Growing some early tomatoes 2020

[veggiechicken]

I sow bush toms that will be of a size to keep on the windowsill until the weather warms up. A vine tomato would be more difficult to control in the space so I sow them in a month or so.

[Scarlet]

I’ve got some SAN Mazarno I want to get growing. Would you say these are ok for a January grow or maybe a little later?

Definitely later. Tomatoes are tender and cannot be put in the greenhouse until after the last frosts. Mine are usually left overnight mid May- no earlier. Before that I put them out in the morning and in at night if temperatures are forecast lower than 10.
They get large quite quickly - so even from a March sowing you will be carrying large plants.
I would wait.
If you want to start early to extend your cropping over the summer sow a couple of small bush tomatoes.

[FromYorkshiretoBucks]

Thanks everyone, will wait on the SM. I’ve got some cherry tomato varieties in my seed box, so I will have a look and see if there are any bush varieties.

If not, has anyone got any recommendations?

[veggiechicken]

I recommend the ones I'm growing -see #38. The only one that's new to me is Hahm Gelbe, otherwise, I sow these every year at this time.

[Mamzie]

Right, I can make myself wait no more... Gonna have a look through my seeds and sow a few for the window like suggested here.

Many years ago I used to grow indoors as had no garden, but this house has no windows directly facing the path of the sun. Will be interesting to see how they cope.

[FBI]

I've got Shirley and Gardener's Delight seed left over from last year - might venture a few tomorrow. The other day, though, I fell down the Premier Seeds rabbit hole and now I have some Mortgage Lifter, supposedly huuuuge :-) Might try a few of them, too.

[Scarlet]

I've got Shirley and Gardener's Delight seed left over from last year - might venture a few tomorrow. The other day, though, I fell down the Premier Seeds rabbit hole and now I have some Mortgage Lifter, supposedly huuuuge :-) Might try a few of them, too.

Those varieties may get very leggy before they can safely be put in the greenhouse? Have you got any bush tomatoes? They wouldn't run out of window space so quickly.

[Scarlet]

Latah and VCs rambling red stripe from 2015 sown this morning.

Well I have one Latah up - that's just 3 days from sowing.

[FBI]

Those varieties may get very leggy before they can safely be put in the greenhouse? Have you got any bush tomatoes? They wouldn't run out of window space so quickly.

I suspect you're right although I could get them out into the GH fairly early down here on my South-facing slope in North Devon. I'm going to start the 'proper' ones at a sensible time; these are just a few experimental sowings to see what I can get away with. And if they take but are leggy, I'll just bury them a bit :-)

Dave

[Scarlet]

I think you will find you will be burying them more than a bit ...I bury mine quite a bit when planting up in mid May in the Green house from a March sowing. Cordon toms grow fast and indoors with low light levels and too much heat they can get leggy quickly.
You may be a little further South than me but I'm not sure the temperature difference is that much?

[FBI]

As it was I only put 5 Mortgage Lifter in; turned out I had lost the Shirley and GD seeds! The ML are now on a windowsill. Plenty in the packet, a handful lost won't hurt if it comes to it.

It's pretty mild down here and I have a GH with an unencumbered yet windless of a south-facing slope which is worth an extra degree or two especially as spring marches on. I saw my first primulas and crocuses today down here and I gather they'd been around for a few days.

[Penellype]

I sowed 2 Shirley seeds on 9th January and they germinated about a week ago. They are currently under lights upstairs where it is warmer, and will be moved to the sitting room windowsill when they get too tall, probably during March.

[Babru]

Sowed a few Tiny Tim. Our season is a bit later here, I don't think there's much point, just yet, sowing anything which needs to go out in the greenhouse.

[broadway]

Sowed Red Pear, Lemon Sherbet, and Cherrie Kisses just now

[hop-a-long]

I have two blush tomato seedlings and one kiss the sky tomato seedling, sown on January 1st. They are happily growing under an 8 watt daylight bedside lamp that I got from lidl or somewhere, looking very healthy. These are the earliest tomatoes I've grown, gonna keep them by windowsill for as long as possible when they outgrow the lights.
My main motive for planting a few now is to get a token amount of plants on the go now, and get it out of my system until it really is the right time to grow them! Last year I planted dozens around this time of year and it was a bit too much hassle looking after them all, they kinda suffered and went backwards when I eventually moved them all out to the greenhouse in April or May, so figured I'll wait til end of Feb or start of march to plant the all rest this year.
Every year you learn something new I guess.