2013 Tomato Growing

Hi all,
Back for a bit more amateur advice if you will be so kind...
I have Sungold, Golden Sunrise, Red Alert and Gardeners Delight all coming on nicely in sunny window in my office but at some point they're all going to have to go outside in my garden, in raised beds and pots.
Of these 4 types I only have experience with GD, so as to the other varieties, am I right in thinking that they all need side-shooting except the Red Alerts? Do I just let the RA's go wild and not prune at all, just support?
Also, how large pots do I need for those that won't fit in raised beds?
And finally, am I right in thinking I have to restrict some or all of these varieties in size (3 trusses, 4, 5?) with them being outdoors? If so when and how do I do this for best results?
Last year I grew only GD 'successfully' but I didn't know about stopping them growing higher so even with them I let them go wild and ended up with lots of unripe fruits and leafage where perhaps I would have had more fruits and indeed more ripe fruits if I'd restricted them?


Thanks

 

Brilliant, thanks for that JWK, just about clears it all up.

Just one more thing - litres means nowt to me - what kind of diameter and depth are we talking, in inches, for these pots?

Thanks

 

Great stuff, thanks

 

I grow Red Alert every year and suggest planting them in the raised beds as I've tried them in pots (trying to get an earlier crop by making it possible to get them back under cover if required) and they didn't do very well in them. They grow best if planted through a plastic mulch sheet which also keeps the fruit off the soil (try with and without and compare the results). The only support I give them is tying to a short cane projecting approx. 300 - 450mm above ground level when planting out. They're the only outdoor bush variety I've grown where I've managed to get every single tomato on them to ripen. An excellent choice for an early outdoor bush tomato.

 

Apologies but can't contain myself.....have to show you my first attempt of a grafted tomato...thanks to my mentor JWK

Gardeners Delight with a Beefmaster scion

 

Get u
Well done lolimac, hope it provides many juicy ones!

 

Hiya Loli.

What's the thinking/logic behind that combination?

 

It was a practise run Freddy with what i had at the time with stems the same thickness

 

Hiya Loli. I'll be interested to see how it goes. I assume you have some 'normal' GD to compare?

 

Yes Freddy ....and Beefmasters....i'm curious to see the outcome....i'm going to give it another go with some Arnold F1's (thanks John)....if i can find a good scion match