Tomatoes - I'm so excited!

[Lindsay]

I know I know  - for some of you it's routine!   ::)   But this is the first year I've tried this, and it's worked - I now have a tray full of tomato seedlings. All but one type have germinated - some of them are seeds I had via Natasha's Winter seed swap, so I only had two or three seeds of each.  Now - the seedlings are 2 cm high, how long do I leave it before I pot them on? 

Another question - they have been in a seed tray with a plastic cover, on a south facing sunny windowsill - so I assume that when I pot them on, I keep them in the same position until they are bigger?  No greenhouse I'm afraid! 

[Lindsay]

[Robert_Brenchley]

Keep them indoors for the time being; if you've got a cold frame or a mini greenhouse, they can go in there once we get some decent April weather.

[Barnowl]

Make sure they get some light, otherwise they'll grow long and straggly looking for it.

[valmarg]

Regarding potting on Lindsay, OH pots ours on when the true leaves start to form above the cotyledons (ie the first two leaves, aka seed leaves).  He always plants them right up to the seed leaves in order that the plants produce plenty of roots.  We are fortunate enough to be able to keep ours on a heated cable, but do need to be kept quite warm, ie fleece etc.

OH pots them into the large pots when they show their first flower trusses.  If it gets a bit too cold at night for them when they are potted into the largest pots, the worst that can happen is that the early set of tomatoes can be 'catfaced'.  It just means that the tomatoes are a bit ugly looking, but nonetheless very edible.

Good luck with your growing.  There's nothing quite like going into your greenhouse on a warm sunny morning, picking a tomato, and eating it fresh of the vine.

valmarg

[tim]

Nitpick?

Large pots? I would not go over 4" for the first potting on.

[Sparkly]

Nitpick?

Large pots? I would not go over 4" for the first potting on.

Why is this Tim? Just interested? I am not an experienced gardener. Why would be not be good to use a large pot straight off?

[Eristic]

Why is this Tim? Just interested?

They would fill the greenhouse up with basically empty pots when space is critical. 8)

[Sparkly]

ah ha thanks! Silly question I suppose, but I was thinking surely there cannot be a scientific explanation for this?

[Jeannine]

I think they grow better when potted on a couple of times, mine start in Jiffy 7s or flats, go into 3 inch pots, then into 1  litre post then finally into the big ones.

Works for me

XX Jeannine

[valmarg]

Nitpick?

Large pots? I would not go over 4" for the first potting on.

OH pots them into 3.5" pots from seedlings.

When the first flowers show they go into 10" pots

We always have very good success rates with this system

valmarg

[tim]

Sparkly - so that, at each stage, the roots fill the pot.

Better root ball for moving & no wasted compost.

[valmarg]

Nitpick?

Large pots? I would not go over 4" for the first potting on.

I could have sworn I typed 3.5" pots somewhere in the first paragraph, but it appears to have disappeared.

valmarg

[Chris Graham]

As I dont need many I have always sown them in 3" pots and left them to grow till planting out.

Have around 12 pots on my kitchen windowsill just now, just got to remember to rotate the pots so they get an even amount of sun light.

[Lindsay]

Thanks for the info regarding potting on,  Valmarg (and everyone else) - it was something that I was concerned about. Didn't want to pot them on too soon or too late! 

I've had homegrown tomatoes in the past, but only from plants bought off my reliable market stallholder!  This is the first year I'm trying to grow my own plants from seed (except the cherry tomatoes which seem to re-seed themselves so well here!) so I expect to have some casualties, but not too many I hope! 

[Jeannine]

Lindsay don't let anyone kid you, we all get a thrill when those wee bits pop out of the soil!! It never gets that routine,,honest. XX Jeannine

[theothermarg]

Re starting with small pots, each time you pot them on you can plant them a bit deeper as the buried stem will grow more roots and make the plant stronger and more stable
marg