Early Tomato Thread

[leah]

Am I too late to join the early tomato thread?

I popped about 13 varieties of tomato in the prop yesterday, slightly overboard, but we like toms

I've done the 'normal ones' and a few I haven't done before, looking forward to trying 100s and 1000s was very impressed when I opened the packet and there were 16 instead of 8 seeds in the packet

Hoping I'm not too late sowing my toms, I've always gone wrong somewhere or blight has got me! So hoping this year will be better!

[gojiberry]

Can't believe how much the tomato plants have grown in the last week. Have had to pot them on into 5" pots. Think I have 6 varieties on the go which is enough for me to cope with. Hoping to get the new greenhouse up in the next month so should be al right for space.

Ian

[Madasafish]

I have a mix of tomato plants in a small plastic greenhouse mounted on a bench inside the glass greenhouse.Glass one is insulated with bubble stuff and under the bench I have a blue paraffin heater for frosts - used daily until last Sunday and a normal paraffin heater for nights forecast to be over 3C and under 10.. Heaters are UNDER bench with plastic greenhouse..

Fuel consumption : blue 1 litre/14hours, other 0.5litre/14 hours.
overnight temperature when it is -5C outside: blue 11C, other 5C
(I did a test over 4 nights in early January when we had a warm spell and overnight temps rose to -5C!).

Results: Latah earlies sown mid Jan : about 18cms tall. Sungella early Feb about 8cms tall,

None looking blue. Daytime temps? In sun 25-30C, on cold, dull and windy days 18C..
Other mixed days - a range...

I have also a range of flowers in seed trays.

[leah]

Am I too late to join the early tomato thread?

I popped about 13 varieties of tomato in the prop yesterday, slightly overboard, but we like toms

I've done the 'normal ones' and a few I haven't done before, looking forward to trying 100s and 1000s, was very impressed when I opened the packet and there were 16 instead of 8 seeds in the packet.

Hoping I'm not too late sowing my toms, I've always gone wrong somewhere or blight has got me! So hoping this year will be better!

most of them are up already

What should I pot them into? Cells or small pots?

When would be the best time for them to go into an unheated greenhouse? My window cills are going to be overflowing

[bevanbawb]

@ leah

If your pricking them out from a seed tray I'd recommend individual pots roughly 3" across, if your potting up from a peat pot or similar then go for a pot twice the size of the current one.

I'd personally avoid potting them on into cell trays if possible as they'll outgrow them pretty quickly. It's also easy to damage their roots when potting on again and as they get bigger they can get leggy due to overcrowding. On the plus side cell trays are great space savers if you're a bit tight on room.

I'm sure you'll be happy with the 100's and 1000's, I grew them last year in pots and hanging baskets and they produced loads of marble sized toms just like the pic on the packet. I'd say from the half dozen plants I had I must have picked a bucketful from each over the course of the season.

They did taste good, although I preferred taste of the Marmande's that year, but for yield vs size of plant they are definitely worth a go, plus they seemed not to suffer blight as easily as other varieties.

[leah]

Thank you bevanbawb, I'll get some 3" pots at the weekend for them

[Rocketron]

Having probs with my tom plants....My Tumbling toms seemed to have stopped growing since re planting them into 3" pots, they have their first true leaves and are about 1" high but they seem to have stopped there. Also my bog standard toms (Can't remember their name) seemed to have slowed down too, they are about 2-3" high with lots of true leaves on them but have slowed down too.

What have I done wrong

E x

I would imagine you've done nothing wrong. They are growing more roots which will enable them to produce further "topgrowth".

[Kirsty_84]

I've got some Gardener's Delight and Romas in 3'' pots - they're about 10'' tall with large leaves. The stems don't seem to be able to support the leaves even though I've used some small stakes. Is it better to leave them in 3'' pots and let the stems grow or should I re-pot?

[Flummery]

I'd repot. Repot deeper too. The stems will throw out roots too and this should help to anchor them.

[Kirsty_84]

I'd repot. Repot deeper too. The stems will throw out roots too and this should help to anchor them.

Thanks, will do - just as soon as I can find some room!

Also, while I'm here, some of the lower leaves have silvery round patches on them although the plants seem healthy enough - should I be worried? Am I doing something wrong?

[Flummery]

I suspect they have been caught by the sun when the leaves were wet. The water drops act like a lens and can focus the sunlight and burn the leaf a bit. It's only cosmetic. It won't harm the plant, but you can avoid it by watering from below.

See, I know the answers, but I don't do it myself! I water from on top!
Don't tell the Tomato Police!

[Kirsty_84]

I suspect they have been caught by the sun when the leaves were wet. The water drops act like a lens and can focus the sunlight and burn the leaf a bit. It's only cosmetic. It won't harm the plant, but you can avoid it by watering from below.

See, I know the answers, but I don't do it myself! I water from on top!
Don't tell the Tomato Police!

That's good to know, thanks. I'll probably forget sometimes but as long as I'm not harming them.

Your secret's safe with me

[Brengirl]

As a newbie to this early growing I am deff a bit miffed at the continuing cold temeratures. I transplanted a black cherry tom to final position in the ghouse about 2 weeks ago. It seems happy enough in it's upturned lemonade bottle and is now about 6" tall. Is that advanced or will later sown catch up?

[Flummery]

Later ones will catch up unless your greenhouse is particularly warm. Cold toms don't put on active growth. They are better grown steadily I find.

[nomis]

Mine are all around 8 to 10 inches tall now, about 20 of them on the window ledge. roughly 5 each of four varieties.

Thinking of moving them out into the 4x4x2 meter poly tunnel green house on the weekend as they really have out grown their germination pots.

Problem is the rain, we have put up the frame but not the cover, and really dont want to do it wrong in case it blows away!!