Total tom novice needs advice please!!

wallbash

People pay for tom plants all the time - some are scared of starting them off themselves from seed.

Problem with OP , now has 30+ plants of one variety.
In an Ideal world you could swap some of your Gardens Delight for Money Box or a Tom Thumb.

I will try to grow GD from seed , but as I will only need 4/5 plants for the green house , is the effort worth it?

Kazipoo

YorkiePud wrote: »

Several different varieties? Oh Lord, where'd you put em all?! Ha ha ha! Thanks for the address, I have saved it to favourites incase I get a tomato glut!! It would be wonderful if they all took and grew! I'm nowt if not optimistic!
:rotfl:

Well, we have to have moneymaker ones, because they are good for salads, beef tomatoes for burgers (apparently), plum tomatoes for sauces and passata etc, cherry tomatoes (millions is the variety I think) for picking and chomping on :rotfl:. Believe it or not, I don't eat tomatoes myself, that would be the hubby, although I did insist on the plum ones this year because I really do use that much passata. The neighbours came around last year with their "begging bowls", we took them to barbeques and gave them away to friends and family and we only grew 6 plants (2 of each variety). The hubby tells me that you can't beat the taste of a freshy picked tomato.... I will take his word for it, and the neighbours would have camped in our greenhouse if we had allowed it I am sure.

Why not give peppers a try too? We have grown them successfully for a few years too. There's nowt better than raiding your greenhouse or garden for salad veggies in the summer!

Best of luck to you!

YorkiePud_3

Uh-oh, I may be in trouble now!!

I have watered the seedlings twice now (the soil was really dry) using water I had boiled in the kettle that had cooled down. I didn't soak them, just gave them a little.

Anyway, one day later and that awful mould stuff is starting to grow on the top of the soil. Only very fine and cobwebby ... have I watered too much and is there anything I can do? What has caused it? Will it be to the detriment of the plants cos they are doing so well? Aaaaarrrrrgghhh!!!

Edit: I have disturbed the soil to break it up a bit ... what would you suggest now?

Falconhoof

Google "damping off"

Sorry, I am not allowed yet to post a link.

YorkiePud_3

Thanks for the advice re google .... bad news is that this morning all the seedlings except one have just collapsed. No rotting of the roots ... just collapsed. The one left standing I have put in a different pot with new compost. I am tempted to get some more to try (obviously not so many at once) but am absolutely gutted and almost put off trying anything else gggrrrrrr.

foreign_correspondent

Don't be disheartened - to be honest, you were a bit early sowing them - most varieties of tomatoes can be bearing fruit 10 weeks after sowing. Sow them in february and it is not warm enough for them to fruit in April/May.

What did you use to plant them in (compost/soil etc?)

Choose a really good variety and try again in a little while! I recommend Gardener's Delight, or even Tigerella (never had either of these fail on me!) - others say ferline is good!

blushingbride_3

hi everyone, i am wanting to plant some in my green house when would you advice sowing & would i have to sow in the house first for warmth?

also what are good varieties? for cherry tomatoes, & ones good for salad & maybe some big ones.

ALIBOBSY

There are so many varieties, we tried a few last year and are doing even more this lol, but we all love toms and there are 5 of us (with baby 4 due end of May).

Can't remember all of them (will check as I intend to start mine off shortly-we have a full sized GH), will stay on window sills and insode potted on until easter ish, when I will start the transfer to the unheated GH. Outside ones I would leave a few more weeks yet.

Moneymaker-Normal size toms, pretty much the "salad" toms you get in the supermarket. A bit dull and not the best flavour, but we usually grow some as you get the seeds free with mags or giveaways very often.

Yellow bell- vcute little yellow coloured, bell shaped, cherry toms-these are sweet and yummy and look fab in a salad, pretty prolific producer

Shirley- Normal size toms, but tastier than moneymaker, with firm flesh.

"Millions" cherry toms(will check the name as it doesn't sound quite right lol)
Produced loads of sweet red cherry toms mmmmmm-nothing like eating one straight from the vine warm from the sun

Ali x

foreign_correspondent

For a cherry tomato Gardener's delight is a good variety - came out well from most people who grew it and commented on it here last year - also lots of feedback on other varieties: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1737847&highlight=

ALIBOBSY

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

For a cherry tomato Gardener's delight is a good variety - came out well from most people who grew it and commented on it here last year - also lots of feedback on other varieties: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1737847&highlight=

Agree about gardeners delight, we grew one plant of that last year (a swap), will grow more this year.

ali x