Allotments 4 All

My names Emma, and I am a tomatoholic.

128 seedlings as of this morning!  At least 14 different varieties, and I still have about 10 varieties yet to sow.

Essex, we have a problem.  :-\

So no ketchup, passata or bolgnese shortages down your way then!  ;D

Perhaps we should ask Dan for a 'twelve-step' thread to help all the various lottie addicts overcome our vices.  Trouble is, we'd have to want to stop and I don't know about you, but I'm quite happy with my pant addictions, thank you very much.

Even if all my friends and family think I'm completely bonkers.  ::)

Embrace your madness, EJ, that's what I say!  At least you know you're in good company on A4A!  :D

Clare.

Quote from: newchangeling on March 03, 2005, 10:37:22
I'm quite happy with my pant addictions, thank you very much.

Oooops!  I mean plant addictions, of course. :-[

Some kind of Freudian slip there!

- and how many children Emma?

What do you do in your spare time??

I did larf new challenging.  I did think you meant some think our plant hugging is a pants hobby.

I am perfectly happy with my tom collection and am going to try several methods to try and beat the blight on the plot this year, as well as grow the usual dozen or so in the greenhouse.......home mum wants a few more plants!

Ahhh and in my spare time Tim, I play my piano, so that works out about 15 minutes once a month!

Many thanks EJ, you have given me great hope and consolation. I thought I had a problem with only 30 or so "babies" of 6 varietiesand only 5 more varieties to sow. I thought I had a problem - but now realise I'm not a tomatoholic at all!!  ;D

There's definitely something strange about you tomato folk - what's wrong with being like my friend - 385 varieties of potato

Phil

385? Wow! :o

And I thought I was a bit strange with 6 varieties of tom and 9 varieties of spud.

No heated greenhouse or heated anywhere for me, so I'm trying really hard to restrain myself from sowing any toms yet.

14 - wow.

But 385!!! He must have fields, not just an allotment surely!

I haven't started on my toms yet. I'm being very good and being more patient this year. Actually, it's just that it's too cold to go in the shed for that long!

I only have about five or six varieties this year. Am I doing something wrong? ;)

moggle - lt me know when you start with the toms. we sound to be in the same sitation.

it's hard to know when to start when i dont know how long it takes to germinate, first true leaves appearing, repotting and  being 'of age' for the plants to go out.

this goes for all kinds of plants, not just toms.

svea

Tee hee ;D I know what you mean!. Thanks to

Ruuds amazing generosity and the HSL, I am now the proud grower of 31 varieties of heritage tom as well as another 10 of more 'normal' ones! I've already run out of windowsill space, and am considering a midnight raid on my non-gardening mothers conservatory!

I do like a challenge!

See, I have to blame Ruud also.  He is our supplier!  :o  I plan to try and save seed from all the different varieties this year, so next year, I can be a 'tom trafficer'.  ;D

Svea, I am thinking 6-8 weeks from germination to planting out. My toms germinated in the airing cupboard last year, and only took a few days. Last frost in Oxford is around mid-may (?) so I'm going to have to hold myself back until the end of this month I rekon.

Wow nikrudd, that is a whole lot of toms  ;D I think if there's an A4A show this year there should be a category for most varieties of the same veg in the one photo  :)

I was recovering,but it`s soooo hard ;D-about 200 seeds sown now and Lord knows how many varieties-and this is just the start.

After many years I have got the good folk around here to ditch Money Maker in favour of something with flavour but it is a long road.

What makes me smile is when `celeb` chefs use toms on the TV-they are clearly supermarket rubbish or else we are supposed to worship someone who can grow `good ones`

Many of us know otherwise.

Stephan

Aqui et al. When? I let the warmth of the sun tell me &, strangely, it's only a few days different each year.

Variety - if you have that energy - or room - is great, but the essentials are :
The cherries
The mini plums
The plums
The bog standard
The beef
And, of course, colour. Less essential, but great.  Red, white, green, yellow etc.

You've almost got me crying here - I only have 12 square meters, and it's still under snow...

Buying seeds, that's my madness, even if the number of different seeds means I will only have a chance to plant about 8 of each kind.

EJ - I am planning to save seed this year too, providing all goes well.

I just cant help myself. If someone offers me tomatoes, I just have to say yes, even though I know that I've got no room for them........anywhere!

I suppose it's a good job that I enjoy making chutneys, sauces etc almost as much as I enjoy growing the things! ;D

I'm trying to keep it down this year as I always end up with trays of straggling seedlings on every windowsill and we don't have a greenhouse, yet (well, we do, but it's only a tiny plastic one from B and Q). I've also got about eight varieties and there's one more I want to get as it's an old favourite (Tigerella). The first seeds went in yesterday. We ordered some varieties that looked fascinating from a firm called Plants of Distinction - I have never seen so many different tomatoes in my life! I could have tried the lot!

Anyway, I seem to have gone for differernt colours this year - one is partly black, there's a white one and various other shades, plus a yellow one which I'm hoping to grow in baskets outside the back door.

I'm also hoping this year is a lot better than last, we were hit by the blight last August and it wiped out the entire crop  :-[ - some of the potatoes, too.

Does anyone know any way to protect them from blight? I'm desperately hoping that the greenhouse/polytunnel will be up before they have to go out but some will still end up outside, in the garden or on the allotment.

Yes why not ruud is a easy name to blame,but it is all the fault of tomatovirus.I have it for more than 5 years now,it is  very contagious.No cure availubel.My nickname on the tomatogrowers forum is crazytomato,so beware!!!!!!!!!!!!! just starting to infect all of great britain and than the world will follow,hahaha ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I thought I was too late to put my tommies in as all the people on my lottie have already got little seedlings, but as I have no greenhouse yet I was not going to bother with seed . I was going to buy the little plants, BUT now i know I'm not too late I will plant some seeds and see what happens.