Planting tomatoes

We planted our main crop of tomatoes yesterday, April 30th, being 287 plants in the Sausage polytunnel. We have space for 30 more plants, which we will propogate using side-shoots from existing plants in the coming week. Our early planting was 52 plants at the beginning of March, and despite the cold they are producing lots of flowers.

Our first tomato flowers of the year, sown at the beginning of January, planted in a polytunnel early March.

Our main tomatoes were sown at the very end of February, and we have 13 varieties, mostly old favourites (sungold, gardener's delight, golden queen, quadro, tigerella, yellow submarine, jen's tangerine, stupice, chocolate cherry, costoluto di fiorentina, berner rose) and a couple of trial varieties (ruby, and orange banana). Our early sowing included several of the above, and also galina, an early yellow cherry tomato.

Charlie picking winter purslane prior to pulling out the old salad plants.

Signe pulling the old salad plants out of the polytunnel.

Our hot-bed full of pepper, aubergine, chilli, and tomato seedlings ready for planting out.

Signe and Antonin digging and composting the tomato beds ready for planting.

David and Allie digging and watering holes, with the tunnel already half planted.

Alex and Allie embarking on the final line of plants.