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Toms too early ?
man in a shed
Posts: 93
in Fruit & veg
I planted my tom seeds (sungold/gardeners delight) on the 27th feb and had them on the windowsill.I realise this was a bit early, just a bit worried after reading a few articles regarding the plants getting 'leggy' or' pot bound' anyway I've posted photos any advice would be welcome eg-do they need potting on ? eventually they are going in the ground in the greenhouse. cheers
is it too early to put them in the greenhouse(unheated)
do you think they look a bit droopy, photos took on 31st march.
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They look splendid to me. Check underneath the pots for roots; if there are loads poking through it's time to pot them on or plant them out. They look to be at about the right stage.
Whether they'll survive in an unheated greenhouse now depends, of course on frost. My bet is that there'll be no more hard frost (sufficient to penetrate the greenhouse) where I live (L'pool) now but I guess you have to take a punt. Maybe hege your bets by planting out some now and some later? Where are you?
I would say it's too early for an unheated greenhouse at this time of year. I did mine early one time in my shed. Left them near the window and then, a sharp drop in temps just saw them wilt and die.
I don't think they look droopy at all or, leggy. Remember that when you plant them you can bury them up to the bottom set of leaves which will promote a good root system and a strong stem.
If I'm wrong, the experts will pick up on the thread so don't worry too much.
Well, I've done the same. In fact, mine are worse. These don't look particularly leggy, but they do probably need to be potted on if you can spare the room for bigger pots. To make them less leggy, you can always bury a part of the stalk each time you pot on - if you look up 'ring culture' you will see that this is an established method of getting the plant to put on more roots and get a better start, so it does no harm. You can go as high as the first leaves, and in fact, I have even gone higher on some of them. As for the greenhouse, well when I potted mine on this weekend, I did it in the greenhouse so as to minimise the mess in the house, and meant to bring them back in - most of them came back, but four are still in the greenhouse, but they don't seem to have suffered thus far. TBH, I have too many plants, and if I lose four, it will be no tragedy, so I am leaving them there as an experiment. If the coolness slows them down, so much the better. Point is, it would be too early to plant them into a greenhouse bed, but as long as the weather is warm and mild and there is not too much variation in night and day temperatures, it may be okay to leave them there, but if they were in pots you could rescue them if a cold snap threatened. Chances are that like me, you have more plants than you need so why not put some in bigger pots back on the window sill and leave some in the greenhouse also in big pots? Split your risk? But definitely get them into bigger pots as they don't, in my experience, like being held back, and the drooping leaves may suggest they are wanting to spread out a bit more. Another point is that Gardener's Delight, like Moneymaker, which I am growing, are both tolerant of life outside. I grew GD last year in the fresh air, and was inundated with tomatoes, but they ripened quite late in the season, so that is why this year I have started them early (last year I planted in April). Good luck!
By my last point BTW, I didn't mean it was alright to put them outside now, just that if they will tolerate that, they are probably quite tough varieties, better able to cope with temperature changes, but not outside till May!!
What do you think of Moneymaker, BB? They were among the varieties I grew last year and they were OK but someone this year told me it's an awful variety - without giving a reason. Any ideas?
BTW I agree with your ideas above.
Steve, I don't know! I have only just put up a greenhouse, so haven't really 'done' tomatoes lately, until last year I found a free packet of out of date Gardener's Delight which had come with a magazine or something. It was already halfway through April, so I planted them on the off chance and ended up with about 10 plants - far too many. I had to nurse them outside, put them in the shade when we went on holiday, water them daily, and they eventually produced tasty little toms, but in September, and by October it was all over. I thought I would like to try a bigger tomato, and needed something which would survive outside if necessary - in case I didn't get a greenhouse. And I have shot out of the stalls with Moneymaker, and it is running away with me. So all I know is that it is a very strong grower. And I think it is meant to be quite tough. As far as the tomatoes go, I have no idea. Next year I would like to try Marmande, those big squashy Mediterranean types, and now I know I have a greenhouse, I will be able to choose with confidence.
Thx all, I think i'll put a few in the greenhouse and pot them all on although there's not too many roots showing through the drainage holes, I've got about 30 plants so can afford to lose a few (got carried away again) thx again p.s i'm in south yorks steve 309
Thirty plants would give you enough tomatoes to go into business
I know ! I will give lot's away though.
last year (my first on the allotment) I grew about 20 courgette plants ! none this year can't stand em now 
I've made the mistake of planting my tom seed to early in an unheated greenhouse .they are 2 cm tall now and I planted them 3 weeks ago if not 4. I am not going to panic, will just sow more seeds now that its warmer, they should catch up . A friend of mine once told me that I should brush my hands over my tom plants a good few times a day once they 5cm tall or higher, this mimics the wind and makes the stems stronger !