Is it too early?

Hello

I live in Carlisle, we're still having hard frosts most nights, but in the day time the temperature can get as high as 10 C.

Is it too early to start planting my tomatoes? My plan is to plant them (from seed) and let them germinate on the windowsill of my south facing spare room. We then have an unheated greenhouse for them to go into. There's a mixture of seeds, from cherry tomatoes (going into hanging baskets) and Gardener's Delight / Tigerella to go into beds in the greenhouse.

As always, I'd appreciate your advice!

 

I'm a damn sight southern to you but all my tomatoes have been planted, germinated and coming on well. Yes, sow your seed now, just protect from frost!

I'm growing:

Alicante
San Marzano
Cuor di Bue
Golden Sunrise
Big Boy
Gardeners Delight

And a specimen "super" tomato which I hope will produce giant fruits :D

Vegmandan may beat my Onions, he ain't gonna beat my tomatoes LOL

 

Yup, get them in now. By mid-May they'll be 6 inches tall and hopefully the weather will be fine to put them in the greenhouse, but they'll be OK indoors until the weather has warmed up if not.

 

Just made a second sowing of tomatoes ( A rogue slug was in the compost with the first lot:DOH: A few plants survived)

I've put some out into the unheated greenhouse to harden off. We've had a series of frosts and a bitter north wind but they have been fine, the frost hasn't got into the greenhouse.

Mind you, I am on the south coast and I am growing a very early outdoor variety called Tamina. Not going to get caught out by late blight again:DOH:

Alice mentioned on another thread about re potting tomatoes that had grown too leggy up to their seed leaves.

Now i've known tomatoes put out side roots from their stems for years. And about the grow rings you can use to earth up to give greater yields.

But planting leggy plants up to their seed leaves never occured to me :DOH::DOH::DOH:

Nice one Alice

 

I've always planted mine progressively lower with every transplant.

If planting in a greenhouse/polytunnel bed you can plant with the stem at 30 degrees to horizontal at the bottom of a short trench, progressively burying the stem/removing leaves towards the point where it will be turned up a vertical cane with the benefit of a massive rootball not so important for general tom growing, but it helps a lot when going for really big ones.

 

Madness!

Tomatoes need 10C minimum. They will survive below that, but will "stall" and it takes quite a bit to get them growing again.

"By mid-May they'll be 6 inches tall"

I sowed my Tomatoes 2 weeks ago, but mid May they will be 3' - 4' tall! They are in the house at the moment (windowsill) but on decent days I put them in the unheated conservatory, and usually by mid March they stay in the conservatory but just come in on cold nights.

If yours are only getting to 6" they are way too cold, and you might as well delay sowing seed for a month instead.

 

Kristen, I sowed mine a few weeks ago too, and they're already 4 inches. I've no idea why I wrote that! I must have had a senior moment whilst in charge of the keyboard.
Mine are in my dining room, by a large patio door, so good warmth and light. I'd expect mine to be a few feet by mid May too.

 

Heather, I'm slightly south of you here in Cockermouth, I've sown all my toims some time ago and most are now germinated, sat on the kitchen windowsill. HTH

Steve...

 

You probably meant 6 FEET

 

Thank you for all the advice, I shall go and plant them as soon as I've finished my coffee!