Outdoor tomatoes

[Copper Coin]

I don't have a greenhouse but usually have quite a lot of success growing tomatoes outside.  My question is this - is it too early to plant them out yet? The weather is supposed to be getting better this weekend (that's if you listen to some forecasts! - not Prince Charles'!) but I'm still not sure if it's a bit early.  They are getting really leggy on the windowsills and we are beginning to look like a rainforest!!

[Copper Coin]

[saddad]

Well you have the ameliorating effect of being on the coast... way too early this far inland...  :-\

[Nigel B]

I'm on the coast almost dead opposite Yarmouth, where we don't know what ameliorating means. I'd say our climate is rather improved by being so near the sea though...  :It must be any time soon though Copper Coin. All the weeds are on the rampage....

[macmac]

Ours are still tucked up in the greenhouse and haven't even poked there noses outside.
If the weather continues to improve I'll start hardening them off next week.
We are on the coast sunny (today) Weston super Mare. 8)

[Robert_Brenchley]

You could plant them out under cloches, but I wouldn't risk them completely unprotected yet.

[amphibian]

Mine are normally out under fleece by now, not this year though, mine are leggy too, but you can bury them as deep as you like when you plant out, so it's not a disaster just yet.

[woodypecks]

I ,ve had my outdoor plants in 4" pots standing outside the grreenhouse for a couple of weeks now .I have about ten quite sturdy plants....am going to risk two of them ,plant into ground and see how they do . I,m in Cornwall....think should be fine now . Sheets of newspaper at the ready though .  I like to grow them with my climbing french beans  ....but mine are a bit small yet , waiting in the wings in the greenhouse .

[BAK]

We put ours out last week (in Berksire).

We put a 5 litre water bottle with the bottom sawn off over each plant. We put a couple of layers of small bits of old fleece over the top of each, held in place by an elastic band.

Beware of the leaves touching the sides of the bottle as they can get scorched. We put the plants in quite deep to try to avoid this.

In a typical year the bottles are only there for a couple of weeks.

[cornykev]

Too ealy yet I would say, some of mine are indoors and some in the summerhouse, I left one out the weekend to get a bit of Sun and the wind made the leaves go all white and droopy and is still recovering.   :(