Dolmio Tomato Growing Seeds - progress reporting thread

[AnnMumsnet]

This thread is for the MNers who are growing tomato plants from seed courtsey of Dolmio (well at least they are hoping to ). The project is designed to highlight the fact that 100% of Dolmio tomatoes are grown outdoors in the sun (not in greenhouses). For more info on Dolmio please click here

If you are a tomato grower and part of this project please add your updates below - we'd love to know about the plants at each stage - from humble seedlings to the fully grown fruit! Do let us know how, if at all, your children are getting involved as well. If you are not so succesful don't worry please also let us know here. If you need any advice please ask and if you can offer advice please do so!

Details for sending in photos is on the email sent.

Everyone who takes part in this project and who adds their feedback and sends in at least one photo will be entered into a prize draw to win one of two £200 John Lewis vouchers and a Dolmio hamper (to be mailed out in September).

Thanks and best of luck
MNHQ

Mine too Gottasmile I had 40, yes 40 beautiful little plants and they got tomato blight. It even killed my chili plant I never had a chance to email a photo either, and I'm pretty sure no-one wants to see 40 dead tomatoes. I could photograph the folorn empty seed packet though?

Oh well. I shall try again next year though!

Mine have been planted outside in an old nappy bin tied to sticks with glittery parcel tape. Oh, the indignity.

Mine are outside in allotment and are finally taking off a bit and looking a little bit more substantial. They are in ground rotavated by pigs so the soil is very fertile. I have a history of my outside tomatoes going down with blight though so am not overly optimistic but would love to be wrong and get a crop from them.

MIne have really bushed out in the hot weather.

Just sent my 2nd pic in. They've just grown a lot and grown new leaves but are still only 5 inches high! They drooping a bit if they get a lot of sun even when nice and damp so I guess I need to find some supports for them soon. And bigger pots or one of those gro-bags. I put it off when I borrowed a car the other day due to the price (and the lpants hadn't got this growth spurt). This isn't as cheap as I thought it would be!

My three little plants are finally all in individual 'big' pots. They seem to be coping with the rain (keep forgetting to bring them in at night).

I really need to take a photo of them, but my camera is sitting in my hospital bag waiting for my tardy little baby to arrive, so pics will have to happen after baby arrives (don't trust myself to remove camera for 5 minutes!).

Mine are really random. I planted the best into two pots. Then placed next to one another with no visible difference but one is 50cm high and the other half that. Can't think why.

Anyone with flowers yet? No signs here

We have flowers!! I take that as a good sign!

Well as far as I know you need flowers to have tomatoes so in my incredibly limited gardening knowledge I guess it must be a good sign!!

I now have flower envy!!!!

Mine have finally gone outside. I think they have a good chance if my two year old keeps her mitts off. That's a big if.

No flowers for me yet. I shall have to get out there and water them tonight after the hot weather today.

I've got a baby tomato! Will send the photo in. I've actually done proper tomato pruning on mine for the first time ever, I've diligently pinched out side shoots and pinched out the growing top once it's got to the top of the greenhouse. I wonder how much difference it will make.

Not sure how mine are going. They were getting to be huge before we left or holiday. 9 plants in all! Fingers crossed my sister hasn't killed them by the time we get home

Excellent, profyaffle.
Can someone explain the pinching off of shoots please? WHich ones do we take off?

The side shoots appear between the main stalk and the branches growing off it. If you imagine the branch at 90 degrees to the stalk, the side shoots grow in the crook of the joint at 45 degrees. You snap these off to force the plant to put it's energy into tomato production rather than leaf production. Apparently you can pot the snapped off bit and it will turn into a new plant.

Once you have (I think) 4 flowering branches, or the plant reaches the height you want it to grow to, you snap off the very top bit to stop it growing any higher. Again it puts more energy into the fruit rather than the leaves.

I haven't done it in previous years and have had very bushy plants with lots of small fruit. I saw my friend's plants in her greenhouse last summer and she'd pruned them in this way, hers were less bushy but had much bigger tomatoes.

I've also been feeding mine with some tomato food I got from Lidl, that seems to help too.

Aha! Thank you! That's really clear. I never really knew what to do and ended up with massive plants and hardly any fruit.

Someone at work was telling me to put feed on when flowers appear. Is that right?

no flowers here. thanks for the tips about pruning - i might start to do this is we don't have any flowers soon.

I put food on mine as soon as I'd potted them up into their final pots. Not sure if this is right though, I bunged it on in a gung ho fashion.

Isn't it amazing how different everyones plants seem to be.

I had 39 strong plants. I have planted 9 to grow bags and gave the rest to friends. My plants are very tall and lanky but I am very pleased with the results.

Well, I still have some in little pots inside that I haven't got round to putting out. Will have to get more compost and sort it this weekend because those ones are flowering. The ones outside aren't though.

We have a tomato on the photos !! Hurrah!
Check them out here

Well done everyone....just need some more sunshine I think!

Tomatoes?? I still have them in yoghurt pots on the windowsill in the kitchen!! Will plant out in the next few days.

Woweee! Well done on the tomatoes whoever sent in that photo

We don't have flowers or tomatoes yet, but our four plants in the garden are getting taller and bushier by the day so keeping fingers crossed...

Anyone else's young plants flopping over?

wellies - have you popped a cane in the pot? Probably need tying to one if they are floppy.
I know bicnod - that photo is amazing isn't it? brill shot!