Topic: Why are garden centres selling delicates already.

[plainleaf2]

considering you spring day length in longer then my you should have no problem doing it Robert.

[amphibian]

I wonder whether toms would fruit that early with our sorter days early in the year. What would they do in a heated greenhouse?

Thanet Earth is a 220 acre heated glass house in Kent, which grows tomatoes throughout the year. Thanet was chosen because days would be too short north of the Thames to produce tomatoes in winter.

[Robert_Brenchley]

considering you spring day length in longer then my you should have no problem doing it Robert.

What's your latitude then?

[Jeannine]

I got a PM from Plainleaf offering to meet in the chat room  last night to explain this system in depth, I was not able to doso  at the time but suggested we organise a time and post it so that any other folks who are interested in this method could join in and ask questions, he has replied and indicated that he will  so we must find a mutual time. Thank you Plainleaf..

Considering that I am in Canada and Plainleaf in the US, I guess a fairly late time for the UK would be best.

Robert, this is starting to get a bit technical for me now, so keep it as simple as you can as I am really interested..

Should we move this discussion to it's own place , we have kinda popped the original post  I think.

XX Jeannine

[plainleaf2]

today Thursday April   22
as i said my day length is less then yours currently
my latitude is 39° 24'
my current day length is 13h 31m 13s   
you latitude : 52° 30'
your current day length 14h 23m 10s   

[Mr Smith]

I find that garden centres and other outlets sell stuff early hoping that you will go back for more after you have put it in and a frost comes along, :)

[Duke Ellington]

I hate the fact that B&Q refuse to water their trays of plants!! what a waste !!

Duke :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

today Thursday April   22
as i said my day length is less then yours currently
my latitude is 39° 24'
my current day length is 13h 31m 13s   
you latitude : 52° 30'
your current day length 14h 23m 10s   

So you're further south, and don't have as much variation in day length as we do. Which is what I suspected.

[manicscousers]

We will be selling delicates like squash and beans next weekend,  hopefully the weather will be kinder but we always give warnings out with plants  ;D

[sunloving]

Well i disagree , im all for them mistreating thier plants.  ;)
I can never afford them at full price and just have to wait a few weeks to buy the half dead ones at a snip ;D, last year i got two kiwis for £1 and five two year old cleamatis for 50p each.
Horray for incompetance at the big stores. Cant forgive wilkinsons though they never seem to discount the plants until they are actually dead.
x sunloving

[Mrs Gumboot]

I hate the fact that B&Q refuse to water their trays of plants!! what a waste !!

The one I used to work in watered theirs (i wasn't working in the garden centre at the time I should add!). Part of the problems is how often they water stuff, particularly in the summer, and the fact that when the plants come in they're often already not in the best condition. They cram as many onto the danish trolleys as possible and until they're on a shelf it's very difficult to get the ones in the middle watered properly. It would help if they put less on the trolleys but then that means more trolleys and therefore more lorries.

Homebase are probably the best for bargains - they tend to discount stuff when there's only one or two of them left. Got a few decent buys there over the years. The one by us isn't bad at looking after stuff either.

[Digeroo]

my latitude is 39° 24'
my current day length is 13h 31m 13s   

However although your day length is less the sun rises higher in the sky, so during the middle of the day your sunlight is brighter and hotter.  We normally have the advantage of the north atlantic current to warm us up, but the winds have been blowing from the north and so the nights have been cold.  (And the ash from Iceland has been blowing our way).  By the middle of june the difference will be even more.   But mid june we will be getting 1 hr 40min more day than you.

With your expertise in keeping tomatoes through the winter a bit of cold is not a problem for you but some of the inexperienced gardeners on our allotment site having been loosing expensive plants. 

Tomorrow the wind will change.     

[amphibian]

today Thursday April   22
as i said my day length is less then yours currently
my latitude is 39° 24'
my current day length is 13h 31m 13s   
you latitude : 52° 30'
your current day length 14h 23m 10s   

Prior to the equinox your day lengths were longer than ours and will be longer than ours after the autumn equinox, plus your sun got higher in the sky, throughout winter, tomatoes need sunlight, a sun skirting the horizon gives little light and for many gardens means no direct winter sunlight at all. In addition to this we have greater length of twilight, more daylight does not interpret to more sunlight.

You are further South than Naples, Rome and Madrid, we are further North than Winnipeg, Montreal and Vancouver. Temperature and weather aside, our growing conditions are very different.