Tomatoes, when to plant?

[robgil]

I want to grow some tomatoes among other things outside this year. I know its a little early to plant outside but is it too early to plant tomatoes in a conservatory and then plant into an outside bed when the weather gets better?

I want to grow some bush toms as well as vine toms.

Also, can anyone recommend some variety's? Some nice big ones for cooking, some medium ones for salads and some small ones for treats for the kids, so a good variety, high yielding would be good as I cant grow a lot of plants but I don't really want to sacrifice taste for yield.

 

[CrazyConure]

I love this link: https://bonnieplants.com/tomatoes/choose-your-tomato/ <------- Fill it out on your preferences, and it will tell you the tomato variety for you.

 

[headfullofbees]

I get home to Cheshire from my holiday home in Scotland on Sunday.
I'll be sowing my tomato seeds (6 varieties) for both indoor and outdoor cultivation, as a matter of urgency.
Sow ALL the tomato seeds you intend to grow now, and plant outside after last frost date.
Find your last frost date here.
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/main/weather.asp

For cooking, you won't go far wrong with these (which I grew successfully outdoors last year and I'm still using):
http://www.thompson-morgan.com/vege...no-lungo-vita-sementi-italian-seeds/gww0454TM
For 39p, you can get a small pack of these from Lidl:
https://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/Tomato_Plant_Super_Sweet_100/
These are my favourite basket (bush) tomatoes, the yield isn't huge, & "resistant to cracking" means the skins are a bit thicker, but the flavour...
http://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Vegetable-Seeds/Tomato-Cherry-Maskotka-Seeds.html#.WMlJEIXXLVI
For outdoor tomatoes, these are my choice:
https://www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk/medium-fruit/medium-fruit-tomatoes/tomato-ferline-f1-0433
In the greenhouse, I'm growing these:
https://www.kingsseeds.com/Products/Vegetables/Tomato/Tomato-Akron-F1
https://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/Tomato_Seed_Tigerella/
http://www.spsnz.com/our-products/tomato-covered/classic-round/avalantino.html

The Avalantino tomato seeds I saved from shop-bought tomatoes, because they were so good.
My thought being, "How good could they be when home grown?"

I don't grow beefsteak tomatoes in the N of England because the season is too short to get a good crop.

 

[Midwestnoob]

So I have never had any luck with growing from seeds. But I've had plenty of success with starter plants. So I over planted this year with a seed germination mat. It keeps the soil about 10 degrees warmer than the surrounding air.

How long should I let these little guys grow before I put them in their container they will stay in. I have an unheated garage with some grow lights from an old fish tank. So they will get sunlight before the last frost and I'll move them out doors afterwards.

 

[headfullofbees]

You are far less likely to bring disease onto your plot when growing from seed, especially saved seed.
I grow everything I can from seed.