[MickyB]

My spuds went in today, Pentland Javelin, Blue Kestrel, Estima, Romano, Desiree and Golden Wonder, the pea's went in a couple of days back and are under 'enviromesh' to keep the worst of the frost off and hopefully keep the Pea moth at bay! The brown onions are in, red ones are to follow shortly along with some shallots.

I have grown from seed for the first time this year and have over done it and ended up with too much, I have given some away already but still have 45 tomato plants (A mixture of Gardeners Delight, Shirley F1 and Moneymaker) I also have 12 Aubergines plants, I have a 6ft x 6ft green house and was planning to grow a couple of Aubergines along the length, one side only, and fill the remaining space with Shirley F1 tomatoes - how many could I fit in? How far should I space them out, I am planning to use bottomless pots through the ground membrane and into the soil inside the greenhouse to grow them in.

Some of the other tomato plants I am going to try outside, leaving the Gardeners Delight to 'bush' when would it be OK to plant out? Will the Gardeners Delight go in pots/baskets?

I also have some Cucumber 'Burpless' that can go outdoors but the packet doesn't say when, the stalks are getting really long and I think they might flop if I leave them too long - should I support them in the pots, when can I plant them out?

I was given some Shallots, how do I plant them?

This is year 2 for me, I'm still learning the basics. 

[Hampshire Hog]

Based on where you are I would be cautious of putting out frost sensitive plants till mid to late May.
As to shallots just make a small hole with a dibber and pop them in
cheers HH

[mumofstig]

I grow 4 tomatoes along the length of my 6 x 6 greenhouse, Aubs don't usually grow as big, so I never planted mine into the soil. I grew them in pots, stood between the tomatoes.

I haven't even sown my cucumbers yet  cos they grow sooo quickly and can't be planted out until mid May here.

[DD.]

I haven't even sown my cucumbers yet  cos they grow sooo quickly and can't be planted out until mid May here.

Outdoor cucumbers here might see the outside of the packet mid-April and I think we can say my climate is pretty much the same as the OP! You're going to have a job keeping them for the next two months before it's safe to plant them out. Be prepared to re-sow.

Dare I mention Moneymaker tomatoes? You've also sown Shirley. Concentrate on these. There's a reason MM seed is cheap!

[MickyB]

Thanks All!

You do not sound impressed DD, what's wrong with Moneymaker tomatoes?

Will the cucumber go in the greenhouse or outside covered until the weather picks up, seems a shame to give up now and I have no seed left.

[mjpalin]

Hi Micky - your cucumber (to have any hope) really needs to be somewhere frost free as a minimum, but they actually prefer temps of +10c. You also need to be aware that cuc's have a habit of "giving up the ghost" for almost any reason whatsoever! I started with 8 last year (and they weren't sown until mid april) and 4 gave up the ghost for no reason whatsoever, despite having had exactly the same treatment / conditions as the other 4!

[DD.]

Thanks All!

You do not sound impressed DD, what's wrong with Moneymaker tomatoes?

Will the cucumber go in the greenhouse or outside covered until the weather picks up, seems a shame to give up now and I have no seed left.

When I started growing tomatoes about 50 years ago, (yes, honestly), there was not much other than Moneymaker on the market. They were OKish. But over the last half century hybrids have popped up, along with long forgotten heritage varieties. Whilst MM may be better than supermarket ones, once you've grown others such as Shirley, you will find them quite bland.  It's worth spending a few extra pennies on the more expensive seed.

If you're thinking of having to support the stems of young cucumber plants in case they flop over, then I'm sorry to put it bluntly, for outdoor cucumbers I would consider them beyond salvation. As I said, you have another two months to keep them yet.

[MickyB]

I will have to lower my expectations for the cucumbers, I will do my best but if they fail then never
mind.

They are planted in the pots which are made up of six joined up individual cells, what is the best technique to get them out without damaging them? I had trouble getting the pea's out of these multi cell trays, I found that the plant that I wanted to come out would often refuse to budge however the other plants that I wanted to stay in place would sneakily fall out and break their stems on hitting the ground? 

[mjpalin]

I will have to lower my expectations for the cucumbers, I will do my best but if they fail then never
mind.

They are planted in the pots which are made up of six joined up individual cells, what is the best technique to get them out without damaging them? I had trouble getting the pea's out of these multi cell trays, I found that the plant that I wanted to come out would often refuse to budge however the other plants that I wanted to stay in place would sneakily fall out and break their stems on hitting the ground? 

Hi Micky - 2 options I use with the multi cell trays - either a pencil pushed up the whole in the bottom, or a plant label to loosen each of the 4 sides from the top.

[gobs]

Gardeners Delight is not a bush tomato - saying that, I rarely over- prune my tomatoes  -, however I can well imagine it in baskets hanging around or well pruned in tubs. Also can let them crawl about, just mind the slugs, some straw is needed under them.

The cucumber can go out around here in the beginning of June. You can try and support it by some bamboo canes in a large pot till then. As it were, you might get lucky, long range weather forecast promises warm days for the second half of May.

[Goosegirl]

I will have to lower my expectations for the cucumbers, I will do my best but if they fail then never
mind.

They are planted in the pots which are made up of six joined up individual cells, what is the best technique to get them out without damaging them? I had trouble getting the pea's out of these multi cell trays, I found that the plant that I wanted to come out would often refuse to budge however the other plants that I wanted to stay in place would sneakily fall out and break their stems on hitting the ground? 

Hi Micky - 2 options I use with the multi cell trays - either a pencil pushed up the whole in the bottom, or a plant label to loosen each of the 4 sides from the top.

I use either a pencil or someone bought me a little indoor gardening tool set that has two mini trowels - one smaller than the other - which I use like the seed label method, but also I can scoop the whole plug out from the bottom with it too.