Tomatoes
Introduction
Delightful to eat, full of flavour, and having a genuinely different, more intense tomato taste than those bought in shops – all these reasons make growing tomatoes my favourite homegrown vegetable.
When buying tomato seeds you can choose from a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from small cherry tomatoes, long plum tomatoes, and large beefsteak varieties, and many shades of colour from traditional red tomatoes to striking shades of green, black, yellow, and orange.
Planting
- Sow in a warm environment like a propagator or sunny windowsill
- Planting depth: surface sow, fine covering
- Planting spacing: 60 cm between plants, 1 m between rows
Harvesting
- Enjoy fresh
- Surplus tomatoes can be turned into chutney, cooked and jarred, or made into sauces and frozen
(inside)
(outside)
(fresh)
(stored)
= jar, 
= freeze, 
= store
Varieties
Tomatoes can be divided into the following two main types:
Bush tomatoes (determinate)
As the name suggests, these grow as a bush and do not need special pruning or support. Bush tomatoes include many (but not all) cherry tomatoes and tumbling varieties, suitable for growing in pots or hanging baskets.
Cordon tomatoes (indeterminate)
These varieties generally produce standard size tomatoes as well as the larger beefsteak varieties. The cordon varieties need both supporting and careful pruning. The pruning regime is especially important to encourage the plant to invest its energy on a controlled number of ripe fruit, otherwise the short summers typical of the UK climate can leave a gardener staring at a large leaf covered plant covered in small green tomatoes – that never have time to ripen.
I have found cherry tomatoes and traditional round tomatoes the easiest to grow, and have had less success with plum and beefsteak varieties that have provided smaller harvests overall. My experience is that the additional cost of buying F1 seeds (hybrid varieties) has been worth paying for. Whilst the seed is (much) more expensive, the germination rates have been excellent and the plants have gone on to produce big harvests. This is not to say that traditional varieties cannot be equally as successful, or that plum or beefsteak varieties are not worth growing. With the right care and growing conditions, it should be possible to achieve excellent results.
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Growing
Tomatoes are a heat loving plant, and even though there are many varieties bred for outdoor cultivation, nearly all varieties will perform better protected in a polytunnel, greenhouse, or conservatory. Next best is a sunny and sheltered spot in a garden or allotment. For colder areas with shorter summers, cherry tomatoes are a good choice as they ripen much faster than larger varieties, and they can also be grown on the patio in pots and hanging baskets. Germinating seed indoors on a sunny windowsill in early spring is helpful. Tomatoes take many weeks to mature, and this will allow your plants to take full advantage of sunny summer days to ripen the fruit.
Tomato plants like a rich soil and a consistent watering regime. The most common problem in growing tomatoes is blight. If you have the space, investing in a plastic growhouse, greenhouse, or polytunnel will transform your success rate.
When the weather is ready, plant each tomato seedling deep inside a big pot, even covering up some branches with soil. Tomatoes are like geraniums in that they throw out new roots with ease. The process of planting deep will lead to a much stronger plant able to produce more tomatoes. I like to use a big pot, at least 30 cm wide and deep. The better the compost the healthier the plant. Homemade compost is ideal.
For the commonly grown indeterminate types of tomatoes, it is important to prune regularly. Left unpruned, a tomato plant will turn into a very thick bush, and then collapse in a heap. Removing unnecessary branches concentrates growth into the fruit, and perhaps just as importantly, allows light and air to circulate around the plant. This helps stop plants getting the dreaded blight.
Remove diagonal side shoots as soon as they appear. These are the ones that appear in the elbow between the trunk and a lateral (horizontal) branch. However, do not remove other branches that are not in an elbow between a trunk and a branch. These branches are likely to be the fruiting spurs (trusses) you are waiting for.
Once flowers appear, these will soon be replaced by tiny green balls, ready to bulge into glorious ripe tomatoes. The ripening process can take some time, especially in wet summers. The best ripening weather would be a hot and sunny July and August, complemented by lots of watering.
Tomato compost should always be kept moist. Tomato plants tell you when they are unhappy, they sulk like a teenager, with droopy shoulders and turned down leaves. The joy is that with a little water, they soon return to standing tall and bushy.
A tomato plant laden with tomatoes has to support a considerable amount of weight. Outdoor tomatoes will need tying to a stake. Greenhouse or polytunnel tomato plants can be grown up twine suspended from the roof frame. Wrap the twine around the length of the plant to support the trunk, as well as using additional twine to support the branches.