[becs]

While rooting through the gardening things in Aldi, I noticed that they have hanging baskets for growing tomatoes.

This would be great for my lottie cos the front of shed is a fab sun trap.

What sort of tomato varieties should I be looking for? Can I just use the ones I have or will they specify hanging?

Thanks xx

[DD.]

Garten Pearle is a good one.

[mattwragg94]

'tumbling tom' is an old reliable favourite variety, you can get it in both yellow and red too!
you can also try 'hundred and thousands' - apparently the worlds smallest tomato! - i grew it last year with good results (considering i sowed them late), and im having another go with them this year!

[New shoot]

I'm hooked on Maskotka for hanging baskets - slightly larger cherry type.  I'm too impatient to pick the teeny tiny ones 

[TheSpartacat]

Bear in mind they need a lot more regular watering as baskets dry out quickly- so if you don't get up to the plot very regularly, they'll not do too well.
I grow tomatoes in hanging baskets at home where i can keep a close eye on them

[shokkyy]

I'll second Garden Pearl/Gartenperle. I grow them every year in baskets, they're delicious, prolific and very easy to grow. Even in last year's horrible weather I was picking them from 9th July to end of October. From 3 baskets (2.5 really, one of the baskets was crushed by my falling plum tree) we had more than enough to eat and give away, plus 3 kilo in the freezer.

[becs]

Thanks everyone,

will give them a go!!

XX

[sowitgrowit]

I'm pleased to see some positive reactions to DD's Garten Perle suggestion - this year is my first year growing toms and I've gone for mainly G-Perle (with one or two Gardener's Delight and some bog-standard 'Cerise' ("Cerise" just means generic cherry toms, doesn't it?).

I've read a few people saying G-Perle are a little boring, not a very nice flavour, etc.  Hopefully my experience will be a little more positive that that   Incidentally, I started some of them in modules at the weekend; I hope this isn't too soon (though some seem to get them going right at the start of the year, from what I've read).

[TheSpartacat]

Oh, just to second Maskotka- they're very tasty. I also liked Red Alert.

Sowitgrowit- the people who start their tomatoes very very early will no doubt have a heated greenhouse to move them on to.
I started 6 tomatoes this week, Beefsteak varieties that can do with some extra time... with a view to moving them to my unheated greehouse around end April May, depending on what the weather is doing... (if its like last year, I'll be glad to have some plants ready to go out, its was scorching in early April)
But i won't be doing my proper tomato sowing for another 3 weeks or so... Those will end up in my patio cloche-tent to toughen up in May, and will either get moved outdoors at the end of May, or get squeezed into the greenhouse.

I tend to leave the cherry toms til last to sow- they don't take as long to reach maturity so they don't need the early sowing that a beefsteak does. (and because of the sprawling growth they're more easily damaged squished into my crowded nursery cloche)
hope that helps

[sowitgrowit]

Oh, just to second Maskotka- they're very tasty. I also liked Red Alert.

Sowitgrowit- the people who start their tomatoes very very early will no doubt have a heated greenhouse to move them on to.
I started 6 tomatoes this week, Beefsteak varieties that can do with some extra time... with a view to moving them to my unheated greehouse around end April May, depending on what the weather is doing... (if its like last year, I'll be glad to have some plants ready to go out, its was scorching in early April)
But i won't be doing my proper tomato sowing for another 3 weeks or so... Those will end up in my patio cloche-tent to toughen up in May, and will either get moved outdoors at the end of May, or get squeezed into the greenhouse.

I tend to leave the cherry toms til last to sow- they don't take as long to reach maturity so they don't need the early sowing that a beefsteak does. (and because of the sprawling growth they're more easily damaged squished into my crowded nursery cloche)
hope that helps

Thanks - that's really helpful.  Always good to get advice from someone with more experience.

Hopefully my G-Perle will be ok having been sowed now; I can hoof them out to harden off in the shed window (plenty of light, frost free) - I'm only going to have a few containers with them in so I shouldn't be too lacking in space.  If they are too early and struggle I can always re-sow.

Would you recommend sowing direct into the containers I intend to grow in, or to modules and potting on (or modules then straight into final position)?

[TheSpartacat]

Definitely would recommend modules. Less chance of overwatering and the seedlings damping off.
Each time you re-pot them into a large container- plant them deeper into the soil (even up as far as those first couple of seed leaves)
The reason to do this, the stem will put out roots!! The more roots you plant has, the better anchored it will be, and the more water and nutrients it will be able to take up.

Totally the right attitude with "can always sow more later", nothing ventured, nothing gained. If its as warm as last year, you'll be glad of the early sowing. But to give them a fighting chance, they don't like temps to drop below 10 degrees, it can check their growth considerably, so would be good to keep an eye on your shed temps at night because if its just about frost free, your tomatoes will hate it. (a sunny windowsill indoors is a good alternative)

[sowitgrowit]

Definitely would recommend modules. Less chance of overwatering and the seedlings damping off.
Each time you re-pot them into a large container- plant them deeper into the soil (even up as far as those first couple of seed leaves)
The reason to do this, the stem will put out roots!! The more roots you plant has, the better anchored it will be, and the more water and nutrients it will be able to take up.

Totally the right attitude with "can always sow more later", nothing ventured, nothing gained. If its as warm as last year, you'll be glad of the early sowing. But to give them a fighting chance, they don't like temps to drop below 10 degrees, it can check their growth considerably, so would be good to keep an eye on your shed temps at night because if its just about frost free, your tomatoes will hate it. (a sunny windowsill indoors is a good alternative)

Thanks Hopefully they will be happy enough - if I'm potting on they will be in small enough pots for long enough hopefully to be kept indoors on bright windowsills, going outside for a breath of fresh air during the day.

When you refer to "checking their growth" - will a mistake temperature-wise just slow them down (or stop them in their tracks) until the weather improves; or will they be permanently harmed with repurcussions down the line (or even killed altogether)?  Obviously I imagine it depends on the severity of conditions they are exposed to.

[TheSpartacat]

Yes it totally depends on the severity. Severe enough to damage them, and it leaves a plant more susceptible to disease i think.
Usually it just means that they're slowed enough to have cancelled out the early sowing completely and your later sowings might well pass them out in vigour.

[sowitgrowit]

Certainly worth me bearing in mind then! Thanks for the advice; sorry for constant questioning!

I'll see how they do; I'll be resowing to replace any casualties though hopefully they will get on ok.  I have half a dozen(ish) large pots (florists tubs) which I hopefully will have between one and three plants in (haven't worked this bit out yet), so I don't need too many in the long run. If I have to re-sow all of them it's no massive disaster and not a totally wasted exercise because I'll have learned the hard way.

[mattwragg94]

im surprised it was only me that said tumbling tom!