Early Tomato Thread

[bramble]

I have mine in the greenhouse. I have been picking some Red Alert, Kimberley, Stupice for the last couple of weeks.
In the last few days I have had some Sungold, and Black Cherry.
Today i had my first Tigerella.

I grow in the greenhouse to avoid blight. I always let my tomatoes have two main shoots and allow them to go to 6 trusses and then pinch out the growing tip.
I have been doing this for several years and always get a very good crop.
I know most people only allow one main stem, but it works for me.
Isn't that the real pleasure in gardening, you can do everything your own way.

[Flummery]

My first outdoor tomato is ripe now. I put out the extras. You never sow just the right number! It's one of my cross-bred ones. Small, sweet, loverly!

[Kirsty_84]

My Gardener's Delight have surprised me this year. The plants themselves are now lying on the floor (blasted wind!) but the fruits are still ripening merrily. They're very sweet too.

The Romas are still green. Do they normally take longer to ripen?

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Well, it's finally happened My first ripe tomato of 2010 is ..........Grushovka. Loads of green toms and I mean green not a tinge of pink/orange. Best go and look up green tomato chutney recipes because I'm going to need them. Temperatures are remaining low and getting lower - leaves have started to change on the trees. Will take photo of my tomato and make it my avatar

[ninjajane]

my tom's are looking old. The last set of flowers have produced tiny toms that have not developed. As this has happened to all of my 8 plants and they look like they are giving up, I'm wondering if its to do with the age of the plants as I sowed them in Jan and wondering if its worth sowing early next time....

[Shadylane]

I started ours in Feb and they're still producing (they're yellow cherries). I've let them send out as many suckers/side shoots as they like and they bending over the top of the placcie growhouse. Are you feeding them? The leaves on some of ours are looking knackered but the new ones are looking ok. If you pinched out the side shoots then I guess there's only so much it can do.

[Tomatoking]

my tom's are looking old. The last set of flowers have produced tiny toms that have not developed. As this has happened to all of my 8 plants and they look like they are giving up, I'm wondering if its to do with the age of the plants as I sowed them in Jan and wondering if its worth sowing early next time....

What variety are they Jane? I do not think you can sow any earlier than January for unheated tomatoes.

[Shadylane]

I could be wrong but I think she meant that she wasn't going to bother sowing them early next time not that she was thinking of sowing earlier (?)

[Tomatoking]

Oops thats me speed reading again.

[binley100]

My Gardener's Delight have surprised me this year. The plants themselves are now lying on the floor (blasted wind!) but the fruits are still ripening merrily. They're very sweet too.

The Romas are still green. Do they normally take longer to ripen?

My romas have just started ripening and this morning I picked my first ripe Cost. Fiorentino . Gotta wait for OH to come home before the taste test tho'

[Shadylane]

My Romas are still green but the veteran who gives us stuff has loads of ripe uns, he gave us a load of Romas and Marmande the other day. I think he started his a month earlier than I did though.

[ninjajane]

I've grown tigereralls, sungold, snow white, black cherry and berner rose.

I'm picking a few off every day but no new flowers, the tiny toms that are there have not changed in 2 weeks. I feed them weekly, but they just seem to me, to be at the end of their days. I had such hopes, maybe if there is another few weeks of heat it may perk them up.

ps. yeah I did pinch the side shoots, more so than last year (and last yrs crop seemed alot more) You think I should let them go au natural next time?