Tomato Growing 2026

ADMIN NOTE: - START OF 2026 TOMATO THEAD

Last year's thread

Tomato Growing 2025




My cuttings of Chocolate Drop are overwintering quite well so far. The sweet peppers went in today. So I popped in a few micro dwarf seeds into the propagator to keep them company.

 

Hello, tinies! Henry Harrington's, Lois' Baby Tiger ( GWR Variant), Betalux, Mongolian Dwarf.

 

Gosh @eatenbyweasels you're early! What lights do you use to keep them growing properly this time of year please?

 

At the moment, they're under a fold-out bulb screwed into an old floor lamp. As the plants need more space and thus more lighted area, I'll add a gooseneck light.

 

Those look good @eatenbyweasels ! I bought a big fold out one for the greenhouse but it needs quite a support to hang from. Also the boys in blue might start enquiring why I need it (it would be visible from the road). I will put it there eventually...

 

My lights are in full view of the street. Quite happy for the local coppers to come in for a peek. They'll soon clear off when I start boring them with tomato talk.

 

Gosh, that's early. I didn't sow tomatoes until early March, but that was in France and when I had a greenhouse. I'd start them in an electric propagator. If I sowed them earlier they would get too big as all the spare space in the GH was taken up with trays and pots of seedlings of veg and flowers on trestle tables. Once that lot was out in the cold frames in early May I could plant the tomatoes in the GH bed and in the garden if it was warm.

Now that I've downsized in France and I spend a lot of time in England I just buy tomato plants for the French veg garden.

 

These are micro dwarves which only reach around 30cm so they'll be happy on or near the windowsill for months. The cuttings will probably be lopped back at least once to keep them under control until potting on.