pile. 👍

[@franceswatts4001]

Ooo I was intending to shove the remnants of 2 leyllandia through my electric one tomorrow. I won’t do that now, thanks to your tip @Joe90V

[@Joe90V]

@@franceswatts4001 If you let them go brown they should be ok then, but I can't be bothered to wait and take them straight to the tip :)

[@franceswatts4001]

@@Joe90V thanks for the further information - very helpful.

[@michaeltanner4159]

tomatoes look healthy enough.you could repot and bury slightly deeper.i would definately keep them in the greenhouse.its likely the awful weather were getting is likely responsible.

[@jaychet]

you can use all the woodchip as mulch on garden beds, couple of inches thick. will supress weeds and gradually break down and improve the soil. add a bit more every year. dpnt dog it into the soil thp as it will steal nitrogen. it dorsnt dp this of just say on top.

[@AndyMac]

Defo - cheers!

[@johnfithian-franks8276]

Hi Andy, I was just wondering if your wood stove could be converted to use wood chippings, I know they can use logs that are made from sawdust so wood chippings is not such a stretch away. One thing you can try is nettle tea. you chop them up and then boil once it is cold it makes a great plant fertilizer.

[@AndyMac]

Stove - don't think so, but we have a crazy amount of normal wood to get through. 👍

[@darrolmcroberts8614]

Andy try your wood chip around your lettuce; slug and snails don’t like going over the uneven surface

[@AndyMac]

Defo going to give that a try - cheers!

[@lynneclark5879]

I feel your pain ie slugs I have full on war I go out at night and put them in my pond for my frogs

[@AndyMac]

We normally get quite a few frogs coming up from the river - and sometimes ducks! 👍

[@Knapper94]

My seeds ain't even germinated 😂 Probably have to pick some up from garden centre !

[@AndyMac]

😂

[@eleanorwilliams9245]

Try leaving a small plank of wood in the evening inside your veggie bed flat on the earth. In the morning, then it over and if you find slugs on it, evict them - will take a few days to get them all but works! Also - free 😄

[@AndyMac]

Good plan!

[@NorthernMonkeeUK]

My tomatoes are about 2ft tall at the moment, cherry tomatoes about a foot and a half, probably start flowering soon. Your lettuce and onions are far more advanced than mine though - although, I just chucked seeds in the ground outside. My raddish will be ready soon judging by the size of the ones I pulled when thinning them out. Cucumber plants keep rotting off half way up the stems though :(

[@AndyMac]

2ft tall!! I'm jealous 😂. It's been such a cold Spring so far!

[@troyboy4345]

Don't worry mate, let Nature take it's course, she will teach you .... nice video matey

[@AndyMac]

Fantastic - thank you!!

[@Richardincancale]

I think you’ll be fine with tomatoes for another 4 weeks, plant them mid-May for crops in July onwards

[@AndyMac]

Great stuff - that's my thinking too. 👍

[@SamLTate]

Tomatoes are about the same size as mine, I'm eager to get mine out but we're potentially due a frost this week in NW England so I'll get them hardened off and planted next week.

[@AndyMac]

I think it gets a bit cold here tomorrow but hopefully not below around 2C. 🤞

[@SamLTate]

@@AndyMac We've had the gritters coming round, due for 0 degrees tonight. Hopefully the last frost of the year!

[@shazprior1134]

Don't talk to me about tomatoes 😢 planted 3 varietys February and didn't germinate until early April, then only 20% of them. Got them to about 3cm high and the slugs got the lot all in one night. I'm buying starts after my holiday.

[@iand7518]

You are giving your slugs a luxurious death with San Miguel! There are plenty of dirt cheap supermarket brand beers that do the same job, I tend to use Asda bitter, 4 cans for £1.20. They are not the easiest to find on the shelves but usually are there if you look hard enough.

[@Mr_Jamin007]

Putting crushed eggshell around the plants will prevent slugs and snails crossing.

[@pingu99991]

With slugs this year I've had good luck with a diluted essential oil spray I made up. I don't rate any of the 💩 claims about essential oils. I've got MS and had countless people recommended it for my health. It's rubbish. One of the only things it does work for is slugs. They really dislike the smell of mint, rosemary, citronella, ect. It's a bit more work than beer traps but I've not had much luck with them - they tend to just attract more slugs than they get rid of. I've found spraying every other day is working well for me. Had a few lost perpetual spinach leaves early in the season but since I've started this routine I've not noticed any new damage to the leaves. I just have a 1L spray bottle filled 95% up with water, then about 4% isopropyl alcohol to help the oil dissolve in the water, then just a few drops of whatever essential oil you have to hand. Shake it up before using and then it's best to spray in the evening to avoid any scorching impact that the sun + spray might have (although ive not noticed any negative effect) - and gastropods are more active at night anyway. Let me know if it helps at all.

[@AndyMac]

Fantastic stuff - I'll give that a try! Does it not impact the taste of the veg or is it just mainly for when the plants are young?

[@pingu99991]

@@AndyMac If I spray at night then pick the next day I don't notice any odd tastes. If you eat a leaf immediately after spraying then you'll taste it for sure but they aren't unpleasant flavours, I'd just describe it as a little zesty if there's citronella, or herby if you use rosemary/mint. I use a mix of all.

[@hogthrob]

You have a lot of seedlings, and your raised beds are already full. Where are they all going?

[@AndyMac]

Lol I have no idea! 😂 The Zinnia etc. will go in main flower beds around the garden as annuals but I think I need more raised beds and lots of planters!

[@Psych911]

Dark tomato stem = cold weather response 🥶 when it warms up they will take off

[@AndyMac]

Ah - interesting! Fantastic. 👍🤞

[@VivSimmons]

Those marigolds are fine. I guess you are impatient!

[@AndyMac]

Great stuff. I'm crazily impatient. 😂

[@malcolmcoward7480]

At the risk of repeating comments it's the yeast in the beer that attracts the slugs, so any form of yeast should work accordingly.

[@cindyharrison4191]

Where did you get the greenhouse from?

[@AndyMac]

GCS at Azure garden centre 👍 www.gcslb.co.uk/

[@russellwheeler2760]

Does it have to be beer, doesn't sweet fizzy drink work too? Could get a 2l bottle of coke or store brand for much cheaper

[@ripvanwincle2258]

I'm going to do the 2 copper wires around the beds connected to a 1.5v battery to deter slugs there's vids on youtube.

[@AlexGnok]

There's also videos showing that this doesn't work. Like the rest of the copper stuff really. All those wires are just a waste of time

[@Richardincancale]

Think you’d need 2000 volts to deter the slugs!!

[@AndyMac]

I've heard of a few folk having success with this. Perhaps even a slightly higher voltage with a little battery pack. We shall see! 👍

[@ripvanwincle2258]

@@AndyMac You're right mate just looked at the holder i bought it's 9v.I bought the copper tape that sticks on because my beds metal just got to tape it on and solder it up when it stops bleedin raining🤣I'll let you know how it goes.👍

[@SamGrandison]

Garlic wash spray is great for snails & slugs - kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYbam6KDmr6ipNEsi=t7NVNL7Xx8xy2MBR