How late can you sow outdoor tomatoes & still get a crop

[Primrose]

I've just been given a packet of Lidi tomato seeds. Never tried this variety before and wonder whether it's too late to sow a few seeds for outdoor growing to see what they turn out like. Any feedback on their flavour?

[alan refail]

Hi Primrose

Sow a few immediately and they'll germinate very quickly now. Given a good summer you should get a late crop.

[Lyn]

Hi Primrose - I like them very much and think they are well worth growing - although they are quite tiny, they are very, very prolific - you will get hundreds of little yellow cherry-sized toms off one plant, and I find them to be just as sweet and flavoursome as Gardeners Delight (both these varieties look great together in a salad).

Lyn

[alan refail]

Hi Primrose

I've just read Lyn's post and reread yours. Did you mean Ildi? I read it first as Lidl
I have grown Ildi, and, yes, they are very prolific and very tasty. Well worth trying a few plants.

[The Mouse]

Hi Primrose

It's always worth a try, but as Alan said, get them planted immediately!

That said, my own experience of sowing tomatoes late was a dismal failure, and they were sown several weeks earlier than this. By the time the fruits formed, it was too late in the season for them to ripen, even off the plants. That was three years ago, and the weather was good that summer, if I remember rightly.

The variety I tried to grow was Garden Pearl. However, with a different variety you might be more successful, so give it a go, and give the young plants all the shelter and protection you can to try to bring them on quickly.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

[Primrose]

Thanks for your comments. Seeds now sown and I'll be walking the pots round the sunniest parts of the house to give them as much sunshine and willpower to germinate as quickly as possible. This is one of the things I enjoy about growing vegetables. I may have grown tomatoes for years, but there is always a new or different variety to try and always the anticipation of waiting to see how it will turn out.