[Growster...]

Does anyone have any favourite tomatoes, which will get going very quickly?

Obviously, growing positions, greenhouse conditions etc., are important, but we have consistently been getting a crop of 'Sungold' during the third week of July, from toms grown in large pots in a frost-free, but not heated greenhouse.

But this year, for a change, we're growing Gardener's Delight' (quite late starter), 'Shirley', (slightly before the GD), 'Country Taste' (new one on us), and 'Golden Cherry', (which looks like a 'Sungold). And we're extending our 'Crimson Crush' experiment from own seed taken from two huge, vibrant and prolific plants last year, but they're going outside.

I just wondered if anyone had managed to grow 'Early Girl' here? The trick with good home-grown toms, like early spuds, is to get them when they're very expensive, and I'm all for that! 'Early Girl' seem to be a favourite in the USA because they seem to produce after seven weeks, which is pretty quick!

Any thoughts?

[Paul Plots]

You seem to be making an early start.... 8 minutes to 4 in the morning!

I have not the foggiest about speedy growth tomato recommendations. As you say lots depends on how soon it's started, light levels and temperatures as well as type.

It'll be interesting to see if anyone has a runner in the grand national 

[Growster...]

You seem to be making an early start.... 8 minutes to 4 in the morning!

I have not the foggiest about speedy growth tomato recommendations. As you say lots depends on how soon it's started, light levels and temperatures as well as type.

It'll be interesting to see if anyone has a runner in the grand national 

Ha ha ha! Nice one Paul! You're not doing to badly yourself! (I was wide awake, and just went down for a gallon or so of Assam...)!

The mind boggles on how a tomato type could appear on a race card, but it'd be fun to see in April!

[DD.]

I have a variety called "Clear Pink Early" from the Heritage Seed Library. Whilst I can't give you specific dates, this one was grown in the unheated greenhouse and ripened before the Shirleys which were in the heated greenhouse and sown about 4 weeks prior. The taste isn't too bad either!

[New shoot]

The earliest ones I have grown are Latah, which are bush toms.  The fruits are not huge, but you get loads and they are tasty.

They are sprawling untidy plants, but I have grown them in builders buckets inside, then moved them out as the weather improved.  A collar of plastic mesh - the type sold  for climbers off a roll at most garden centres - helps contain them a bit, but they are too untidy to keep in the greenhouse all summer.

You've reminded me to check my seeds.  I think I am out of them and I forgot to save seeds last year.  I get mine from Real Seeds, but I think quite a few supplier do them now 

[jaydig]

I don't know of any really early varieties because, as you say, it all depends on the weather, but this year I'm going to cheat and buy a couple of plants from a garden centre as they seem to be able to get theirs going much earlier than I can.  These should give me about a month's head start before the ones I grow from seed start to crop.

[Growster...]

Thank you All for these suggestions.

We bought a Marshalls offer lot, simply because we wanted some other stuff they do, and I'd like to try and beat July 19th this year...;0)

[mjg000]

No particular advice on which tomatoes come on early - but I looked back at last summers diary and found......

Tuesday, 19th July

Finally a week of serious sunshine and warmth predicted.  An early morning visit to thoroughly water both plots to give them a bit of oomph through the day.

Picked my first (smallish) red plum tomato from the greenhouse.

thought the date was quite a coincidence.  the plum tomatoes were from my plot neighbour who grows the same ones every year and I think they were originally from a supermarket tomato!

[Growster...]

No particular advice on which tomatoes come on early - but I looked back at last summers diary and found......

Tuesday, 19th July

Finally a week of serious sunshine and warmth predicted.  An early morning visit to thoroughly water both plots to give them a bit of oomph through the day.

Picked my first (smallish) red plum tomato from the greenhouse.

thought the date was quite a coincidence.  the plum tomatoes were from my plot neighbour who grows the same ones every year and I think they were originally from a supermarket tomato!

It's a great day, MG!

My birthday...;0)

[victoria park]

I'm a big believer in extending the fresh tomato season at both ends. June to December is what I aim for and usually just about achieve if I include ripening the last on the window cill.
The smaller cherries tend to start ripening quicker than the larger toms, and so that's where I concentrate early and later fruit with bulk tomatoes in between. Apart from my usual delightful sungold and other varieties, the last 2 years I have grown floridity F1 cherry plum tomatoes, very tasty, thinnish skinned and not quite as sweet as sungold. Tomorrow is my sowing day for them. Last year sown on 13 Feb in an elec propagator, and grown on in a cold greenhouse, I picked the first ones 4 months later third week in June. Could be even earlier I guess under the perfect circumstances.
Good to see others using the crimson crush. They are now my blight dependable outdoor bulk tomato. Yes, the leaves get a bit of blight, but the fruit shrugs it off. The odd weird shape, but they're for sauce to take off the pressure of space in the greenhouse. Tempted to put another 4 feet on this year 

[Paul Plots]

Searching Thompson & Morgan for some seed I want to order when I came across:

Tomato 'Country Taste' F1 Hybrid - Solanum lycopersicum L. - Cordon.
Description says particularly early to set and ripen.

Might be worthwhile looking through the web-site. (I think this was a beef steak type so maybe not what you wanted)

[Growster...]

Searching Thompson & Morgan for some seed I want to order when I came across:

Tomato 'Country Taste' F1 Hybrid - Solanum lycopersicum L. - Cordon.
Description says particularly early to set and ripen.

Might be worthwhile looking through the web-site. (I think this was a beef steak type so maybe not what you wanted)

Thanks Paul - these are part of 'the deal' I have from Marshalls, who are by no means the cheapest of course, but there again, I don't have to drive miles to get their stuff!

(Keep meaning to ask you, if you're from the Sunny South Coast, and somewhere within driving distance of Peacehaven, are Popletts still as good as they used to be? Back in the seventies, I knew them well as one of our best customers - they were great people to deal with)!

[Growster...]

I'm a big believer in extending the fresh tomato season at both ends. June to December is what I aim for and usually just about achieve if I include ripening the last on the window cill.
The smaller cherries tend to start ripening quicker than the larger toms, and so that's where I concentrate early and later fruit with bulk tomatoes in between. Apart from my usual delightful sungold and other varieties, the last 2 years I have grown floridity F1 cherry plum tomatoes, very tasty, thinnish skinned and not quite as sweet as sungold. Tomorrow is my sowing day for them. Last year sown on 13 Feb in an elec propagator, and grown on in a cold greenhouse, I picked the first ones 4 months later third week in June. Could be even earlier I guess under the perfect circumstances.
Good to see others using the crimson crush. They are now my blight dependable outdoor bulk tomato. Yes, the leaves get a bit of blight, but the fruit shrugs it off. The odd weird shape, but they're for sauce to take off the pressure of space in the greenhouse. Tempted to put another 4 feet on this year 

Thank you Victoria - that's very helpful! I've heard of Floridity, and I suppose it stands to reason that a small plum tom will ripen earlier than a larger one like Shirley. I also like the idea of a tom with a little more acidity, although Sungold take a lot of beating - I'm just trying to see if there are alternatives!

Not sure If you've seen this, but two years ago, - through John who runs this site - I received three Crimson Crush cuttings free, and they went quite well, so I saved some seed just to see what would happen last year.

I sowed them as normal, and planted around a dozen outside down on 'The Patch'. Some were just ordinary and cropped OK, but two particular plants just romped away, and didn't get any blight (just a smidgen right at the end of the season, but everyone else suffered badly - as we did with several other plants which just died off) and these two plants developed huge roots and leaves with great trusses of enormous fruit!

So the seed from those two particular chaps is safe in the box for this year and we'll see what happens...!

[Paul Plots]

Growster - you asked:

Keep meaning to ask you, if you're from the Sunny South Coast, and somewhere within driving distance of Peacehaven, are Popletts still as good as they used to be? Back in the seventies, I knew them well as one of our best customers - they were great people to deal with!

I can't help you out here - I am nearer the Isle of Wight than Peacehaven.... and wouldn't cycle that far 
Sorry - no help as usual (not driven a car for more than 40 years!)

[victoria park]

I received three Crimson Crush cuttings free, and they went quite well, so I saved some seed just to see what would happen.

Growster, your experience of crimson crush is very similar to mine  where the odd plant here and there goes ballistic. They're a big tomato at the best of times, and definitely need good staking and truss support. Will be interested how your own seeds fare this year.
On the subject of "armpit" tomato cuttings and extending the season early and late, I've found the cuttings off the  early sown cherries are the perfect "delayed" later plants that stay on healthy to the bitter end.
Although the floridity, and other cherries, are stated as cordon types, I allow them to be the bush they want to be, once they are 3 feet high. Seems to increase their longevity and harvest, but I might be imagining it.  And to be honest, by then it becomes almost irrelevant into the Autumn if the extra greenery gives rise to a risk of botrytis. The sungolds definitely give up a bit earlier.