[Growster...]

We grow quite a few toms in various areas around the garden, and this year, because we've had some pretty good weather so far, the GH ones seem to be struggling, while the outside plants are getting away more quickly!

The GH toms are growing well, but need extra water twice a day, and I wonder if the warm snap has come so early for young plants, that they're just not able to cope with such rapid development! The trusses are forming, but seem a bit reluctant, while outside the toms in pots seem much happier! The few we have direct in the soil are romping away and they were from cuttings from the first batch!

As long as the dreaded blight stays away, we should be fine, but I wonder if chums here are noticing any differences this year?

(ps, I'm interested in the other post about Epsom Salts, I found a huge jar of the stuff the other day, so may be worth a pop)!

[hasbeans]

All mine are outdoors and have a lot of leaf curl and the branches are staying close to the stem or bunched.  They seem to be flowering well but there's slower vertical growth than usual.  I'm putting it down to stress from cold nights and swinging temperatures.  There's a few small fruits forming but I'm expecting ripe fruit much later than recent seasons.

[lettice]

My greenhouse tomatoes are doing wonderfully, flowering well and a few tomatoes have just appeared.
In my greenhouse I have Tigrella, Golden Sunrise and my saved seed of Nectar Rose

Outside ones are slower, as always, put now a few feet high.
I have a couple of new raised beds this year (rather than a long row of large pots I've used before), one new raised bed has San Marzano, the other Marmande. Both are flowering well and the Marmande has a few small tomatoes that have just appeared.
Around my plot I have pots with Nectar Rose and Cherry tomatoes (Bush Cherry Falls, Garden Pearl and Red Cherry). The Cherry tomatoes are a mass of flowers with a few cherry tomatoes just appearing.
I water my greenhouse and outside tomato pots every evening. Unless we get rain. Feed with Tomorite once a week, from when they start flowering.

I'd say all my tomatoes are at about the same stage they usually are at this time of year.

Never in many decades on this plot every had blight, neither have any of my neighbours.

[hasbeans]

Never in many decades on this plot every had blight, neither have any of my neighbours.

I've had blight every year i've grown them in the garden and gave up with determinates last year as it was 3 in a row for throwing plants away without picking a single fruit!  I've always put it down to our exposed location.

[missmoneypenny]

Here in south London I’ve had blight every year except that exceptionally hot summer, maybe 2018? This year I’m spacing them out more to make sure the tips don’t touch and I’m also growing some in my backyard. I don’t have a greenhouse. Mine are way behind due to poor germination and development form seed this year.

[KalisDad]

Being in a place thats renowned for rain and is always fairly humid in summer I wouldn't attempt tomatoes outside, my greenhouse tom's are coming along nicely but I do agree with Growster on watering, even on the dull days we have mostly have here if we get 1 or 2 sunny spells I'm having to run down and give additional waterings

[hasbeans]

Down to 7c here last night and tonight again, that won't please them or the chillies and cukes either.

[Growster...]

Interesting comments, All...

Our toms just don't seem to be 'happy', which is a generic term for 'What the heck's going on here'!

We've had some amazing hot days, a few chilly nights, and I guess they're wondering what to do next! Because we grow forty-odd plants, we're not worried about the yield, but this year is so different from other years!

Toms can be so forgiving (despite late-blight), and as a chum here once said about the bounty one gets from such a small seed, it really becomes an obsession to grow as many as we have room for!

Soldier on...

[JacsH]

South West Scotland so tomatoes in our tunnel, not outside. Started in heated propagator 12 March, potted on 10 April (3" pots) then 4 May (5") and kept in the conservatory. Planted in tunnel from 13 May and all doing well. Plenty fruit set with home collected seed from Indigo Rose turning nicely black; Chadwick Cherry doing really well as are Sungold. Other varieties Amish Paste, Aviditas, True Black Brandywine, blooming Butcher, Ethel Watkins, Ildi, Orange Russian etc setting nicely. We grow between 50-70 plants (12-20 varieties) from which I expect to eat all we can then roast, blitz and freeze the rest to use as "canned tomatoes" over the winter or make chilli tomato sauce. Years vary a lot with cropping starting 29th July in 2019 with main cropping from 17th August; 2020 first pick 4 July, a spurt 31 July-8 Aug then the main crop spread through September; 2021 first crop 8 July and main through August to early September. All years started about the same time. I reckon this year we'll not be cropping until mid-late July. Yes, night before last cold - 4 degrees (7 in the tunnel). Chillies and sweet peppers doing very well and already have a heavy crop of Hungarian (not) Hot Wax to pick and pickle. on the other hand, the Runner Beans, third attempt.......

[Goosegirl]

Mine germinated rather late so they've not been in their grow bags in the GH very long but seem to be ok though I have noticed the main stems look like a side shoot as they're quite thin. At least the top leaves are nice and curly which seems to be a good omen methinks.

[Abunndance]

I grow my tomatoes outside in straw bales.  We live near the coast and so get lots of wind.  Other than the wind, for the first time ever, all are in bloom and some setting fruit.  I had several plants that I grew from seed, that just sat with two leaves for two months straight.  When the chance of frost passed, I put them outside - do or die.  I didn't have anymore bales left, so when they unexpectedly flourished, I put them in tomato grow bags.  They are all happy as Larry, but about a month behind the rest.  Only time will tell if any of them will continue to thrive. 

[JayG]

'Normal' growth so far this year - Red Alert as ever is way in front of the other varieties despite being in an open cold frame rather than the GH - they've set several fruit already despite being planted out when only 6" tall about 4 weeks ago.

'Rosella' is this year's 'experiment' after reading favourable comments on this forum - both plants have produced 2 strong additional shoots from the base which I'm still deliberating whether to cut off and thereby risk letting botrytis in, given that the wounds would be virtually at soil level (I might let each one set one truss before stopping them.)