How to start growing tomatoes
This is tomatoes for beginners, a quick search online will bring up a wide range of opinions and rules for tomato growing some of it aimed at exhibition growers.
I will just encourage you to start with a full proof method, you can then develop your own theories.
You can grow tomatoes, there is a wide range of plants and colours, we will choose the easy method.
Choose the correct varieties, you need to grow some types in different ways.
Tall types often called cordon will grow over 2 metres, 6 foot plus, they are used by commercial growers, by the end of the season they can be over 6 metres long. The fruit shape can be large like a beefsteak, medium, like a supermarket tomato or small often called cherry types. There is also a wide range of mini plum types.
Some well-known varieties are
Beef – Big boy, Beefsteak & Black Russian
Medium – Moneymaker, Shirley, Alicante, Golden sunrise & Tigerella.
Cherry – Gardeners delight, Sungold & Sweet million.
Mini plum -Rosada, Trilly & Tomato berry.
Bush types about 1 metre high 3 foot they are good for patio pots and growing outside. Some well-known varieties are Totem & Red alert
Hanging basket types
No garden!
Try a hanging basket. they can also be mixed with bush plants in patio pots Some well know varieties are Tumbler, Garden pearl, Cascade & Maskotka
Dwarf types are great for pots, they make good windowsill tomatoes. In our experience, they are not as sweet as other types.
As this guide is for new gardeners I am suggesting you avoid the tall types. They need a greenhouse or growhouse, regular side shooting, leaf removal and stopping.
In the picture, you can see the three types and the growth habit. From left to right. Bush, Trailing or hanging basket then Tall or cordon, they are all the same age.
New gardeners should grow a bush or hanging basket tomato.
The plants are all the same age but you can see the flowers on the bush and trailing or hanging basket plants are already developed.
This means that they will produce fruit much quicker.
With bush tomatoes, you can grow 3 or 4 plants in the space of one tall cordon type.
With bush and hanging basket types there is no maintenance, you can just let them grow and fruit.
Let’s get started
Sow your own
The secret is warmth keep the seeds at 20 degrees (room temperature) and they will germinate quickly.
Sow the seed in small pots 9-11cm, just push them under the compost with your finger about 1cm, water then leave them alone until they germinate.
It may be cheaper to buy young plants as you often get more seeds than you need in a packet usually 30-50 seeds.
Germinating
This will take about 7 days at 20 degrees after they germinate you need to keep the seedlings growing. they need warmth (room temperature) and sunlight.
If you don’t have anywhere to grow them, miss out on the seed sowing and just buy some plants later.
Buying tomato plants
We sell a lot of tomato plants every year, you can sow your own but then they need to be kept warm, so I think the cost of heating your greenhouse to keep your baby tomato plants alive can make buying plants a better option.
You will find tomato plants on sale at a wide range of prices, there is no agreed specification for tomato plants so you can be sold a seedling or a fully grown plant as a tomato plant and all at different prices. If it’s cheap there is a reason usually they are small.
In the picture the plant on the left is about 4 weeks old, the one in the middle 8 weeks and the big plant 12 weeks. The big plant is about the right size to plant into its final pot.
Planting your tomatoes.
For bush and hanging baskets make sure the pot or basket is at least
27cm wide and holds at least 10 litres of compost. Any compost will do,
add some slow-release fertiliser, tomatoes need constant feeding.
We put 2 plants in our hanging baskets and 1 in our patio bush tomatoes.
When your tomato plants are about 15-25cm high plant them into the final pot.
Looking after your tomatoes.
Choose a sunny sheltered spot, tomatoes need the sun and will grow faster when kept warm.
They will grow better in a greenhouse or grow house.
If the weather is cold or frosty bring them into the house at night.
As the bush tomato grows you use may need some canes for support, especially when the fruit starts to form, we just use 3 canes to form a tripod and let the plant grow through the gaps.
You may need to protect your ripe fruit from birds, blackbirds can be a nuisance.
Watering
Keep them watered, with feed, this might be every day or twice a day in the summer. If in doubt, water them you can’t do any harm. A self-watering system with a timer is a good idea.
Feeding your tomatoes
Feed them at every watering they are hungry, you can’t overfeed bush or hanging types. We add some slow release fertiliser to the compost at planting, this makes sure there is always some feed available.
Do I need a tomato feed? any feed is better than none but a specialist tomato feed contains more potassium and will improve the taste
Sometimes the flowers will fail to develop or even drop.
This is nearly always caused by underwatering. However tomatoes do need to be pollinated, this happens naturally outside, bees and flies will pollinate them for you. An indoor window sill tomato will need gently shaking once a day to release the pollen.
When do I start
This depends on the final position of your tomatoes
If you have a cold (unheated) greenhouse or grow house.
Sow February or March
Plant early to mid-May, have a bit of fleece handy for cold nights or bring them into the house for the night.
Fruiting should start towards the end of June.
If you only have a patio or space for a hanging basket
You will need to wait for the warm weather (If you are happy to share your house with the young tomato plants you can start earlier)
Sow March or April
Plant early June or late May if the weather is good.
Fruiting should start late June early July.
Why would you bother growing your own tomatoes, they are so cheap in the supermarket.
Supermarket tomatoes are picked when orange or light red and then ripened or held back in a temperature-controlled shed, this can affect the taste. Vine-ripened is not the same as sun-ripened.
Your homegrown tomatoes will ripen naturally in the sun developing a rich aroma and extra sweetness.
Go on give them a try.
Checklist
- A packet of seeds (they need to be sown by April) or tomato plants available from March to June
- 30cm pots or hanging baskets make sure they hold 10 or more litres of compost.
- Slow-release fertiliser not essential but it will make feeding the plant easier
- Bush tomatoes you will need three 1 metre canes for each plant and some string.
- Buy some tomato fertiliser when you see it on offer and a watering can to apply the feed.
