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How to grow tomatoes
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How to grow tomatoes
Who doesn't love tomatoes? They're delicious and oh so versatile. What's better than lovely ripe tomatoes? Ones you've grown yourself of course! Not only are they relatively simple to grow but there's also a wide variety to choose from and lots of different things you can do with them in the kitchen.
What tomatoes should you grow?
We think the best to grow are the more unusual varieties such as big and juicy beefsteaks, sweet golden yellow varieties and surprisingly delicious brown / black ones. If you'd rather something a little more traditional then something like Moneymaker is a great choice too and easy to grow
Sowing Tomatoes
Tomatoes can be sown from seed between February and April. For best result sow them in a greenhouse, propagator or indoors near a warm & sunny window. Cover with cling film at first and remove once seedlings appear. Re-pot your seedlings into 7-10cm pots once they're 2-4cm tall and re-pot as necessary until they can be planted outdoors after your confident the last frost has been
Buying Plants
If you don't want to start from seed or have left it a little late then tomato plants are readily available in the Spring and we sell a wide variety
Planting Out
Plant out your tomato plants outdoors in sunny and sheltered spot after the last frost, normally in May. They can either be planted into a border, veg patch containers (at least 30cm) or you can plant 2-3 into a grow bag. If you have a greenhouse or pop-up tomato greenhouse then these are great for keeping your tomatoes a little warmer until the weather improves nearer to the Summer
Types of Tomato Plants
Some tomato plants are bushes but many are tall single stems that should be trained to a cane. This should be noted on the seed packets
Pinching Out
Single stem tomatoes need "pinching out" (removing side shoots). When there are four trusses of flowers pinch out the plant's growing tip so it will focus it's energy onto producing the fruits rather than into growing taller. Bush tomatoes are more likely to sprawl and require a bit more space around the plant and should not need any training but may need to have heavy trusses of fruits supported on piles of bricks or upturned pots
Letting In Light
Both types of plant may need some foliage stripped away to allow light and air to the fruits but bush varieties require a little more
Feeding
Once flowers start to appear start feeding your plants with a specialist tomato plant food such as Tomorite on a weekly basis and continue until mid way through or towards the end of the harvest season
Watering
Water your tomato plants regularly and consistently. Irregular watering can cause tomatoes to split or develop hard patches and ones grown out in containers can dry out very easily during the summer
Harvesting
Harvesting can be done normally between July all the way through to October but you can start as soon as ripe fruits begin to develop. For best result let tomatoes ripen naturally on the plant. Towards the end of the season as the weather begins to turn cold you can pick trusses to ripen indoors
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