Topic: Growing tomatoes - a few questions i cant find an answer too

[Chris Graham]

Ever since i got my greenhouse late summer 2006 i have really been looking forward to growing loads of tomatoes.

I have been looking back at some of the great threads on the site and Tim's one on "Tomato Progress" was my fav, great pics. 

I really like the idea of half growbags and shall try this.

Although before i get to that stage, just wondered if anyone could give me some advice.

I currently have a Garten Perle growing on the windowsill and its looking very healthy. I started this off in January only as a test of propagation and it seemed to work well. 

Is it ok to grow the plants in 3" pots and then transfer to the growbags ?  In other words i dont require to prick them out.  Mainly doing it this way as my green house if quite small 6x4.

Also should i harden them off when finally putting them out in the greenhouse?  Not sure if the temperature would be still quite low in say mid April?

I have loads of different types to grow and really excited about this years crop.  ;)

[saddad]

Temp depends on the season and where you are, sounds reasonable to me...
 :-\

[Hyacinth]

Chris, you and I belong to a very Elite (ie small) Club....the 6 x 4 club 8) Mine is unheated and it's in my garden in Birmingham.

First, the greenhouse: to make the v.best use of the space I have, I bought 8 oblong tubs..Mrs. KP bought some similar, but can't remember where from now - sure she'll tell you, and they were blue. I tried to buy the same and couldn't so got 8 of these from Wilkos last year - bit more expensive but hey! they're Barbie pink 8) Size = 12"x15"x9"deep. My 'house has the door along a 6' run. These 8 tubs space very nicely round the walls of the 'house. In 7 I grew tomatoes, the 8th had a cucumber :) 

The half-growbag idea is good but in my limited space and wanting to still put other things in there and have room to reach the toms to pinch out etc. and keep the house tidy, the tub idea works the best for me.

I fill each tub with grow-bag compost and into each I 3/4 sunk a bottomless free black bucket 8) which also was filled with compost. Into the ring I plant the tomatoes. Watering is into the tub; feeding into the ring.

Growing my toms from seed without heat. I start them off in small peat pots in my flat and when the first true leaves appear I pot on into 3" peat pots. These then get put in the 'house with propagator covers. When they no longer fit under the covers I remove them & still grow them on - the 'house itself is warm enough during the day. If exceptional frosts are forecast I might fleece them - but it hasn't happened yet. When the toms are 7-9" high & the roots are breaking through the peat pots they go into their final place in the tubs, buried up to about the top 4 leaves....the remainder of the buried stem will make roots and the plants will be sturdier. I put a cane in and bingo! Done!!

Last year, as well as the 7 toms and 1 cuc. I was able to have 3 chilli plants in a trough, another chilli in a tub, 2 tubs of sweet basil and 2 of thai basil. Might even have had something else, but I can't remember ::)

Hope this helps give you some idea of how to use your space. Just finally, if you're thinking of growing as many toms as I do, pick your varieties with care - semi-determinates are just too sprawling.

I'll be starting off my tomatoes this w/end btw.

Lishka

[Tee Gee]

Scroll down to the picture here;http://tinyurl.com/38j2pn (click on it to enlarge it)

It shows the growing of tomatoes in bottomless pots(ring culture) although in this case they are pieces of plastic drain pipe I have had for over twenty years.

The greenhouse bed they are in is 8ft long and 1½ft wide to give you some idea of the space they take up.

[Chris Graham]

Thanks Lishka for the great info, i have around 8 different types of tomatoes to grow.

Gardenline - Gardeners Delight
Suttons - Gardeners Delight
Carters - Gardeners Delight
T&M - Sungold
T&M - Ferline
Alan Romans - Garten Perle
Carters - Tigerella
Carters - Marmande
Carters - Alicante
Carters - San Marzano 2

Yup lots of Gardener's Delight, heard they are good and got the seed packs really cheap.

Any way Garten Perle shall be outside and I'm blessed with a large garden so i plan on growing loads of them  ;)

Good to hear there is a club for us ;)  i now wish i had got a bigger greenhouse, but the other half would not be too pleased, especially since i plan on building an observatory for my telescope soon  ;)

--------


Tee Gee, cheers for the info, i have added your site to my favs  ;)

[Debs]

I was looking out for San Marmande after hearing how good.

Was in Wilkinsons and they had a pack of 6 varieties :-

Constoluto fiorentino(large ribbed fruit), gardeners delight (cherry),
golden sunrise(standard size), tigerella(standard), san marzano (plum), red pear(small plum) = £2.29
Got to till...

"It's buy one get one free" said cashier.

Long queue, a 'tut' was heard (ignored in favour of a bargain  8) )

ran back to seed aisle and got a pack of 6 varieties of salad leaves:-

coriander, corn salad, mustard red giant, rocket, spinach medina and  mizuna

Also got PFA seed pots 10 for £1.90.

Now that's what I call retail therapy  ;D

[cleo]

Constoluto fiorentino(large ribbed fruit), -now that is a rouge,grows like Topsy and has good fruit but it likes to get large before it fruits

[tim]

You mean............?

[MrsKP]

The "Little Maids in a row" containers to which Lishka refers, were from Morrisons (where else) and were 5 for £5.  They basically just stacking containers (with holes drilled in the bottoms).  Not seen them for a while now as i think they were just clearing out their warehouse but it kept everything nice and neat and gave my toms extra root room.

This year due to the ridiculous amount of toms I shall be attempting to grow, I am resorting to grow bags (with ring culture Morrisons black buckets which hopefully won't dissolve like the free ones might)  :P

More toms being sown at the weekend, along with cukes !

 ;D

[Hyacinth]

tut...youf of today.....wannitnow filosofy innit? My toms won't get sown til mid-march & I bet they catch yours up Mussus....thanks for reminding me where your Maids came from - still prefer my Barbie pink ones tho for the colour, but prefer your Morries price - I'll check out our nearest one. Picking up some more FREE black buckets tomorrow 8)

[MrsKP]

I'll be starting off my tomatoes this w/end btw.

Lishka

touch of alzheimers there i think pet !   :P

[MrsKP]

and all the sowings up to now are just a germination experiment !   8)

[Chris Graham]

and all the sowings up to now are just a germination experiment !   8)

Mine was and the thing is massive already !!!

Not sure where to put it, dont thing the livingroom is the proper place for a tom plant  ;)

Mrs KP is your greenhouse heated ?

[MrsKP]

One of them is ! :P ........ in there i've got fuschias, sweetpeas, lavender, and all sorts (double wrapped in the mini g/h inside the main one), just sowed at early tub of carrots last weekend.  In the unheated g/h are the autumn sown broadies, onion sets that i'm trying not to plant out yet, established fuschia wrapped in fleece.

All the germinating things (peppers, aubs, toms) are in the bedrooms though.  Those that need some real heat go in the leccie propogator first then as soon as they've germinated they get relegated to the ironing board.  there are quite a few trays of annuals on a "heated mat" in the main bedroom (which is also heated at times).

if it all goes pear shaped, i've got time to start again although I nearly decapitated a couple of aubergines just there by putting the lids on the unheated propogators.  I said sorry !!

 ;D

[tim]

So when do you start harvesting your Aubs & Toms, KP? And when do they finish??  (I'm not really jealous!!)

[MrsKP]

god only knows tim !  my aubs were sown too late last year, had fabby plants but the few fruits that did set eventually rotted, and all these toms are new to me this year so i'm sowing successionally until enough survive for me to plant out.

YOU'RE the expert round here.  me ?  i'm just messing about !   ;D

[Hyacinth]

I'll be starting off my tomatoes this w/end btw.

Lishka

touch of alzheimers there i think pet !   :P

U got carried away by the enthusiasm of the youf here...I'm now back to my senses ??? ::) :P  mid-March it will be...except for my second sowing of sweet peas...they'll get started off tomorrow 8)

[calamityjayneuk]

Chris, you and I belong to a very Elite (ie small) Club....the 6 x 4 club 8) Mine is unheated and it's in my garden in Birmingham.

First, the greenhouse: to make the v.best use of the space I have, I bought 8 oblong tubs..Mrs. KP bought some similar, but can't remember where from now - sure she'll tell you, and they were blue. I tried to buy the same and couldn't so got 8 of these from Wilkos last year - bit more expensive but hey! they're Barbie pink 8) Size = 12"x15"x9"deep. My 'house has the door along a 6' run.
Lishka

Hi all

I am also a member of the tiny greenhouse club! Inherited it with my lottie.

I was intrigued by your oblong tubs Lishka - don't you have a pic? I got all confused when you started talking about 'maids in a row' and where do you get the free black buckets!

Dying to know  :)

[calamityjayneuk]

Pressed post too quickly - meant to also say I got some 'extra early'  Latah tomato seeds from Real Seeds - quite excited coz they claim they will give a good crop even in our freezing Co Durham weather. Anyone tried them?

[MrsKP]

the "Auld'yin" doesn't "do" pics !

but imagine these in Barbie pink and you'll get the drift.

The infamous black buckets (not shown here) are now sadly discontinued by Morrisons as they've changed their cut flower display buckets.

Someone somewhere managed to get some free from the Co-op I think, but hers are eco-dissolvable and probably won't last the season.

 :P