[thestens]

Took my Dad( 91) to Spain last year and by chance he brought some cheese and tomato sandwiches back on the plane and didnt eat them all.. By chance he kept some Tom seeds and they got planted with some other things he was attempting. He grew them on and they are producing (in a green house in Midlands) lovely flavoured large crinkly toms( picture will be attached if I can work out how to do it.) I have saved some seed.
My question is how early can I start the toms next year ( i have a heated propagator) ? I want them to be ready for August rather than as late as this.
Thanks

[mumofstig]

Starting them earlier is easy - but have you got a heated greenhouse so they can be planted earlier?

[thestens]

Yes greenhouse with heater.

[Growster...]

What a great story, Thestens!

They sound like the sort of tom often seen in Spain, rather like a beefsteak variety, and they do take some time to get to ripen - ours are Marmande, and are still ripening, although we only sow the seed in the middle of March.

As Mum says, you can pop them in in January even, but they'll start to need some space quite early on, so they'll need more than a propagator to expand! A heated greenhouse beckons...

[Nobbie]

As others have said, without a heated greenhouse you are limited with how early it's worth sowing them as they'll just sulk if planted out to early. Having said that, you've been unlucky this year as everything has been a bit late. My tomatoes were about a month later than last year, so if we have a better summer next year you should get them earlier.

[thestens]

Yes they do seem like marmande they aren't regular shaped. I was hoping to get them away early as will be away for most of September so wanted a crop before we went. How about March in propagator in heated green house?

[upthetump]

Yes they do seem like marmande they aren't regular shaped. I was hoping to get them away early as will be away for most of September so wanted a crop before we went. How about March in propagator in heated green house?

i always start mine on the windowsill late january with foil behind them to even out the light, start them in 4" pots, that way they dont need potting on until they go into big pots in the greenhouse. we were picking ripe sungold toms early july this year

[Growster...]

Yes they do seem like marmande they aren't regular shaped. I was hoping to get them away early as will be away for most of September so wanted a crop before we went. How about March in propagator in heated green house?

Probably the best idea, and you may be able to get there a few days earlier, but watch out for cold nights, as they just stop the little chaps in their tracks...

Worth the risk for just a few seeds though - why not follow your ideal, and sow half a dozen or so?

This is 'Extreme Succession', but why not! I may well do the same next year, depending on whether or not we get this 'four month winter' we're promised..;0)