Advice on sowing toms

[tiachica]

Hiya,

Even though I've been growing toms for quite a while with my mum, we have never raised them from seed. So this is a bit of a learning curve for me. We also never really bothered too much about them, apart from the endless watering, so to be honest I am a lucky newbie. lol...

I have saved some seeds, ordered two kinds and kindly received another from Zazen *waves hallo*

Now to the serious bit and my questions lol...

I don't have a greenhouse or coldframe.

So, do I sow them indoors and then put outside in their own pots? or do I sow them straight into the pots and then thin out?
What size pot per plant would be best?
When would you recommend sowing them... now? April? May?
Would you use normal compost or a special tomatoe compost? Is there such a thing?

I have a lot of nice stuff out of my green Johanna, most of which is in my two raised beds, but still got some to put in pots.

How do you avoid blight in the UK? Back home we'd brew a herbal tea to shower the plants with but I have no idea what that that plant is in German.

Which tomatoe feed do you recommend?

Soo many questions!
Thank you!
Franziska

[selfraising]

Hi
I grow my tomato seed indoors in a propagator in a small 2 inch pot. I put two seeds in per pot, in normal compost and cover with a thin layer of vermiculite. When they have germinated, I take the weaker plant out and leave the strongest one to grow on a bit. When the plant has got its second set of leaves I pot it on to a bigger pot. I will probably keep them indoors until at least May and then plant them in their final pots. If you notice roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, it is probably time to pot them into a bigger pot. I have sown mine now.
What was the plant called in German? I speak some German and may be able to translate it?

[Jillyreeves]

Hello,

Im a newbie too and this year is my first time growing tomatoes, I have sown an outdoor compact variety called Garden Pearl, small cherry tomatoes. For small quantities of seed I would recommend the website www.moveveg.co.uk

I know most people would sow two seeds per pot then discard the one that was the weakest but as I only had 10 seeds (50p) I was reluctant to use this method. I planted one seed per plastic drinks cup, with a hole in the bottom for drainage, full of multi-purpose compost. I did this to give them more room to grow rather than re potting when they are small and fiddly. I covered each pot with a plastic sandwich bag and left them to germinate on the window sill of my unheated conservatory.

I planted them just over a week ago and so far 3 of the 6 have sprouted.

[Alison]

I don't double up on my seeds for tomatoes either although do sow slightly more in total than I think I need. On the whole you get very good germination (assuming your seed is good). I sow 1 per 1.5" newspaper pot in a propogator on the window ledge (the early ones I provide heat for, the ones I sowed the other day aren't heated any more). As soon as they sprout (within a week, usually) I remove from the propogator and grow on, on the window ledge, moving onto the side if it's especially frosty (not needed to do this much as we have good double glazing). When they get their first true leaves, I pot on to 3" pots and grow in inside until about the end of April (moving into an unheated conservatory when I run out of space elsewhere!). After that, they go into an unheated greenhouse and moved back at night if it's cold for a couple of weeks until they're planted properly. Seems to work well for me and by only sowing one per newspaper pot it doesn't matter if I'm a bit ham fisted with my initially potting on as I don't really touch the plant. Usually end up craming a few extras anywhere in the garden if I have too many or giving away to friends.

[Growem]

I also speak German and am very curious what this mystery blight preventing herb is!

[tiachica]

Thank you for all your advice.
Well... I might get my toms started then!

The German name of the herb is Schachtelhalm.. found it on Wikipedia in English:
Equisetum arvense - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To make the tea you need to boil it about 20 mins and then use it as a spray on the leaves.

TiaChica

[Flummery]

Blimmin 'eck! Horsetail! I'm not planting that - I've been trying to eradicate it in the front garden since we moved here! It's a blight all on its own!

[Growem]

Horsetail! Now that's an interesting use of what's normally thought of as a weed.

[tiachica]

Blimmin 'eck! Horsetail! I'm not planting that - I've been trying to eradicate it in the front garden since we moved here! It's a blight all on its own!

Oh well... then you've got your supply established already lol

[tiachica]

We also use horsetail to treat roses against and to prevent blackspot and rust.

[Eyren]

Hmm, no horsetail in these parts, just lots of couch grass, which is totally useless AFAIK

I reckon that this year I'm going to spray my spuds with Bordeaux mixture - they're in containers on hard standing, so the copper won't contaminate the soil. Might have to scout around for some horsetail for the outdoor toms, though!

[tiachica]

Ah! Check here.. scroll down to fungicide:

Useful organic recipes

[elsie-scot]

Hi,I live in Aberdeen too, we tried growing tomatoes couple years ago outside - only green, and friend tried last year and also didnt ripen either. Sure people have had sucess. Both trying again. I have started mine indoors, will try some outdoors and some in our conservatory.

[tiachica]

Hi Elsie,
oh! never thought of that! Well... I shall try my best! Let me know of your progress, ok?
I will sow mine this weekend indoors in modules.

[elsie-scot]

Hi Elsie,
oh! never thought of that! Well... I shall try my best! Let me know of your progress, ok?
I will sow mine this weekend indoors in modules.

here is hoping for a warm summer