The Early Tomato Sowing Thread

[Bren In Pots]

My Marmande toms are up they've taken 6 days, so I've moved them to the window sill with some foil behind so hopefully they won't get too leggy.

[tiachica]

Some seedlings showing their first true leaes.

[chris]

Following on from the chilli sowing I've just sown:

2 x Sungold
3 x Golden Sunrise (seeds looked a bit furry, not sure if it was mould so not expecting much from these).

In a couple weeks I'll sow some more (last time I had all maure plants at once and I couldn't look after them!). Taking it a bit more steady this time around.

[kiwirach]

finally have all 6 seeds germinated....had to have a second go at PWFB as the first one didnt germinate. put 4 more in and one has come thru...might be lucky and get another, but at least i've got one from old seed and can now nuture it and save some more seed!.

[buzzingtalk]

Not sowing yet I'm going on holiday next week for 3 weeks so won't be able to look after them but I just bought the following varieties from the garden centre: Harbinger, Cherry Cascade, Gardener'sDelight, San Marzano, Costoluto Fiorentino, Cuor di Bue and Ciliegia
Along with some seed trays etc, can't wait to get them started

[Sylvan]

I finally managed to get some seeds sown and put into the airing cupboard.

4 Moneymaker
14 Il san marzano lungo (When I first tapped the packet none came out so I tapped harder - and didn't want to put them back in case my hands were still slightly wet)
9 Principe Borghese (same problem)

Looks as though I may be giving some away, as usual!

[grenhouse]

I have just sown some sweet million (5), home saved black cherry from last year (5) and some beams yellow pear toms (5) which someone from another forum kindly swapped me but i have never grown them before.

Steve

[annacruachan]

Tomatoes 100s and 1000s and Lemon Crystal cucumbers sown on 14 Jan took just 3 days to sprout under plastic on a sunny windowsill. Now to keep them from getting leggy until the winter shoves off!

[Two_Sheds]

My toms are up (4 days from sowing). They weren't there last night, and this morning they are an inch tall

[Jelliebabe]

Silly question time -

What do your tomato plants look like - ie what IS leggy? Mine are tall and thin... they are about a week old and just on the dining table in the living room, plenty of light... Can anyone post a pic of theirs at this stage so I can compare? Thanks

[Kristen]

"Silly question time"

As the saying goes "The only silly question is the one you don't ask"

Sorry, but I doubt that "dining table in the living room" is the same as "plenty of light" - unless dinning table is against French windows or similar.

The seedlings need to be on a windowsill, preferably with something behind them (i.e. room-side) lined with tin-foil to give reflected light too. I cut a cardboard box in half, line it with tin foil, and use that - the "bottom" of the box slips under the gravel tray or propagator that the plants are in which anchors it in place. Might not look very smart in your dining room I'm afraid

(This won't be a good plan if you are out during the day and the central heating goes off and the room cools a lot, or if you have poor fitting windows that let a gale through! but hopefully you are in a nice snug house)

The start of this thread says "*naysayers saying they will wait to sow is great, but start your own thread please - this is for those who want to get a few plants started off early. Thank you." and I'm just biting my lip! Lack of light at this time of year is the primary problem (as heat is easy to provide in a centrally heated house).

Grow Lamp is the other option - even a double strip-light just a few inches above the plants (it really does need to be that close, just make sure the leaves don't burn) will do, and make a huge difference to the "stockiness" of the plants.

[Jelliebabe]

Ahhhh Kristen - It IS right by the French windows and the room stays fairly warm. I have some seeds still germinating in the heated prop so they are right by this (just on the outside!) I will get some foil out.

Would still like to see pics of some at about a week old! mine are about 2 inches tall ish and look spindly...

[Kristen]

It IS right by the French windows and the room stays fairly warm.

Excellent! I pictured a dinning table in the middle of the room!

"Would still like to see pics of some at about a week old! mine are about 2 inches tall ish and look spindly... "

Yeah, 2" is quite spindly, but when you pot them on its OK to plant Tomatoes deep (most plants don't like that), so you can certainly plant then right up to the seed leaves, and then when you pot them on again you can gain another inch or so (you can;t gain more as the bigger pots won't be that much deeper!!)

If you are going to plant them in a greenhouse border you can plant them deep again ...

But part of the issue IMHO is that the spacing between the leaves will be "drawn" too at this time of the year, so that is fewer trusses before the plant hits the roof of the greenhouse.

Good luck! I am hoping to have to eat-my-hat!

[Sylvan]

As long as they're not weak it doesn't matter if they're a little spindly because you can plant them deeply. (They then make more roots from the bit of stem that's below the soil)

[deltz]

H

Is everyone planning to eventually plant these outside, just worried I dont want to plant too early