Tomato Growing Thread 2023

Goodness me @eatenbyweasels - that's loads of varieties! How many of each do you expect to grow on? And do you have a commercial sized glasshouse?

 

With a few exceptions, I have only sown one seed of each variety. I generally squeeze in about 30 plants between garden and greenhouse. Some of the plants will end up at a friend's house.

 

That's very controlled - even if I only want 1 of something, I sow several to allow for losses, and then can't stand throwing spares away!

 

I find it hard to bin the spares, too. Sowing early gives me plenty of time to re-sow any failures.

Edit: I'll try not to sow any more until mid March, but I have some lovely swaps winging their way to me and I might not be able to resist!

 

I'll wait a couple of weeks yet before sowing my tomato seed. I've always waited till the first day of spring, 21st March, to sow them. I have tried once or twice sowing them in February but they get too leggy and keel over and die, then I have to start again!
Last year I sowed the seeds on March 1st and they grew well until a few weeks after planting them out on the balcony in growbags when they started to wilt and eventually die.
I think I will sow them this year on March 1st again and hope I don't have a repetition of last year's wilt. But I use new growbags every year and always have done. It was obviously something in the compost that caused the wilting. I have new bags of compost that I will use for the seed sowing. Then I will buy some new growbags at the beginning of May.

 

I sow mine from mid March. I've tried earlier and later, but I've found mid March to be perfect for indeterminates.

However, I do sow a couple of early Tumbling Toms as I find they're happy growing on the windowsill and stay compact and bushy until it's warm enough for them to be planted outside. They're usually ready to start picking by early to mid June.

 

My tomato growing was severely curtailed by the arrival of this little rascal, Gracie, last year. Hopefully, shes a bit more respectful of my garden this year and we’ve put bigger fences around the plots!

So this year im growing;
Black Russian (my stalwart for the greenhouse - try and remember to keep the door closed this year so Gracie doesn’t go in and dig the plants up!
Delicious (also for the greenhouse. Apparently the largest of tomatoes…we will see)
And for outside, my blight resistant go to’s
CRimson Crush
Oh Happy Day
Pink Honeymoon (love this one!)
Burlesque beefsteak
Crimson cherry
Rose Crush beefsteak
Can’t wait to start! Probably beginning of march on the windowsill then into my big propagator in the greenhouse once established.

 

I refuse to believe that such an angelic looking pup could do such a thing!

 

Valeyrac on eBay are a bit cheaper.

 

Way too early to start growing tomatoes in NE Scotland as I get frost in April with temperatures of 3 degrees inside the greenhouse, it will be another month before I start.

 

Ordered and will be planting hopefully this weekend to propogate in the house (weary of putting into the greenhouse with it still being a bit cold)

Matina (Salad)
Steak Sandwich (Beefsteak)
GD2005 (From seeds planted last year kindly sent by @JWK, these seeds I collected from one of last years plants having wrapped a truss up to keep it pure)
Fireworks
Druzba
Thessaloniki
St. Pierre
Tamina

I'll aim for roughly four of each inside (3 gallon fibre pots).

Any advice on growing medium? I traditionally use a half decent (branded, bagged) compost from a local garden centre, but I notice when emptying out the old compost from last years plants the roots aren't exactly what you'd call strong/rootballed. They're very wiry and break apart into almost dust.

I was thinking this year try a mix of compost and bulk top soil, then add some rooting powder? Any other suggestions? The plants themselves were always healthy and grew tall but just wanted to check I'm not missing a trick!

Thanks in advance!

 

I use equal parts of my own Compost, Coir & Perlite for seed sowing. For potting on I add feed. It works for me.