Is it to early to start tomato plant seeds

I am ready to plant my tomato seeds but is it to early to start them off.

It depends if you have a heated greenhouse.  I don't start mine until mid March because my greenhouse is unheated.   

I find tomatoes grow too fast to keep them constrained inside on the windowsill for months on end.  If they haven't got a warm enough environment to move on to, all the benefits of early sowing are wasted and you don't end up getting tomatoes any sooner.

I always start a few of the smaller pot tomatoes, like Gardenpearl at about this time. I grow them on the window ledge until they can be taken out to the greenhouse during the day, and then brought back inside on cold nights. These are specifically to give me a some early tomatoes, and once the later sown ones are fruiting, the early ones go in the compost bin.

I wouldn't think of sowing the majority of my tomatoes until much later, as I can't plant them out until the end of April beginning of May here (even inside the greenhouse)

I'm just setting up my seed trays in the conservatory at home, and intend to let them acclimatise before sowing seeds for tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, maybe cucumbers and melons in a couple of weeks time  -  massive self-discipline on my part, aiming not to sow until mid-February....!  When I finally plant out into the allotment greenhouses I intend to do it differently this year, after decades of planting into grow-bags on shelves in the greenhouses  -  I've had various problems with various brands of growbags in the past few years. So this time I'm intending to plant into B&Q Verve multipurpose compost in pots. I'd like advice as to the best size pots to use  - all info gratefully received......

I’ve always wondered about that. I mean, how does the seed know what size the pot is?  I can see how it helps for convenience, but surely it can’t affect growth?

I find tomatoes get huge before I’ve anywhere to put them if I plant them now. And I’ll never forget the year I did it with beans and courgettes! 

Well, that sounds logical at least. I wonder if it’s water-related, too. Repeated watering would perhaps wash the nutrients through before the plant got to them, and roots do need air as well. Ok, I’m convinced. I’m going to try traditional seed trays this year. I’ve always gone straight for small pots, but there’s a lot of wastage. And while pricking out seedlings is extra work, it’s hardly unpleasant (especially when one has no non-Gardeners around to moan about the uses to which the kitchen table and spare room are put!)

(especially when one has no non-Gardeners around to moan about the uses to which the kitchen table and spare room are put!)

Not to mention the kitchen forks and spoons that need to be put back in the drawer before my wife spots them - preferably washed first!