Advice on Tom's

Ilona.S

Hi I have purchased 6 tomato plants they are money maker,super sweet 100,Alisa Craig,Alicante F1 Shirley and outdoor girl .I haven't got a green house but have a conservatory ,any growing tips welcome ,cheers

pansyface

I grow mine in the conservatory every year. Mind you, it faces south, it has a glass roof, the walls are all glass apart from a knee-high wall, and it has underfloor heating.

Mine grow like billy-ho in there. Here they are today, just starting out in life.

By the time they get taller, I shall have moved the peach, lime and calamondin trees outside and out of the way and the tomatoes will each have a window seat for the summer.

Ilona.S

Thanks pansy face,will they need support and potting on at some stage ?

pansyface

They will need support, yes. Even the shrubby ones that grow into a bush style of plant will need some support. But the vine-like ones that I grow need 2metre long canes to grow up.

Mine go from their baby pots, maybe 3” diameter, straight into their permanent pots (the ones in the photo) which are about 15 litres in volume.

Ilona.S

Thanks so much for your help 

Fairygirl

Hi @Ilona.S. In addition to @pansyface's excellent advice, if you live in a warm enough part of the country, some of them will be able to go outside later on - end of May/June.
The most important thing is to keep a regular watering regime with them, and make sure they have ventilation as temps rise. As they will be very small just now, just try and keep them slightly drier, rather than too wet. It's something you'll learn as you go along 
I pot mine on to a slightly bigger pot before going in their final one, but if your conservatory is very warm, they'll probably grow very quickly, so you may find you can do as pansyface does. 
Good support is vital, and you'll find some of those will get very big, so make sure you think about that before they get out of control. They can suddenly become like triffids before you know it 

Ilona.S

Hi Fairygirl thanks will get the canes out 😊

Fairygirl

I grew some cherry toms at a previous house, in the very large conservatory - ideal for a jungle, never mind tomatoes 
I rigged stuff up to the timber frame because, like pansyface, there was a low wall. I had the toms on that, in pots which sat in seed trays full of compost. That meant the plants themselves were lower down, and they got extra room 'up top' which was needed. 
Make sure you have plenty of room in between each plant too. That way - you can get them going sideways too