The Early Tomato Sowing Thread

[Potstubsdustbins]

Not a single seed planted yet will start back end of next week which is my usual start time.

It will be interesting to see if my plants catch up with your earlier plantings.

Colin

[Sylvan]

Not a single seed planted yet will start back end of next week which is my usual start time.

It will be interesting to see if my plants catch up with your earlier plantings.

Colin

That's my usual start time too Colin. I may be forced to sow some more then. T&M have sent Grumpy another £5 voucher...

Three of the five seeds I sowed last week germinated today. The Minibel and Gardener's Delight are still in the airing cupboard.

The ones sown in mid-January are so leggy they're starting to flop over but they haven't got their true leaves yet. I think I may have to prick them out anyway.

SarzWix, I've found my remaining Tamina seeds. Would you like some?

[Sylvan]

Minibel germinated today. That was the last of the 5 seeds sown at the beginning of the month.

The January ones have all been pricked out into 3" pots, even though they weren't quite ready, because the compost in the seed tray had gone mouldy.

[PrideRavyn]

Planted a load of things yesterday, including several types of tomatoes, though I now can't remember what they are!! I remember this feeling now...it's only been a day but I still couldn't help looking to see if any had come up this morning, bit hopeful!

[bramble]

My tomato plants have now been potted on and have their first set of true leaves.
The second lot are up and beginning to look like they are starting to grow.
All my chillis have germinated except my cayenne which \i suspect may be gone beyond their viable date. However i will give the another try.

[grenhouse]

3 types of tom have been potted on and have true set of leaves, look remarkably sturdy! Also chillis look good, have about 25 up but will only pot probably 8 of the strongest on before I sow my latest varieties along with some more toms next week.

[deltz]

Hey guys,
I've seen that a few people will put these tomato plants into greenhouses once they get big enough, I was wondering are you talking about proper glass greenhouses or those small 4 tier ones?

I want to grow early but I dont have anywhere to put them inside my house where they will get decent light from outside, would those 4 tier ones be good enough to protect these from the cold outside?

Also can anyone recommend any good mini greenhouses?

Thanks!

[King Carrot]

Mine live in a couple of Lidl tent greenhouses during the day and then back inside at night - next month gets to be quite a chore when there's trays of potted up Toms, Cus, Courgettes, Peppers and Beans to bring in and out morning and evening.

[Kristen]

would those 4 tier ones be good enough to protect these from the cold outside?

In my opinion, no - sorry!

You need to keep the temperature above 10C otherwise Tomatoes (and other similar "soft" plants) will "stall" - and take ages to get going again.

"Blow-aways" have almost no ability to keep the heat in on a cold night. They do keep a drying wind off the plants, and warm up nicely in the sun (in fact you may have a bigger problem, if you are not around, with overheating if the blow-away is not vented and the sun shines brightly).

You might be able to keep the temperature up by putting a small greenhouse heater in the blow-away (if you can get electrics to it), or failing that Tee-light candles, but I would recommend a max/min thermometer and some experiments to check the temperature inside the blow-away on a cold night, compared to the external temperature. You might get away with a duvet that fully insulates the blow-away too - quite a lot of faffing to put it on each night though, and you've still got a problem if we have sub-zero temperatures during the day during February.

Plants in pots can be brought in for the night on very cold nights - and stood in the utility room, say, without having to clog-up windowsills the rest of the time. Its only for a month or so, so might get past The Management?

[zazen999]

Hey guys,
I've seen that a few people will put these tomato plants into greenhouses once they get big enough, I was wondering are you talking about proper glass greenhouses or those small 4 tier ones?

I want to grow early but I dont have anywhere to put them inside my house where they will get decent light from outside, would those 4 tier ones be good enough to protect these from the cold outside?

Also can anyone recommend any good mini greenhouses?

Thanks!

Would it protect you from the cold at the moment??? Probably not!

Main tomatoes won't be sown for at least another month - this is the EARLY sowing thread and tomatoes will have to be indoors for at least another month yet.

[hailtryfan]

I want to grow early but I dont have anywhere to put them inside my house where they will get decent light from outside,

If you're worried about light levels, a simple reflector could help. I fashioned one out of foil and cardboard and it is surprisingly effective. I've only had to turn the seedlings once so far.

Below are my seedlings with said reflector.

Blue Peter eat your heart out

[deltz]

Thanks for that guys, I went ahead and planted some seeds today couldn't resist!
Planted 8 of the following: Brandywine, Purple Cherokee, Ildi, Balconi, Ferline and Garderners delight.

[PrideRavyn]

Have some cucs, toms and caulis coming up today...eee, exciting!

[gojiberry]

Not what I would call early sowing now but I put in 30 tomato seeds yesterday, 3 each of Cuore Di Bue, Yellow Currant, Country Taste F1, Sungold F1, Ruby F1, Sub Artic Plenty, Sweet Mini Red, Tamina, Sungella and Alicante.

Ian

[vicky]

Sown yesterday in airing cupboard
White queen, cherokee purple, ferline, amish paste, black truffle, pantano, idli, yellow giant and wladeks
naturally I have already checked for germination several times....