Always late to the party

[Baldy]

Its been a bad year in terms of sunshine and heat for me - my tomatoes are mostly green - apart from the 100 and 1000s and i can't even bring myself to mention my melons...
But this seems to happen to me more often than not. I hang back from planting too early and the growing season ain't long enough. Or I plant nice and early in warminsh Devon and then 'BOOM' cold snap all dead.
When do you sow your tom seeds for example..? I seem to do them too late all the time...
Essentially, is anyone within a couple of miles of Bideford, with a plot on a hill with lots of wind and a family who aren't really interested in allotments/gardening. How do you cope?

Meh....

Next year will be better

[veggiechicken]

Are your toms and ummmm melons, outdoors or in a GH?
I stagger starting toms. This year the first lot were 1st Feb, then mid Feb and 18th March for the bulk of them. They're doing well this year - but only the GH ones!
.........and I live on the side of a hill with lots of wind. Must stop growing so many beans

[happyhumph]

I'm also on top of a windy hill. This year I was given my tomato plants but normally start in Feb in a heated propgator & keep inside in a sunny porch as long as poss before transferring to the greenhouse where they stay - no outdoor toms for me, far to windy!

Never tried melons but thinking of minnesota midget (again in the greenhouse ) next year as meant to be super early....

[Baldy]

I like to keep my melons as warm as I can manage.
And moist.


Unheated greenhouse.
GH toms are beginning to bulk up but I'll run out of time I reckon.

[happyhumph]

I like to keep my melons as warm as I can manage.
And moist.

Ooo-er

Hopefully your toms will ripen in the house? My gh also unheated. Toms sometimes quite big when they get put in there.

[veggiechicken]

I like to keep my melons as warm as I can manage.
And moist.

Not a good idea, Baldy, they'll rot and drop off.

HH, I grew Minnesota Midget last year, small but perfectly formed. Forgot to sow any this year

[roitelet]

You should try gardening at the Coastguard Station in Ilfracombe! I I did for a few years a long time ago! Windy isn't in it!!!!!

[Scarlet]

I try to sow most of mine Mid to late Feb for the big boys and then the the rest no later than the first week of March. I don't put them out in the GH at night until the temps are consistently 10 or above.

[Cadalot]

Balders as you I'm having a rubbish year for tomatoes I sow at the end of March indoors and they go out into the greenhouse once we have a stable 10 degrees day and night. I live on the brow of a hill and it can be quite windy. Toms in the greenhouse really slow to go red and those outdoors only just turning now.

I'm going to try and grow some earlier next year but this year has just been so slow, looking at my blog I had to harvest all toms and let them go red in trays in the greenhouse two weeks into September last year because of Blight, just hoping that we get away with dry sunny weather for another couple of weeks this year.

[muddled]

Hi Balders, I'm on the side of a windy hill (if that counts) on an estate where anything not nailed down is robbed from the allotment.
...and my OH and kids HATE gardening
...and my unheated greenhouse has no door
....and the dogs wee up anything planted in the garden (the lurcher can achieve incredible height)
.....and we keep getting mice from next door that ate all my seedlings

So yeah, my tomatoes are rubbish this year anorl

Why do we put ourselves through it eh?

[Cadalot]

Why do we put ourselves through it eh?

Because we are gardeners and always think next year will be a better year of at least like the one we had a couple of years back. And sometimes it is

[Small pumpkin]

I start my tomatoes in late February, early March (after my chilli's). Heated propagator, then onto the window sill, till the tunnel warms up enough for them. Surprisingly I think my location can be classed a bit breezy ( it's more like a bl@@dy wind tunnel! ). So no outside tomatoes for me.

I have no advice on uninterested family ( I don't have one ). If you're not overly attached to them you could trade them in for ones that are

[Bren In Pots]

I don't like to sow my toms and cucs to early because I end up carrying triffid sized plants in and out of the house so this year I left it until the end of March but to me that was to late so. I'm going back to Feb sowing and hopefully the plants wont get to big to carry.

[Scarlet]

I think end of March is too late too Bren. I tried some Toms that a very lovely grape sent me this year a bit later than my usual sowing time...they haven't caught up. Thankfully I saved most of the seeds for next year!

[Jonnyt]

I start mine the first week in March as in the past these have been healthier than February sown ones and soon catch up.

By the middle of April they are in the Greenhouse uncovered as are Chilli's etc. The wife hates them in the house so I have no other option really but the extra sunshine definitely helps anyway and nighttime temperatures don't really go low.

I normally get the first toms in the 3rd / 4th week of June.

The outside ones go outside as soon as I need the space in the Greenhouse which could be the first week in May but it is mild here on the South Coast Dorset/Devon border.