Kitchen Garden Forum

To try to get my tomatoes earlier his year I have started some in a propagator in the cold grenhouse.in small pots. They are now 2 inches tall and have just got their first pair of true leaves. Is it advisable to feed them at all and if so what with?
Regards Brenjon

I think you only start feeding when the first trusses appear.

Just gentle heat and water, try putting the propagator on a timer so it is on less and less each week, they can get too leggy otherwise, remember, it will be several months before you can plant them outside even in an unheated greenhosue.

I would not feed them at this time, until they are in their final position.

I over wintered a Tomato plant Idli in my kitchen (I saved some seed until August so it wasn't too big by autumn), I did not pinch out the side shoots but left these to grow. Last week I took off the side shoots and potted these up into 8cm square pots and left these on the kitchen windowsill, I now have 5 new tom plants about 4 inches high with plenty of leaves and the original plant growing more side shoots for me.

I have also bought some more seed so that I can compare the two methods for yields. The seeds will be sown in a week or two in the propagator.

I now have a polytunnel and a smaller 4x6foot plastic greenhouse inside the Polytunnel covered in bubblewrap. This green house will be heated, probably from mid March and I will transfer my young Tomato plants into it.

I'll report back later in the year.

By the way I would give a weak feed every two weeks and ensure that the pots aren't too small for the developing plant. Keep an eye on the developing leaves for signs of mineral deficiencies.