Tomato Growing Thread 2012

My understanding (although not got to that stage yet ...) is that if the crown is protected (ball of fleece jammed in it) it should be fine.

Presumably its rooted now John? Might be worth checking the crown to see if the "knuckles" are swelling, and if you are dry like here might need watering from the top already?

 

Kristen good evening,
my little Maskotka plants now have a glorious white backdrop and, although they were leaning sunward at first' I turned them all round and, tonight they are all upright and 2 new leaves have started no all of them.
Thank you on behalf of my Toms upstairs xxxx,
Jenny namaste

 

Kristen,
this is an uploaded piccie I have just done. Not brilliant but I hope to get better. I turned the toms around to face me and took a picture of them with their all new sining and dancing backdrop. No sun today but it's warm upstairs - I tell them "you can go outside with the mob in the mini greenhouse if you like but it ain't as cushty as in here" They look a bit sulky but no mutterings of a revolution yet. I have turned them back to look out the window. Can you see them OK?
thank you,
Jenny namaste

 

Picture is fine, and the Toms look fine too

 

Those toms look too small for the pots they're in, and I would have either transplanted them either into modular cell tray inserts (24 cells per tray minimum) or mini pots of about same size, so that they could then have been subsequentley dropped right into the bottom of those (3 - 4"?) pots when big enough, so that some stem gets buried and will produce extra roots.

 

Whooops - a booboo already. Can only hope they will forgive but in retrospect, I can see what you mean. Thank you ,
Jenny namaste

 

I prick out directly into 3" pots (I'm guessing that's what they are in now?). They grow quickly and its only a couple of weeks before they need potting on - to 5" then 9" then 12" then leave them in that pot or, in my case, plant out into greenhouse border.

I seek to have no "check" to their growing, so I don't stress them in smaller pots. But for anything less vigorous then I do as you describe as straight into a "big" pot means that they tend to drown :(

 

Help
How do I stop the seedlings getting leggy
It is too cold to pot them on and place in the greenhouse (unheated 2c at night 22c day)
On the window sill, 19c they are now 2" high

I am stuck what to do
Pot them up, up to the seed leaf into 2" pots and give them light but no heat (though not below 12c) SWHMBO would go loopy at me putting them where that would be place

Help

Jack McH

 

What JWK said

If you can be bothered, and its not too far, and no chance of your dropping them en route!! etc., I would be inclined to put them in greenhouse during the day. They will get better light, and make stockier plants.

 

Good morning tomatophiles,
it is lovely to read all this. I feel I am surrounded by family elephants, supporting me in my early tom rearing stages. Thank you,
Jenny namaste

 

It's great int it Jenny i've grown tomatoes from being tiny but i'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination...i've just grown them how my old dad tells me...it's great to hear everyone elses take on growing toms and i've picked up no end of great advice reading these posts.....but don't tell my dad

 

I've just done a tomato stock-take in the greenhouse - 694, which might explain why I'm so keen on small pots to start off with.

 

You could have rounded it off to 700 Scrungee....
Wow...they'll keep you busy...fantastic....and i thought i was enthusiastic with 80...
I wouldn't mind if i had somewhere to put them all....