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Is this Autumn/Fall coming?

It's a bit fresh outside today, is it a sign that Autumn is on its way?
The forecast for the next ten days doesn't show much above 20°c with some rain thrown in for good measure. Hopefully we will still get some warmer weather, we have only just got into September after all.

But the Tomatoes in the grow bags have finished, Tina has stripped the plants of fruit this morning and has since removed the plants. They never really did do that well, just planted straight in the grow bag!
They did produce tasty Tomatoes, but not that many. 
I think we found what the problem was, and that was that there was not enough room in the grow bag for the roots.

So we invested in some of these...........
Plant Halos, Growbag Halos whatever you want to call them.
You cut a hole in your grow bag to fit them in, they have about six spikes that go down into the compost and that's where the water goes.
You plant in the neck of the Halo and the roots can then go down into the Grow bag.
Initially you water on the inside ring to get the plant going then after about two weeks you start to fill the outer ring which gently delivers water down the spikes into the compost and straight to the roots.
And they have worked brilliantly and we will definitely be using them again next year.


We did however underestimate how big they would grow. They are on a south facing wall so get plenty of sun.
When I ordered the seeds it did say they were indeterminate Tomatoes, which means they will keep producing until the first frost and that they can grow to twelve feet (but most likely around six feet). These are going up into the roof of the kitchen, much more and Tina won't be able to reach them. 

We also planted quite a few straight into the ground.
 They needed better staking which we shall remember for next year, but the harvest we have got off of these has been amazing. We really do have Tomatoes everywhere.

So the grow bag tomatoes and also most of the peppers have finished and made their way to the compost heap.
Still have some pepper plants going, Yolo Wonder and Tolli sweet Italian peppers. The mini bell peppers are all but finished and we won't be doing those next year. They taste great but are just too fiddly.
All of the Chilli plants are still going strong, some are taking a while to go ripe so we have moved them all into the greenhouse.
The nights are getting a bit cooler and although we shouldn't have a frost for a good long while (hopefully) they should stand a better chance in here. I am going to try to over winter some of the stronger looking plants.

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Location: 16360 Baignes-Sainte-Radegonde, France

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