Growing some early tomatoes 2020

[Bumblingbroccoli]

Sowed tiny amount of gardeners delight, moneymaker, red cherry, red pear and marmande. Hopefully they won't get too leggy indoors..

[Scarlet]

Can't really start them indoors. Chez quanglewangle is something of a hobbit hole - a Cornish miner's cottage with 500mm thick granite walls and small windows.

We first grew tomatoes last year in our then-new greenhouse and they survived from a late January sowing.

Everyone's growing conditions are different. It's warmer where you are so if that's what works for you stick with it.

When did you pick your first tomato?
How healthy were they?

I grow a couple of BUSH Toms to extend the growing season. Started early indoors these give me tomatoes in early June. They are usually spent early, growing conditions in the early part of the year / low light levels/ cold windowsills etc is quite a hard life compared to a Tom started at the correct time.
I don't start my cordons until March because I don't want stressed plants, I don't need them to ripen super early because the Bush ones do that job and then they get binned when the cordons start producing.
Many plants started outside of the regular growing season and kept in less than perfect conditions don't often fruit that much earlier, give a smaller crop and generally more prone to issues.

[quanglewangle]

When did you pick your first tomato?
How healthy were they?

About 2nd week of July. Healthy and vigorous. I overcrowded them though - rookie error, apparently.
Aubergines a week eariler.

[Scarlet]

About 2nd week of July. Healthy and vigorous. I overcrowded them though - rookie error, apparently.
Aubergines a week eariler.

I usually pick my bush toms the first week of June, cordons started in March usually start producing in July.

[mcdood]

Red Alert chitting (hopefully), I only had 4 left and they're old.

[Zonmatron]

I'm itching to sow things so might get very ambitious and get some cherry toms going.

I've grown some before in my flat, and last year had some huge ones given to me but had some problems with ripening, so I'm going for a multiple variety and size approach in the hope something grows well.

I've ordered some latah seeds and my hand might slip if they've arrived in the post today.

Edit: got home from work, caved in and planted 2x yellow delight. Now waiting impatiently for something to sprout, out of limited airing cupboard space!

[Babru]

Can't really start them indoors. Chez quanglewangle is something of a hobbit hole - a Cornish miner's cottage with 500mm thick granite walls and small windows.

We first grew tomatoes last year in our then-new greenhouse and they survived from a late January sowing.

Wow quangle, shows the difference between Cornwall and Edinburgh. I've had -3.5 overnight in my greenhouse a couple of times already this winter. I'm fearing for my overwintering geraniums and suchlike, never mind tomatoes. Cornwall sounds great!

[quanglewangle]

Cornwall sounds great!

Yup. There's a house for sale a few doors down....

Mind you, the beach can be an awful distraction when the garden needs tending. And, as mrs quanglewangle reminds me it's a three day round trip to go shopping/go out in London.

[mcdood]

And, as mrs quanglewangle reminds me it's a three day round trip to go shopping/go out in London.

Sounds like another great reason to live where you are

[SarrissUK]

I'm getting my seeds out tomorrow!

[quanglewangle]

Excited - sown some tomatoes!

Greenhouse is all clean and fumigated; propagator has fresh sand; and the tomatoes are started. Mandarin and Gardener's Delight


Tomatoes and aubergines on propagator

The thin wires are the temperature probes. The pot compost only about 12 °C now but will come up (only just in and used cold water). The sand runs about 20 °C

[veggiechicken]

I'm sowing my toms next Monday, 13th January (Fruits week) on the VC Calendar.

[quanglewangle]

I'm sowing my toms next Monday, 13th January (Fruits week) on the VC Calendar.

A calendar? Chickens are just so organised.

[monkeyboy]

I'm debating what to grow. Gardener's Delight were tasty but either never fully ripened, or they would split (either through weather or slugs). They were grown in a growbag with a hozelock growbag waterer so watering and feeding were evenly done.

Moneymakers were tasteless but grew well. Garden Pearl were okay but always covered by slugs and I didn't like the bushiness of the plant.

I might try sungold this year.

[Scarlet]

I think toms in grow bags often split - especially if it's warm. Maybe best to split each bag in half and turn up like a pot. Plant one up in each half. There's never enough for 3 plants to a bag imo.