Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Growing in Greenhouses & Polytunnels => Topic started by: adri123 on February 01, 2016, 10:21
-
Hi
I'm lucky enough this year to have access to a large heated greenhouse or part of it anyway.
We're up in the Peak District and I'd be planting the Toms in our large PT eventually but given the protection I have from frosts etc when would you think sowing Tom seeds would be best?
TIA
Adri
-
You still have to work backwards from the date at which the final destination (the polytunnel) will be reliably above 10C at night.
So I think the end of Feb would be the earliest, and by the time they can go into the PT they will have grown quite big in their pots.
-
I always underestimate the size plants grow to and the space and light they will need before I can plant them out in the unheated minitunnel.
This year fewer is better, so the end of Feb sowing will only be about six seeds
-
I experimented last year using a grow light indoors to set a couple off early and sowed a couple at the time I would normally and compared the result.
Although the early one grew well the end result was fruiting time was very similar, within a week even tho there was about 6 weeks between sowing times so this year I have decided to start them as normal at the end of feb.
I would suspect as long as you keep the temp as mentioned above 10 and have the room then you could start them really early.
Peppers on the other hand (although Daylight Light Neutral too) did show a big difference and this year I have upgraded my lighting system, this is a cayenne which was sown 14th Jan
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/Aidypunk/cayenne_zpsgsuk5wgv.jpg) (http://s133.photobucket.com/user/Aidypunk/media/cayenne_zpsgsuk5wgv.jpg.html)