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HI,

I was recently given this site address for tomato seeds,

http://www.tomatogrowers.com/

Apperently they will ship to the UK, the thing is if you look at the early season section you will see 'early girl' and the notation 52 days.  This means 52 days from planting the seed too eating the first tomato, plant in March (in the greenhouse) eating tomatoes in May.  This I got to try, will report back, but that will be in 8 months time, thought I'd mention it now in case anyone else wishes to try.

Regards

MikeB

Nice thought, BUT - that would have to be with heat??

We can't plant out - under cover - before mid-April at the earliest. And even then we can lose some to frost.

Over here, I think that Vida Verde may offer the earliest practicable??

Hi Tim,

True, but I do have a 'Hot Bed' down one side of my greenhouse, under soil heating cable.  As a regular thing this would possibly be too expensive (possibly?, heck definitely too expensive).  BUT if I just do it for this one period and I can say 'Well yes, I eaten tomatoes in May that I grew myself'.  At the moment I'm lucky if I can say 'I've eaten them in August'

Regards

MikeB

Ah, so, Tim, why don't you try a proper old fashioned hot bed then. (I assume, like me, you have no access to electricity).
I think I might have a go at this. I did a hot bed once- lots of horse muck and other debris about 3 ft high x 6 ft long, covered with about 6" of topsoil - bought for me - although I think I'll use ordinary this time - and grew carrots and lettuces and they were ready to eat mid January, it was actually snowing. I quite fancy having a go at tomatoes, but will have to give the logisitics of cover some thought as I don't have a glasshouse.

Hi Tim,

Don't you have a capillary hot bench, I thought I saw the picture of one on your website

Regards

MikeB

Mike - only just seen your message - & there's me repeating your link on cold weather toms!

Yes - I do have a mat - but strictly for growing on to plant-out stage. No way could I go further than that. And the cold 'house is the ruling factor.

Hi Tim

Your the chap that knows about greenhouse growing, I've seen, read can't quite remember (isn't age wonderful) someone using a rain barrel in their GH as a storage heater.  The idea being that the water warms up during the day and releases its heat during the night keeping the GH a few degrees higher than it would be normally.  Do you think it would work?  I would have to dismantle part of my GH to get one in as the doorway is to small.  So it isn't really a case of try it and see, unless there's a chance its worthwhile.  What do you think?

MikeB

No - not me!!
Try para C -
VIII. How a Solar Greenhouse Works
The following principles briefly explain the basics of understanding how a solar greenhouse operates:
A. The sun shines through the clear areas in short waves.

B These waves strike objects in the greenhouse and are reradiated as long waves, The long waves do not readily return through the glazing. This is known as the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is similar to hot air trapped in a car on a sunny day with the windows closed. The inside air becomes warmer than the outside air (Figure 5).

C. Massive (heavy) objects in the greenhouse such as masonry walls, rocks, water drums, concrete, etc., absorb heat during the day and return heat to the structure at night. Pound for pound, the most efficient heat storer you can get is enclosed water. It is necessary that the greenhouse have considerable mass in order to perform properly (about 2 gallons of water or 80 pounds of concrete per square foot of glazing). If this is done, the greenhouse will maintain temperatures as high as 30°F above outdoor lows in winter.

D. The warm air (80-90°F) from the greenhouse goes directly into the adjoining structure (Figure 6). This works best if there are high and low openings. The vents establish a natural air circulation system that benefits the home and the greenhouse. At night the openings can either be left open or closed, at the occupant’s option, If open, the greenhouse will draw on some home heat and will keep higher temperatures.

E. The partially shaded and insulated greenhouse roof will keep it warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Notice that the south face of the unit is tilted 60° according to the latitude on which the greenhouse is located. The tilt maximizes winter sun and reflects a large percentage of the summer sun off the front of the greenhouse. Thus, overheating is less of a problem (Figure 7).

F. How well the greenhouse keeps warm is largely determined by how well it is constructed and sealed. All cracks and joints in the greenhouse must be insulated and caulked to prevent “infiltration’ heat losses. The greatest heat lose area for the greenhouse is through the clear wall portions. A moveable insulator to cover these areas would greatly increase the winter performance of the greenhouse.


PS There weren't any diagrams!

Quote from: MikeB on August 24, 2005, 11:00:16
This means 52 days from planting the seed too eating the first tomato 

Not quite. What it means is the relative maturity, compared to other varieties, from transplanting, which is generally done when 50% of the plants have their first flower open. The maturity for any vegetable is always relative to other varieties because absolute maturity is influenced by many factors.
As someone who has actually grown Early Girl I would suggest the catalogues description has some journalistic hyperbole in its assessment of the flavour. No commercial grower around here grows it and few offer it for bedding as there is consumer resistance to growing it, presumably preferring later maturing varieties with better flavour. Time line for me was sowing first week April (I sow all my outdoor varieties then), transplanting late May to crop Mid July on, about two weeks ahead of Jet Star, the benchmark North Eastern U.S. variety, which has a relative maturity of 72 days. Getting back to my point about phenotypes- Early Girl is an outdoor variety and may not be well adapted to greenhouse culture. You may be better trying early maturing greenhouse cvs..

Thanks John for the info, I was taking the days to maturity from "The vegetable gardener's bible' I should imagine he got it right and I mis-read it.  Thanks again.

Could you recommend an early tomato?, but one with a good flavour, otherwise there is not much point

MikeB

See what I mean, John? Early, tasty, prolific, disease free, long lasting ...............??

Quote from: tim on October 15, 2005, 21:27:14
See what I mean, John? Early, tasty, prolific, disease free, long lasting ...............??

I agree, the early and tasty parts are certainly a contradiction in expectations, from my experience,  Tim. While I was distinctly unimpressed by the now forgotten variety of white tomato I grew (to tie in with the cold season thread that is running simultaeneously) cvs. like Evergreen (80 days) and Green Grape (also 80 days) both have matchless taste, in my opinion of course. I would rather wait those few extra days than try an over bred red tomato. Jet Star (72 days) and Supersonic (80 days), both over 40 years old and both VFF₂NT, will probably see me through my growing days in the U.S.. 

Quote from: MikeB on October 15, 2005, 19:50:23
Could you recommend an early tomato?, but one with a good flavour, otherwise there is not much point
MikeB

You probably don't need me to say, after that, no, I can't recommend an early tomato variety. In areas where nothing else will mature something like Sub-Arctic Plenty will suffice but given the choice (and I do have it, thankfully) I wouldn't!

The 2 that I enjoyed were White Wonder & Green Zebra. When I said unmatchable, I really meant both these - the latter being better than the former.

But don't you see, you have both answered my question.  If I want a good flavour and tasty tomato forget early, the earliest tomato that will give me flavour etc is approx 72 to 80 days so thats what I will go for.

Regards

MikeB