Late Tomatoes
Last post 11-12-2012 11:52 AM by gardenslave. 8 replies.
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26/06/2012 11:49 AM
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- gardenslave
- France
- 26 Jun 2012
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5
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Hello, has anyone tried growing late tomatoes? I was wondering if its worth starting off some seed now for some plants that (might?) produce toms right into the winter months, under protection? Our main outside crop is usually pretty much on its last legs my September, then we get a frost that finishes them off, the weather usually warms back up for the rest of September, October and often right into November, would plants started off late produce anything, anyone tried it?
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26/06/2012 01:50 PM
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- sue1002
- Ipswich, Suffolk
- 06 Sep 2005
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9,475
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The latest I've ever sown tomato seed has been in May and that was in a year when I'd received a late seed delivery. I kept the plants in the greenhouse along with the others that I'd already had on the go and it was about October when all varieties of tomatoes finished fruiting and ripening up. If you want to have a go, please report back and let us know how you got on.
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28/06/2012 05:23 PM
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I'd imagine, if you managed to avoid the blight, you might get a crop of green tomatoes, that you'll have to ripen artificially, as you won't get the requisite sunshine. I wouldn't bother, as natural ripening is one of the main factors that makes home-grown so much better.
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28/06/2012 07:53 PM
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- gardenslave
- France
- 26 Jun 2012
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5
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Ahhh, now, don't forget we are in the SW of France! OK, day length does start (already) to draw in, but the quality of light if much better out here. Apart from one or two frosts - that usually hit us in late September or early October, the temperatures can easily rise again. Last year we had 40 early October. Nov through to Jan can be very mild, our winters usually hit with a vengeance in February. So the real restricting factor would be day length. I haven't got any viable seed at the moment, might see if there are any odd seedlings appearing in the garden, only need one for a try out.
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30/06/2012 03:07 PM
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You'll have much more light too. Big difference. Good luck, and keep us posted?
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24/07/2012 05:18 PM
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- gardenslave
- France
- 26 Jun 2012
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5
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OK, found a seedling a couple of weeks ago, no idea what it is, but it will suffice for the test. Its just been potted on into a 1 litre pot and is about 8 inches tall with its first flowers. I have also just started off a few more cucumber seedlings to see if they 'do' as well. I will post when we have some sort of news as to whether or not it was worthwhile.
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10/12/2012 08:35 PM
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- gardenslave
- France
- 26 Jun 2012
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5
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For those that are interested, my late tomato turned out to be a gardeners delight. It ended up in a 4litre pot, was a bit neglected as too much else going on. But is now about 6ft tall and running along the roof beams in the greenhouse.
The weather here has actually been a bit dull, not much sun, damp and generally horrid. We've had a few -2's and -4's so quite chilly and the greenhouse is unheated.
My tom is currently laden with toms that are very slowly ripening. We had a few days of sun last week, so there are quite a few that are now changing colour. Flavour, not as good as in the summer, but that might be partly down to lack of feed as I have had to cut back on watering because of the cold nights.
It has also caught the frost as it is so close to the plastic, I have had to put up some bubble wrap to try to protect it a bit and that reduces the light.
Conclusion.
I think that if you are in a sunny part of the country then yes it is worth it. Next year I think I would try with a tumbling tom, in a large pot. It can then be kept towards the middle of the greenhouse, well away from the cold sides and roof areas and would be easy to fleece up at night.
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11/12/2012 11:42 AM
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- kaydee
- Perthshire
- 15 Feb 2009
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258
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Thank you! that is really interesting with those low temperatures. I think I might give it a go with a tumbling tom next year even if I have to give in & bring it in as a pot plant towards late autumn. I sliced up a super-market tomato yesterday with my lunch & it tasted of absolutely nothing whatsoever at all. How did the cucumber seedlings 'do'? Best. K.
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11/12/2012 11:52 AM
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- gardenslave
- France
- 26 Jun 2012
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5
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Cucumbers didn't do much, I think they produced about 6 between the two plants, so not really worth the effort. I think for the toms, if you have electricity in your greenhouse its worth investing in a soil warming cable. Lay down some plastic sheeting, cover well with sand, lay cable, then a bit more sand, and you have an ideal over-wintering bed, or a propagating bed. That would keep the roots warm, then fleece up the top growth overnight. I kept my geraniums like that one winter with outside temps down to -15C. I did put half a dozen layers of fleece over them at night though. The toms would probably need that sort of treatment too. Then you could go on feeding and watering pretty much as normal.
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