Okay......so we have started....Tomatoes!

[Mrs Ava]

Okay, own up, who has already sowed their tomato seeds, who has them at the ready to do soon, and who is waiting until February time????

Me, I confess, I am thinking about it, getting pots organised and sorting my seeds......any day now......

[Mrs Ava]

[Kerry]

yep, spring must definately be in the air! what a nice thought.
me, i sow mine in february, growing usually under glass.
i have spent the last few days organising a seed sowing spreadsheet,so i can get successional crops rather than all at once. so complex, but very enjoyable! (is that sad of me? hope not!)

[Garden Manager]

I personaly think late feb early march is the best time - it means they are at just the right stage to go out when the frosts are over. Besides i dont think the light levels are high enough in january to start growing things like that.

Last year i tried tomatioes earlier than usual - they were not a sucess and had to do another lot at around the usual time - these soon caught up with the 'earlies'.

[sandersj89]

Last year I started my toms in February, in a heated greenhouse. I also gave them some artificial light to sumpliment the meagre natural light at this time of year. This did work faily well though the plants were still slightly leggy. Having said that I started cropping nice and early, even thouse moved outside. This meant I missed the worst of the blight and had very few green tomatoes to deal with.

Jerry

[tim]

How many plants - indoors & outdoors - are we talking about, Emma?  I'm trying to cut down this year. = Tim

[aquilegia]

Already???

I'm trying to hold out until mid March, especially as I don't have a proper greenhouse, so they are all to grow outside. I started them early March last year and I still managed to run out of windowsill room and they were rather leggy by the time I put them out. Maybe I'll have to do late March or even April this year.

(Is it really that time of year again? It doesn't seem like that long since I was last sowing everything!  :D)

[Mrs Ava]

Not sure on numbers yet Tim, I lost all of the allotment plants to blight last summer so have made plans for this year.  Can't have enough toms in this household, the homemade tom sauces were lapped up and we are down to our last container in the freezer. 

I know what you mean Aqui, it was only about November time when I pulled the last of the plants out of the greenhouse and cooked up the last tray of greeny/yellowy/orangey toms!

[aquilegia]

I still have a few of last year's toms ripening under a tea towel. I didn't have jars to make chutney then. I think we'll probably be able to have a few of them for dinner tonight. But the frozen sauces finished months ago.

[ruud]

I am starting late february,i am now in the middle of some exciting tom trades.This time i have got a tom variaty who can last whole winter,that is what the owner of the seeds have promised me.He is eating whole winter fresh tommies,the variaty is cold giraffe i now but what is a name.Cant wait to sow them

[Wicker]

Ruud, out of curiosity I Googled Tomato Giraffe and the growers on the GardenWed Forum were certainly pretty excited about this variety  ehich comes orginally from Belarus I think.  Seems it can stay on the vine for 3 to 4 months!!  Would certainly extend the season.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg091609093332.html

We don't start ours for a few weeks yet tho...

[ruud]

Hi wicker,you found my pot of gold,hahaha.Earl is my swap connection for the moment and andrey is the block in belarus were i did a very succesful trade with.

[Mrs Ava]

Ahhhh Gardenweb, where I first met the king of Tomatos, Ruud! :D  Well Ruud, if you have any real oddities, and you have plenty of seeds.....I would love to give some a go again. :D

[ruud]

Your wish is my command,just look at your private mailbox,e.j the tomatoghost will apear