2015 Tomato Growing

I've been hardening the seedlings recently. Tonight will be their first overnight outside. Hope they can cope. I will have them under cover

 

Mine are leggy monsters. They have grown on a window sill and were probably sown too early. They were the same last year but once planted up outside did well so I'm hoping for the same. My dad has given me some plants which have been grown on in his greenhouse. The difference in size is quite funny. If mine fail at least the normal sized ones will be fine.

 

5 seedlings are out!



btw: a lot of these flying bugs in the bed. Do I need to do anything about them?

 

Today the balcony reds are potted into their final position.




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All of the tomato plants shown below were started from seed on the same day. The photos show what a huge difference the greenhouse conditions make when growing tomatoes.

 

the GH is heated right? can't imagine cold GH making such difference

 

Actually it is not heated. The plants were put in there in mid April. I did put a small electric heater in the greenhouse a few times at night when the forecast was for the temperature to be close to freezing. The residual heat from the day helps to keep it warm.

 

It look GH is getting on my shopping list but I don't have a full sun spot in the back garden. Do you think a little tree shadow will make the GH unworthy?


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My greenhouse gets full sun from about 10 am till 5 pm. During the summer, on sunny days, I have to use a 45% shade cloth to control the heat. When I built it, I put several inches of pea gravel under the space where the plants are on the sides. During cool weather it, along with the pavers on the walk, absorb heat and release it at night. During hot hot weather I wet the pea gravel so that it cools the greenhouse by evaporation as it dries.

 

No, when that light is mega important in the first 4 months of the year, that tree maybe in bare branch mode. Is it deciduous? In the summer, the shade it generously provides will be gratefully welcomed,
Jenny

 

Great, thanks Jenny. They are indeed deciduous.

 

Although my greenhouse has a gas heater with the thermostat set to keep at least 10 deg C, I don't appear to have used hardly any, perhaps even no fuel at all in the last 4 weeks.

What trees are they? The likes of Lime or Ash will leaf up later than others.

 

I totally agree. Unless it gets really cold I don't use the heater. On some cold sunny days in early spring I bring a lawn chair, cold drink and good book into the greenhouse and enjoy the heat and sunshine. There have been days where the greenhouse temperature is in the 70s or 80s F.

 

there are an apple tree and a birch. I think they began to grow leave in about mid Apr