Potatoes for Christmas; what's eating my tomatoes and is it too late to sow...

Hello. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ask three questions in one fell swoop, no doubt someone will tell me of I'm not.

Is there still time to start container potatoes (even after chitting)?

For the first time since I've been growing outdoor tomatoes something is eating the ripe fruit. Would you know what it is and whether I can do anything about it?

And, I know, silly question, finally. Is it too late to sow some seeds, sunflowers for example? I'm in Brighton.

Many thanks

Neil

 

I seem to be the only one without an answer. Was it something I said or can someone kindly answer at least one of the queries?

Many thanks

Neil

 

Better to ask them in separate threads, otherwise the answers may get intermingled.

Now. Literally, otherwise you will be too late for Christmas by the time that reduced light in Autumn, and cold, arrives. Don't bother with chitting (if you got your seed potatoes a while ago that's fine, but its not necessary with warm weather / soil)

Depends on the seed, but "probably". Hardy Annuals would be fine, for next year. Anything tender will croak during the winter, and hasn't got time to grow, and put on a good display, before then.

People will answer when they read the forum. For many people that's only once a day. Yesterday the forum was down for a large part of the day, so that may have prevented people having the chance.

 

Fair enough and many thanks.

...which just leaves my tomatoes. Does anyone have any idea what is eating my ripe fruit - caterpillars of some kind I guess - and what I can do to dissuade them?

 

I find it quicker to get an answer sometimes by searching the forum with the search tool at the top right. We've had quite a few questions about Christmas potatoes recently. It's worth using.

 

After a bit more research I rather think it's something called a hornworm; the damage does look like images I've found on Google.

The websites below might be useful for anyone with a similar problem. They - the critters! - are a bloomin' nuisance, but there doesn't seem to be a ready way of dealing with them.

http://www.almanac.com/content/tomato-hornworms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manduca_quinquemaculata
http://organicgardening.about.com/od/pestcontrol/p/tomatohornworm.htm