Topic: Tomatoes, when to start?

[Charlotte Sometimes]

Hi there

We have an unheated lean-to/conservatory which I just spent the afternoon scrubbing down.  ;)  It is nice and clean for this years crop now.  I grew lots from seed last year, but bought some aubergine and tomato seedlings from a local garden centre.  I kept the aubergines in the lean-to with my home-grown chillies and they all did very well.... up to a point.  Of course the inevitable red-spider mite problem.  Managed to keep this down and production was still good, however I think the little critter probably came in with the bought seedlings.  So this year I'd like to grow the toms and aubergine from seed myself.

So the Q.s are:

How soon to start the toms and aubergines in my unheated lean-to (which has plenty of light).  I'm raring to go now I've done my cleaning.  :)

How important is it to use sterilised compost?  I have heard tell of microwaving it and all sorts, but I have grown annuals and veg successfully without bothering.  There is a bit of an algae problem sometimes, but doesn't seem to affect anything much.  I'm guessing I should start another thread at some point to ask you guys about special potting mixes and so on.  I'm a bit of a pleb - gravel in the bottom and standard compost is my usual.  About time I learned the importance of vermiculite etc.  ;)

Regards,
Charlie

Here are some of last years chillies, by the way.  It was a bumper year!  They did better than my sweetcorn.  :o lol

[tim]

Others - many of them - will disagree, but I don't start anything till mid - March.
And we still get a full season's growth from them at 650' up in the Cotswolds.

Red spider? More likely it just liked your 'house. Too dry etc? Predators are good. Strange, never seen it on aubs or toms.

Nice chillies.

Bought-in compost, surely, is sterilised?? Whatever - good enough for most of us.

[Charlotte Sometimes]

Predators are good.

Ah!  Good tip. lol  Will try that if the same happens this year.

The chillies are same family as aubs and toms, the books I have warn of red spider mite on aubs/chillies.  It does indeed recommend misting, but also to set the flowers.  So they all got a good misting, which did keep the spider mite down - also misting with soap (yup, I do the organic thang).  Until the end of the season, when I got a bit lazy.  By then I was beginning to wonder what the hell to do with my thousands of chillies anyway, so it wasn't all that important. 

Thanks for the advice on compost.  Sterilising it, I can do without.   :)

[tim]

Chillies? Put 1/2 doz in a bottle of cheap sherry as an spicerupper?

[Charlotte Sometimes]

Tim, that's a jolly good idea.  I am still getting through a very large bag of frozen ones that I use for cooking, though.  :o  In the summer we were even posting them to friends for a grin, we had so many.  Everyone we knew got given some and we still threw a lot in the composter.

You know what the problem was?  Having not grown chillies before, I got 8 strapping seedlings, which just grew and grew and grew.  The very unhelpful seed packet said nothing of future height.  I was like a child that buys a puppy with large paws....  Before long they were like triffids. lol  Lucky they weren't fussy about re-potting.   Eventually the largest (nicknamed "Roger") was about the same height as me (5'1").  :o

But I digress. lolol   Anyone care to enter the fray on toms?  I'm dying to get started, is it too soon???

[tim]

If you can grow chilllies, you shouldn't have too much prob with toms, but the latter are, I think, a bit more sensitive to chill. If you bought seedlings last year, you will know how they coped with your treatment. Or do you mean plants that went straight into final positions? When? And were there any probs with those?
You'll find a number of ideas in the recent posts on this subject.

1. How will you propagate - window sill or propagator? Thermostatic?
2. How will you grow on - window sill or  lean-to? Toms etc like a bottom heat of 60F. We use a heated bench.
3. Soil or containers?
4. After planting out, toms react badly to temps below 50F - in the Cotswolds we're below that till late June!!
5. Do you have a 'patio'? Some early bush toms may be more tolerant of cold, but are too space-consuming for a lean-to.

It's easier to ask questions than to answer them!!

Ask Emma - for example - when she sows her lottie toms, & start yours a couple of weeks before that??  Patience Pays!!

[philcooper]

Try adding the chili sherry to any bowl of soup - especially at this time of year - as Tim says its a spicerupper

And I agree with Tim on his cultivation tips as well!

Phil

[Bun]

Chillies? Put 1/2 doz in a bottle of cheap sherry as an spicerupper?

What's a spicerupper?  ???

[tim]

As Phil says - soups, + gravies, salad dressings. Try some as a winter aperitif ? ?

[Svea]

Chillies? Put 1/2 doz in a bottle of cheap sherry as an spicerupper?

What's a spicerupper? ???

it's a little something something to spice things up ;)

[cleo]

An unheated lean to-late march is soon enough-depending on the season.

Sterilised compost-for me it`s an essential,at least for sowing into.

Red spider mite-as Tim says-too dry,mist the plants with a sprayer.

Stephan

[tim]

We assume that your average bought-in compost is sterilised??

[derbex]

Grow cucumbers -then your Toms &c. will be free from R.S.M. -at least that's what happens with me  :)

[Charlotte Sometimes]

WOW!  Thanks for all the responses.  ;D

On reflection March sounds about right for the lean-to.  I see we are still in for some chilly weather, so it might pay to wait.  ;) 

Tim, I might invest in a thermometer and see what temperatures we are getting out there.  btw I have a heated propagator.  I didn't know toms need bottom heat to germinate. 

derbex - I assume your cucumbers are a decoy crop, then? lol  Unless this a type of companion planting I haven't heard of yet!??

[tim]

Thermometers - try to afford a digital max/min, & a soil thermo.

Heat - don't know, but I reckon most things respond to bottom heat (you have it in the prop as well as all round heat) but it's even  more important when growing on with a soil temp of 60F on the bench. That's why our whole bench has a hot pad.

[philcooper]

On the propagator.

You shouldn't need it but one does tend to speed things up and get the germination over in a shorter period so that the sedlings are very much more uniform when it's time to prick them out.

Be careful of putting it in a bright sunny position - the temperature inside can soar to huge levels. This is especially true of the ones without a thermostat.

I cover the top and south facing side with newspaper if the weather forcast says sunny

Phil

[luath]

Grow cucumbers -then your Toms &c. will be free from R.S.M. -at least that's what happens with me  :)

In theory, cucumbers and tomatoes are said to like different conditions under glass - tomatoes hot and dry, cucmbers much more humid and damp.  Having said that, I quite often pile them in together in some of the greenhouses, and they do fine.  I fyou keep up the humidity , the red spider mite won't like it.

[Charlotte Sometimes]

On the propagator.
Be careful of putting it in a bright sunny position - the temperature inside can soar to huge levels. This is especially true of the ones without a thermostat.
Phil

Aye, mine doesn't have a thermostat.  Will be careful.  Mind you, I germinated all my chillies just on the window sill upstairs.  Its just above a radiator, so I guess they get plenty of bottom heat there. lol

Thanks all!