2014 Tomato Growing

Thanks for the info everyone. I'll take it all on board.

JWK, I will consider the plant pots rather than the growbags. Just trying to make things easy for myself, but perhaps it would be better to use the pots, for depth of soil. I might try both for an experiment. It can be frosty up end of May, but not in recent years....
Kristen, moneymaker was a friend's suggestion, who thought it was nice, but if it isn't then I shall try something else instead, i'll look through the lists. I'll should be able to support the plants with bamboo canes. The greenhouse is only small 6x8ish, has an opening window and a louvre vent, so hopefully, that should do the trick.
I'm so excited!! Have thoughts about cucumber and already sowed the chillies at work -

 

I take on board all the comments on the soil base, i am wondering about doing part soil. I don't have a base to put it on, hence the thought of putting it on paving to bolt it down.
I am very tempted by the Sungold. Thank you for the Taste test thread.

 

If you haven't got suitable pots (they need to be 12" diameter, or a big bigger) then as @JWK said cutting the bags in half, and standing "on end" to make containers works well. (I still think in-the-soil is better, but the half-growbag ideas is a lot easier to control the watering than having the growbags flat)

There is a lot of weight on a greenhouse tomato plant, so perhaps check that the canes are sturdy, and supporting the plant adequately (without strangling it!) as the season progresses - checking then in August would be a good time as they will probably have a full set of trusses then, and the fruit will be starting to put on weight

I think its hard to ventilate a 6x8 greenhouse. One benefit is that it isn't far "front to back" so opening the door will get air to the whole of the interior (it means the plants are in a draught though, so ideally using the vents is better, but that's just not possible in a small greenhouse. Don;t let me put you off, it will be fine, but you may have to be more vigilant as a consequence.

If there was an easy way to get a second vent into the roof whilst re-constructing the greenhouse I think that would help - but they can be expensive as a retro fit.

 

Folks are sowing already? Way too early, unless you are prepared to heat, imo. I normally sow in mid March, and even then have to supply some heat on cold nights. What's the hurry?

 

Kristen, Pixie is in Northumberland which is a cooler area. I have an 8x6 greenhouse with just one opening window and for the temperatures on the island that's enough, as long as the door is open during the warmer days. Notice I say warmer and not hot.

I have been growing tomatoes in the same cheap B&Q buckets for years and they're fine, just drill a few holes in the bottom. I also put some large stones over the holes to help drainage. My toms only need watering once every other day during the summer.

 

Hiya Freddy,
I'm getting one or two on the go as i'm trying to guesstimate the size i'm going to need for a scion to fit a potato....don't half set myself some tasks don't i?

 

Hi Pixie
I am not far from you and have probably same weather, I grow in an 8 x 6 greenhouse and have no probs with temp, I have an auto vent and a louver vent in the end. I am in a fairly new bungalow and there is no topsoil to talk about a couple of inches and I am down to builders rubble and dolomite, I put a path in the middle and made beds 4" deep with wood lined with black landscape material, this I filled with old compost and added some chicken manure pellets I grow my toms and cucs in 12" pots sat on top of this with loads of 3/4" holes drilled in the bottom of the pots so the roots can go looking. I feed in the pots and keep the bed damp with water only, last season was my first here and I had a bumper crop 18 tom plants 1 cucumber and 2 chrystal apple cucumbers. I used a small electric fan last season when it was really hot.
Kept all the family in toms and cucs. One Alsa craig truss had 24 toms on it all around 120 grams each. Hope you have a good growing season and I know you will have great fun.
rgds Alex

 

How about cutting the bottoms out of the pots (so the roots can go down unhindered)? Bit like ring-culture of yesteryear (that was a tomato in a bottomless pot on a bed of gravel, the gravel was kept topped up with water for "drinking roots" and the pot fed once a week for "feeding roots".

If it were me I think I would plant them "low" in the ring-pot, and then fill up the pot later so that the stem is underground and then develops feeder-roots of its own - i.e. the bulk of the root is direct into the soil.

Just a thought though

I prefer to plant direct into the soil to have maximum cropping height to the roof (in fact I have lowered the borders in my greenhouse by a foot to get more cropping height)

Ring Culture Pot looks like this:

http://www.thegardensuperstore.co.u...t-Pots--Pack-of-3-.-2414005.html#.Uvy43mJ_vAk

or one of the "slow watering" rings for a Grow Bag would do too:

http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/tomato-grow-pots-pid4419.html

although what I was thinking of was just hacking the bottom out of a pot

Did you like the flavour of Ailsa Craig (assuming you had other varieties to compare it to?) Its one of the ones, along with Moneymaker, that I grew when I first started growing Tomatoes in my greenhouse, and have since given up as not having enough flavour. Both of those are popular varieties though (and I often wonder why )

OTOH I do like Ailsa Craig onions

 

Hi Kristen.
Alsa craig flavour was poor compared to others I grew last year which included Shirley. Sungold. Orange paruche. gardeners delight. I will not grow Alsa again. This year I am growing Sungold, Orange paruche, vanessa, Matina, Gardeners delight, Amish paste and Shirley.
The reason I grow in pots with drilled bottoms is twofold, 1) Already had the pots 2) I grow them in the conservatory resting on plastic plates until weather warms up then move them out into greenhouse. which is easy as compost does not fall out when moved.
I would have preferred to dig down and grow in border to give max hight, however due bricks concrete etc. gave up. I start early already have several started, I grow up strings attached to wires on greenhouse roof and as each truss is finished I just lower plants so they go until frost get them. happy growing Alex

 

I'm going for Rooster John

I think it's going to be a case of weekly sowing the odd tomato to see how we do for size....I'm still waiting for my Roosters but i'm keeping an eye on the earlies i've got chitting for a rough idea size wise.....

 

Useful to hear your experience too, thanks.

Sungold, Gardeners Delight, Amish paste and Shirley are all on my favourites list so hopefully you will enjoy them too; the other two I have not tried.

Don't want to suggest that you change how you are doing things, so just talking as I see it, so to speak. I think you would find that with bottomless pots you could do the same thing. By the time it came time to move them off the plastic plates onto the greenhouse border the roots would be established enough that the soil would not fall out of the bottom. Either that or have to slide them off the plates into the final position - which might be a bit fraught!

Other option is to grow them on in smaller pots and then "plant them out" into bottomless pots, in situ - in effect that would be the final potting-on. That would also enable the plants' rootball to be placed on the ground, and then when the pot was filled with compost I expect that several inches of stem could be "buried".

That's the proper way to do it I have done that in the past but now manage to get away without that as I have enough height that the top truss on mine ripens at about the time that the plants are giving up - but that does need a lot of height.

 

Thank you ALL so much for the information, didn't expect so many fantastic responses. I'm jumping even higher now This year will be an experimental year, but then I always find something to experiment with every year....and learn from the outcome whatever, but after all this wonderful advice and suggestions, i can't wait to get going and eat those yummy home grown tomatoes I've been waiting to try for years! I am currently studying a horticulture course and the greenhouse growing will be part of my learning, so it will be all good! Just got to make sure i can fit that seat in for those cold days