h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi, I'm in my first year of growing tomatoes. I'm looking for tips and advise.

I have plants about 7inches high. I've had lots of people who have given advise on two topics. What do you think?

1) How much watering
2) How/what to pick of the stems (e.g. side shoots)

v.

I'm male, wrong side of 70 years, been gardening for years at this house since 1973. Never had problems with tomatoes until (1) last year when during the big floods both my houses flooded. Not suprisingly I got a lot of blossom end rot and (2) this year I've been over run with what appears to be the same disease - bottom truss fine on every plant and every subsequent truss caught with it even when the tomatoes are really small.

My houses have been under run with tree roots (I am next to a field and one of my neighbours plsnted a little rooted Christmas tree by a ditch in that field - it has grown into a big tree. I manage by digging the borders out, lining with polythene and filling with the commercial compost obtainable from most garden centres. I set the plants in bottomless whalehide pots and work them by watering the borders and the pots separately with water and feed.

I bought some mixture which is supposed to add nutrients and lime and for feed I've used liquid stuff for the first time. Formerly I simply added lime at around January digging it in the borders and fed with Phostrogen or Miraclegrow plus twice during the season Epsom Salts. I'm going back to that method as I possibly overfed with this liquid feed.

Anybody got any ideas. By the way I'm based in Yorkshire about 20 miles from the sea.

Best wishes
Organicom