Planted 4 varieties of seeds today in the propagator, Ailsa Craig, Money Maker, Red Alert and Alicante, . . . B+Q are doing a small kit, it’s a small tray with a clear lid with 12 compressed peat discs that swell when water’s added, . . there are 3 packets of seeds included, cucumber, toms, and lettuce, all for £2.98 . . . the tray acts like a mini propagator.
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Throw the moneymaker away now-it saves time 
I`m no fan of Alicante either and I do not grow Ailsa Craig. Red Alert is OK(ish)
But then Im a hopeless Tomaholic`-I grow hundreds of plants a year and try to sell a few.
Im one of those lost souls who grows an endless list of tomato varieties and the word heritage` in a seed catalouge gets me trying them.
For years now I have been ranting on about Moneymaker—it`s reliable,crops well but tastes crap!!!
It’s the first time I’ve seen Ailsa Craig, . . until last year I’ve never grown toms for 30 years so any advice will be greatly appreciated OG.
Ailasa Craig is OK,not special and the original strain is prone to greenback
I don`t know your climate but all I can say is that if you can grow that awful MM then you can grow better varieties.
First year back just grow what you have-next year is time to go on and grow something worthy of the time put in
Our climate is obviously rather cooler that down south, the site where the lean-to greenhouse will be faces south to get the max light and warmth, . . it’s sheltered and will be about 14 X 3 X 7 foot high, . . . I might plant some cherry types coz they’re sweet and are good in salads.
I’ve given up sewing my own, I now buy in plugs. I just love home grown toms , no one else does so I just have a couple of plants for myself and grow them on when the weather warms up. What sort do you recommend OG? I love a sweet tomato and have always gone for money maker or gardeners delight. Any other variety better?
Ailsa Craig disappointed me when I tried it 2 years ago; never planted Momeymaker as I’ve heard bad things about it. I usually go with Super Marmande or Rutgers (hard to find here). Both do very well for me.
I might plant some cherry types coz they’re sweet and are good in salads.
Nero-for a cherry try Sweet Million* it should do well enough under the conditions you say.
*Sweet one million or other names-its classed as an F1 hybrid but its a long story-it does come true from saved seed
Val-where you live you can grow better things than the awful MM-Gardener`s delight is a good one but try something new??
Black Russian should be OK-it`s got a complex flavour but well worth trying,also try St Pierre,Stupice,-oh i could go on and on.
And a plug for us little folk–some of us sell many varieties,we do it for love and a tiny profit. But you would have to live here I guess:-)
OG, I’d love to try more of the heirloom varieties, but with a tiny backyard plot I stick with the ones I like and that do well in my climate
Thanks for that OG, I think I will try something different. Especially as its only for me .
Ahemm, . . been shopping today and in Lidl’s they have quite a few varieties, . . I chose,
Cherries - Cerise melange,
Cherrytomaat,
Mezla de tomate cherry,
Chico Rosso.
The larger ones - Marmande,
Harzfeuer,
All the above from Lidl’s.
In the Klondyke centre I got - Ferline F1 Hybrid, . . on the packet it says they resistant to blight and verticillium wilts.
I cheated a bit by getting a seedling in a pot at 95p, this was Ailsa Craig.
I’ve priced acrylic corrugated sheeting for the lean-to and it’s a bit expensive but it’s better and safer than glass with 4 rotties running amok like they do. 
I was in Lidls yesterday but never saw any, it was a quick visit though, I won’t be going again for awhile.Not to keen on the cherries or the very large toms, I forget what they’re called. The cherries taste nice but I got to many for myself and everyone round here grows toms so couldn’t even give them away.Are the large ones called beefcake or something? Mine grew to such a weird shape, probably not enough water.
Yes, beefcake, I don’t like those either, I think they’re more for cooking with.
lThey’re called beefsteak here, LOL, beefcake is sexy guy pics!
The total cost of the corrugated acrylic sheeting is £120, . . this will give me a lean-to greenhouse 14 X 4 X 7 foot high, . . that’s not bad, . . the sheets are guaranteed for 10 years against UV damage so they’ll probably outlast me, . . the timber frame will only cost £20.
I also got a packet of black cherry types today, . . and I remembered my old dad planted African Marigolds to keep the greenfly at bay so I got a packet of those too.
Marigolds are good for repelling pests around tomatoes, but I usually use the shorter French marigolds myself as I have such a small space, None of my tomato seeds are up yet, although the basil and hot peppers are.
Wish I had room for a greenhouse, I’d go mad planting things! Isn’t Spring wonderful?
The Klondyke centre I was in had a new delivery of Phalaenopsis in DM, . . the varieties were amazing but at £14.95 a pop I passed them by. 
I cheated a bit by getting a seedling in a pot at 95p, this was Ailsa Craig.
I could weep-a well grown plant from me would set you back 65p,and it would be a plant I had grown myself,loved,cared for and only it``s new owner could kill it
I never buy the potted plants at the garden centre, to me the fun is starting them from seed; plus you can get varieties that aren’t available that way.