Allotments 4 All

Hi guys I have bought some of these tomatoes to try and get and earlier corp, however on the pack it says sow in spring 5 to 7 weeks before you wish to plant out, when would be the best time please?
thanks

Do you know when the last frost free date for your area is?  You can work back from that date to get an idea of sowing times.

no i dont where  can i find that out?

Quote from: debster on January 13, 2008, 15:01:24
no i dont where  can i find that out?

Your local gardening centre might be able to help. Otherwise if you can get hold of the parks section of your local borough they should be able to advise (that is what I do here).

 They are very early because they will set fruit in cooler conditions as they do not need pollination to do so. I used to start these earlier in the warmer part of Canada as they will tolerate a night time temp of 45f ( usual ones are more like 50f)but I don't know if you can maintain that in the UK. If growing outside I used to start them in February and put them outside as transplants in April but I doubt you can do that here.  However if you start them when you start your others they will tolerate a cooler temp than most .  Here I start before that and grow in the greenhouse with most of my toms now.

Hope this helps XX Jeannine

what i may do is start them in the spare bedroom it would be simiar to a greenhouse and i could keep them there until they are quite large too, ive got nothing to lose so will try
thanks for the advice

Debs,

looking at map of your location I would guess your last Frost is probably end April, but as suggested Exeter Parks Dept. will be able to give you good local advice

Start your seeds 30/40 days before planting out time.
If you start seeds on a bright South facing windowsill, cover a piece of card with Kitchen foil and stand behind the pot/tray. This will help even up the light and slow the plant's tendency to grow leggy.

I grew Sub Arctic in Aberdeen with some success, but in a cold Greenhouse

good luck

thank you very much

I have one variaty called 'Siberian Early' from a swap last year (thanks again) and i plan on sowing last week in Jan in window ledge (in second bedroom so husband does not know) I recon that my the time these need potting on i can move them to the mini-greenhouse outside. These can then go up to the allotment by the end of feb :) fruit for end march to early april.