The greenhouse in late June

Credit: Carolyn Herriot

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The greenhouse is full of two-gallon pots of peppers and five-gallon pots of tomatoes right now. I am trialing different varieties for two things; those that do well in a greenhouse and those that grow well in containers.

Once a week I give them a liquid feed of my ‘magic brew’ compost tea, diluted 20:1 in a watering can. Now that the heat has arrived these heat lovers are growing really fast, so I need to be aware of pinching out suckers, and tying plants onto their support strings (counter clockwise).

The bushy determinate varieties, usually around 3 feet tall, don’t need suckering because they produce only one flush of fruit that goes on maturing into the summer. The indeterminate or vining varieties produce fruit all season long. They should have the suckers that grow in the axis between the main stem and the leaf removed. Leaving them to grow into new branches compromises fruit production, because the plants energy is directed to growing foliage instead of setting and maturing fruit.

Back to the Victory Garden Program.