Early Tomato Sowing and Growing thread - poll added please vote

[zazen999]

Morning all

As promised, this is the early tomato thread.

This is the place to show everyone how you sow, how you nurture and grow your Early toms, and to record the dates across the country of first leaves, first flowers, first visible toms and first harvests.

I'm going to be sowing later today, but brought some compost indoors last night to warm up. I'll be selecting a few small pots to sow into and selecting which seeds to sow and posting 'what I did' a bit later on.

If anyone wants to get started now with their 'what I did' or 'how I am doing it', please go ahead.

Please include:
Varieties you are sowing
Compost you are using
Date you sowed [if not today], and dates of any significance as they grow
How you are sowing [in kitchen towel, into modules, into pots, etc etc]
How you water them
Any other preparations that you make [adding any nutrients, watering with vodka/tea etc etc]
Anything else you want to add, such as spacings, or any other sowing quirks that might be of interest to anyone.

Photos would also be brilliant, so that we can all watch as the seedlings emerge and grow.

As they grow, this is also the place to come for questions about problems with your Early tomatoes.

Moon days for tomatoes over the next month, if you want to stick to these, are:
Dec 27th, 28th
Jan 5th [after 5pm], 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 15th [until 1pm], 22nd [after 7pm], 23rd, 24th, and 25th [until 8am].

For information on Moon Gardening, please google Moon Gardening and take your pick of the advice!

One example here: Guide to planting by the moon - The Gardeners Calendar

Be aware, this is an Early Tomato Experiment - to see if we can get earlier tomatoes from just a few seeds. Most of us will sow our main tomatoes in a few months time.

May the Early Tomato Experiment begin.

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Sowed "Grushovka" (Real Seeds) into 2" pots, using "Fertile Fibre" (as advertised in the GYO and this website). Will plant more on another Moon date in Jan. Fertile Fibre has been in the house a couple of days to heat up cause it is baltic up here

[BarleySugar]

I searched out the heated propagator from the garage, filled the 2 small seeds trays with B&Q multipurpose compost (left over from last year), and watered with lukewarm water. I didn't think to bring the compost in last night as we had company.

I have sowed 3 each of
Tigrella
Sunburst
Green Tiger (from Seahorse) and
Black French (from Pigletwillie)

I usually grow Tigrella and Sunburst, planted mid January. Tigrella is usually ready first, around end June, beginning of July, with Sunburst a couple of weeks later. It will be interesting to see if these few weeks make any difference.

Am I right in thinking if it is the right time for fruiting plants, its the right time for Chiilies too? I think I'll put a couple of numex twlight seeds in, as they are the only ones I've got this year Must go shopping

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Well after reading Barleysugar has planted Pigletwillie's French Black, I will plant a few of those this afternoon and also some Banana Orange (Real Seeds). Can you plant Chilli's as well? Isn't it too cold? Also I thought we could plant onions as well (or was that a different thread?) I dampened the compost before planting. Not using heated propagators, just a south-facing window.

Amending post rather than starting another planted today

Grushovka x 4
"Orange Banana" x 4
Pigletwillie Fench Black x 4
"Kaibi" early sweet pepper x 6 (last in pack)
Early Jalapeno (Real Seeds) x 4
Pretty in Purple x 4

Peppers are in the airing cupboard and in mini propagators - found a few I had bought from Woolies.

Amended again, also planted
Xebuir Sweet Pepper x 7
Lipstick early sweet pepper x4
Roma toms x 4

[BrideXIII]

Six modules of black cherry toms ( my dads so self collected seed) 2 seeds in each module

6 modules of 'tumbling tom' 2/3 seeds in each

wilkies multi purpose compost

unheated propogator on the kitchen windowsill

watering from underneath when the surface looks dry

just chucking them in and hoping

i must have missed the onion thread!!! was going to plant leeks i think.

[zazen999]

Onions are later in the week; today is any fruit based veg so yes, Chillis are also welcomed.

[maytreefrannie]

I sowed 6 in toilet roll 'pots' - don't know the variety, they are seeds I saved from a plant my daughter had last year, bought at an organice garden centre.

I used a mix of bought compost, a little (bought) horse manure and a little sand.

I'm keeping them indoors, in the kitchen.

Looking forward to the results - mine and everyone else's.

[emilymup]

Have been so excited about this!!!

Today I sowed at 12.23 pm the following

2 x gartenpearle cherry toms
2 x gardeners delight
2 x ukraine purple toms
2 x ferline
2 x legend
1 x scatolone (san marzano plum)
1 x san marzano 2 (plum)

had some left over jiffy 7s so popped them in there in south facing bay window.
My cousin in Turin, Italy, is also planting today!!

[ardroil]

i planted
tumblin toms x 8
ailsa craig x 24
100s and 1000s x9

i warmed the soil up first by placing a plastic bottle with warm water in it for half an hour,
all are planted in trays and covered with the plastic cover,
i also put a piece of bubblewrap over the cover
i used miracle grow multi purpose compost

it is -3 degrees outside here in inverness
it is + 9 in the greenhouse,

i also have pickled onions i would like to sew but dont know when?

I WANT TO PLANT EVERYTHING NOW !!!!!

[BrideXIII]

Zazen!!!!

I have never grown toms from seed, and with it being out of season and all, how long should we be looking at germination to take?
how long should it be normally i mean, so i can not panic too soon.

[coomber]

I have sown:

4 sub artic plenty
4 black cherry
6 gartenperle
6 green sausage
4 black pearl (chilli)
6 chilli shake (mixed)

all seeds are from thompson & morgan (some are left overs from last year)
all have been sown in sow and grow peat pots (given to me, i wouldn't buy them!)
they are in a heated propagator on the window sill and will be watered from the bottom when (if) needed.

This is dead excitin' innit

[Seahorse]

I have planted

3 x Hartman's Yellow Gooseberry
5 x 'Heritage Mix' from Brown Envelope Seeds, these could be any/all from Tigerella, Polen, Zapotec Pleated, White Wonder and Persimmon
5 x Outdoor Girl

Also some capers and Hungarian Black and Friar's Hat chillis

All in a heated propagator on an East facing window ledge. I'll probably only turn the prop on at night. Sown in John Innes soil based seed compost that's been kept in the house.

[Alice]

I have planted

3 Sub Arctic Plenty ( seeds from Bridget in Derry)
3 Red Alert Bush Toms (seeds from Flummery)
3 Black Hubgarian Chillies (seeds from Tiger)
3 Big Jim Chillies (seeds left over from the chileman competition 2 years ago)

They're all planted 3 to a pot, warmed peat free compost, pots in a freezer bag clipped closed to stop them drying out.

We'll see how they do.

[Stacey Steve]

Have just started my peppers off, Jalapeno (from B&Q), Jalepeno (Suttons) & Fuego F1, a packet of each.

I made up a free draining mix up Peat & Sharp Sand 50/50 into 1.5" pots, which have been standing on the conservatory window sill 24 hours to get to room temperature.

Seeds placed on the surface and covered with 1/2" of Vermicalite, damped in with room temperature water.

I have not placed these in bags as I find it easy to spot if they are drying out by looking at the colour of the vermicalite.

[Lavenderblue]

I am going to do this on the 5th. I will try with one each of my tomato seeds - a black one whose name I forget, a millefleur, one I saved from last year and an armish paste. I think i will start them off in the airing cupboard and then put them in the spare room. I will have to get other compost though because the stuff we have is full of flies.