Tomatoes?

[sabulous]

I'm completely new to this site and also to growing my own veg.
My mum has always had a vegetable garden and I remember it well form when I was little. Now I'm all grown up and fancied having a go myself. I am a live in nanny so can't take over the garden so last year me and the kids decided to grow some tomatoes in a container. We got lots of tomatoes but very late in the season and they never ripened... Where did we go wrong?
Any tips for a novice like me? I've asked my mum, but she lives in the north of Sweden and I live in London so the climate is very different.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

sab x

[Bigmallly]

Welcome to the vine Sab.

[sabulous]

The link doesn't seem to work. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong?

[OllieMartin]

Don't worry too much if they don't ripen.
I only got about 10 ripe tomatoes off 17 plants because I planted them out a tad late (plus I'm quite a bit further north than you).
I thought I was going to have to use up a load of green tomatoes, so I harvested them all and just put them in a cardboard box in the kitchen.
Before I got round to using them all up (some 50-60 tom's) they all turned red. Every single one of them.
Sadly I only managed to use about 40 of them before the last few went mouldy.

It's only my first year growing anything, but I'd suggest that, provided they get to a good size, they'll ripen off the plant indoors. Especially if they're surrounded by other ripening fruit.
Some people suggest putting them with apples and/or bananas as they give off a gas (ethyline I think) which causes fruit to ripen.

[Two_Sheds]

Tomatoes need to be started early in the year to have any chance of ripening (esp. if we have a dull wet summer again).
Have a go with your search button: you'll find people start sowing in Dec/Jan

Here's one to get you started: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ote_25502.html

[zazen999]

Yup, we'll be starting an early tomato thread again in the week between Christmas and New Year.....so join in!

[SarzWix]

If you have a good sunny window-sill, then starting them early indoors is definitely the answer
You could get a lovely little experiment going where you sow a couple seeds each month from January and chart which ones do the best. You should be able to move them all outside (with gradual acclimatisation) in the middle of May-ish where you are.

[HotStuff]

The link doesn't seem to work. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong?

You're not doing anything wrong, it's a quirk of how the Vine works

I live a bit South of London but the climate is fairly similar. I started my toms this year in the middle of Feb and, even with the wet summer we had, I got a good crop. Like Sarz said, starting them on a sunny windowsill is great. I put some kitchen foil so that it reflects the light so they get it from both sides.

Oh, and the gas that helps them ripen is ethylene.

[Bigmallly]

The link doesn't seem to work. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Sorry about the link, it seems to have been removed or I am losing the plot.........

[zazen999]

Sorry about the link, it seems to have been removed or I am losing the plot.........

I removed it -if you look on the 'last edited by' I put why.

What were you trying to link to?

[Bigmallly]

Sorry Zaz, I didn't notice. How bazzare, it opened when I tried it........It was just a link to posts on the vine relating to Tomatoes.

[Flummery]

You will find that a cherry type tomato - gardener's delight or sungold, for instance, will ripen earlier than a large variety. Get them going indoors in early March and pot them on when they are all showing their first leaf. Put them outside in big pots in June. Best of luck!

[HotStuff]

Sorry Zaz, I didn't notice. How bazzare, it opened when I tried it........It was just a link to posts on the vine relating to Tomatoes.

BM, it's a 'feature' of the Vine, linking to searches is unlikely to work for very long.

[sabulous]

Thanks guys! I guess maybe I started them too late... I followed the instructions on the seed packet which said to sow in april. I sowed them inside and them moved them outside later (gradually acclimatising them). I was trying to follow the instructions to a t and I was so happy when we got some tomatoes! I ended up ripening some inside and made green tomato chutney with the rest.

I gues it's just one of those thing eh? You live and learn! I shall def be starting them earlier this year then.

Any tips on varieties that are good for beginners?

sab x

[greasyfire]

same hapend to mine the kept flowering and got huge but never turned red so i threw them on the compost pile