Tomatoes - Tumbling Tom

Morning all.

I bought some tomato seeds earlier, Tumbling Tom. I was torn between these and 100s and 1000s but chose Tumbling Tom because I think they're more time proven.

Apparently you grow them outside. Are they tough enough for Northern conditions (by Northern, I mean round my way it is quite mild because of our proximity to the sea and the heavy industry)?

Some of you have seen my strawberry shed roof project:
http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/my-shed-roof-strawberry-field.48865/

I'm thinking the face of the shed that we see in the picture faces south east. I might nail cut up milk bottles to the walls to grow my toms in.

 

I have grown Tumbling Toms in baskets , lovely cherry sweet toms . They do need a lot of watering in baskets though , thirsty little devils !

 

Will the milk bottles be big enough for the tomato rootballs?

I'm very intrigued by the "nailing on serried ranks of bottles" idea, wondering what I could use it for.

If the bottles were nailed on closely, you could turn a fence into sheet of colour/texture. The plants would soon grow to completely hide the bottles. I'd be a bit worried about the watering implications, though.

 

That's what the hosepipe is for

 

My engineering skills would struggle with setting up a semi-permanent hosepipe watering facility on a vertical fence. Not least because I don't have an outside tap.

 

No engineering skills needed. Just point and squirt.

 

As far as temperature concerns I think you can grow them outside. However one of the major problems of tomato is 'blight'. Here in Bristol, I couldn't grow any tomatoes outdoor.
Blight may not be a big problem in your area, still beware.

 

Garden pearl are good for baskets and small containers. I fnd tumbling tom are more susceptable to insect attack and not quite as sweet. I had a reasonably harvest last year from outdoor GP even though the weather was rubbish. It`d be worth planting some of each to see which does better.