Early Tomatoes
Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2005 9:40 pm
How do you get the earliest tomatoes?
I’m always disappointed with how slowly my first tomatoes ripen, it would be great to have some with the early summer weather in June. Unfortunately I don’t record first tomato in my diary so I can’t quote dates.
I have a heated propagator, a small heated greenhouse (heavily insulated so maybe the light is down a bit) and a large cold greenhouse. I’ve never tried growing lights but could be tempted. I’m looking for ideas on varieties, timing and technique.
Peter Surridge mentions Stupice in this month’s magazine and seems to get them ripe before June 18th (I think in Cheshire though the geography in the article is a bit dubious. Nice to know we are having a fine summer in 2006, page 50. Have we lost the proof reader with the change of ownership?). An old Which? article from April 1999 suggested Red Alert indoors but only for a short crop before they go straggly. It also suggested stopping ordinary varieties after four trusses.
I suspect one of my problems is I am too kind to them.
So what varieties do you sow when, how tough do you grow them, do you stop them, when do they ripen, where are you?
I’m always disappointed with how slowly my first tomatoes ripen, it would be great to have some with the early summer weather in June. Unfortunately I don’t record first tomato in my diary so I can’t quote dates.
I have a heated propagator, a small heated greenhouse (heavily insulated so maybe the light is down a bit) and a large cold greenhouse. I’ve never tried growing lights but could be tempted. I’m looking for ideas on varieties, timing and technique.
Peter Surridge mentions Stupice in this month’s magazine and seems to get them ripe before June 18th (I think in Cheshire though the geography in the article is a bit dubious. Nice to know we are having a fine summer in 2006, page 50. Have we lost the proof reader with the change of ownership?). An old Which? article from April 1999 suggested Red Alert indoors but only for a short crop before they go straggly. It also suggested stopping ordinary varieties after four trusses.
I suspect one of my problems is I am too kind to them.
So what varieties do you sow when, how tough do you grow them, do you stop them, when do they ripen, where are you?