Tomato plants
AngieR
Posts: 347
My first ever attempt at growing anything edible. I have been bringing on my tomato plants on the kitchen window sill with a view to potting them on and taking them out to the greenhouse mid May.
They are already 20" tall (50cm in new money) and have lots of small flower buds. I have been nipping out the little shoots that appear where the leaf joins the stem, I think that's the right thing to do. I am extremely happy at how big and healthy they look. I know not to feed until the first fruits appear (advice I picked up on here reading other's posts)
My question is do they need some type of hardening off before they go to the greenhouse or can they go out direct in a fortnight's time? If they can go straight out, do I need to close the ventilation window? It is currently open and my more tender plants will be hardened off next week with a view to swapping the agapanthus and salvias etc for the tomatoes the following week. I should also say I am in Scotland, where tomatoes are usually grown in a greenhouse or at least that's the only place I've ever seen them grow!
Thanks in advance.
Posts
They want an even temperature to grow best. I'd get them out in the greenhouse now, where the light is best, but beware of sudden cold nights which will check their growth, or worse. Greenhouses are wonderful, but glass isn't the best insulator. Got any bubble plastic that you can line the inside with, just for a few weeks more. Where you are, May can be fickle.
H-C
No, is the quick answer. If I were in Scotland I'd be keen to close up that vent and keep any warm air in. I don't know what kind of cold weather you might expect late May, I'd be shocked to get a frost down in the south of England now and even if we did it wouldn't be enough to damage anything I had in my greenhouse (in fact we had two frosts in a row a fortnight ago and all mine survived just fine).
As you've essentially pointed out the longer they're under cover the better they're likely to do.
The biggest problem up here is that we don't get higher temps for very long through the daytime Angie - as you know! Fluctuating temps cause issues, but what toms need is consistent night time ones - over ten degrees. Where I am, that's not even happening during the day at this time of year. I rarely sow seed before mid March, although I haven't done any this year. What size of pots are they in? If they're growing well and filling the pots they're in, pot them into bigger ones and bury them up to the first set of leaves.
Ideally they'd go in the greenhouse soon and you just have to get accustomed to the amount of ventilation needed to keep them happy. The location of the greenhouse will dictate that as well. If the greenhouse gets really hot through the day, open the vents, and you might need to open the door too. Close them up before the temp drops too far, but let the appearance of the plants guide you. Water consistently - let them dry out a bit between watering, and stick to that. Don't water late in the day either, to prevent them sitting in cold soil. Decent space between each plant as well.
Ventilation is as important as watering or warmth. It's a mistake to cossett them too much, so just use your own judgement.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you all. Plenty of tips and advice there to keep my tomatoes going!
HC, May can be fickle up here which was why I asked the question. A neighbour told me he wouldn't put his out before mid May and I wanted to run that past others 'just in case'
BobFlanigan - The vent has been open and the plants that are in there are fine with it but as for the toms I had my doubts and it seems they are confirmed.
Fairygirl - Consise answers to all my queries. We too are toiling to get above 10 most days. They were potted up from small pots to bigger ones a few weeks ago. I have 4 plants in total and was going to grow them in large pots rather than grow bags so they will be potted up one final time before the go out. Thanks for the tip re burying them deeper, I had read that on older posts and was going to do exactly that. I intend to water them when I come home from work at 5am and late afternoon if needs be. It's what I do with my neighbours when she goes away on holiday and it seems to work..
Good stuff Angie - I think your toms will be fine. A proper greenhouse is much easier to work with too.
I think pots are far better than growbags. Much easier to get a good mix for the plants. Growbags are often sitting around and become quite solid and wet - not really ideal for young plants to go in. The consistent watering regime means you're less likely to have fruits splitting too.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...