Tomato Growing Guide

Tomato Growing Guide

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FOLLOW THIS GUIDE FOR A BUMPER HARVEST OF TOMATOES

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Growing Tomatoes from Seed

When to sow tomato seeds

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Sowing seeds is best done at the following times: In a heated propagator like our Vitopod heated electric propagator or heated greenhouse Sow January to early February.

In an unheated propagator or unheated greenhouse - sow late February to early March.

Outdoors - sow late March to early April, depending on the overnight temperatures.

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Growing from seed? We love the rich, tangy flavour of a Tigerella tomato. Their distinctive red and yellow stripes means that they look superb when growing.

1. Sow the tomato seeds ■

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Fill a seed tray with compost and flatten the compost down lightly. Use a Tamper to firm and level the compost, as this removes air pockets that can lead to water logging.

Place seeds on the surface of the compost, space the seeds evenly and sow a few more than you need. Cover the seeds with approx. 0.5 to 1cm of compost.

Water the compost so that it is damp but not saturated.

If you have a propagator put the seed tray in the propagator and put the lid on.

Put the seed tray or propagator in a warm place away from direct sunlight. The room needs to be a minimum of 18°C.

2. Care for the seedlings

Day 17-28: Seedlings should appear but some varieties can take up to 28 days to germinate – see your seed packet for details.

Once the seedlings have appeared move the propagator/seed trays to a bright, warm part of the house, a windowsill is ideal.

Keep the compost moist, but not wet. If you are using a propagator remove the lid when all seedlings have appeared.

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Seed Tamp Sowing er:

£6.9

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An essential for anyone who sows seeds in a seed tray.

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3. Transfer to pots

Day 50 -60: Seedlings of most varieties will be large enough to be moved into individual 3 inch pots.

Fill a 3 inch pot with compost and use a dibber or pencil to make a hole large enough for the seedling.

Hold the seedling by its leaves and gently lever up and out of the seed tray with a dibber or pencil and lower the seedling into its new pot.

Gently firm the compost around the plant ensuring the roots are covered and adding compost to fill the pot.

Water the compost so it is damp but not saturated.

Place the pots in a warm and sunny spot, a heated greenhouse, conservatory or windowsill in a warm room are all ideal.

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4. Transfer to the final pot

Once the plants are 6 to 8 inches tall plant them into your Quadgrow or other chosen pot between 6 and 12 inches in diameter (see seed instructions for ideal pot size). If using a Quadgrow follow the assembly instructions.

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Fill your pots with multi-purpose compost.

Make a hole in the compost large enough for your plant.

Lever the young plant out of the 3 inch pot with a pencil or dibber and carefully lower into the new pot.

Surround the plant with compost, firming compost around the plant and add more compost to fill the pot. Water so that the compost is damp but not saturated.

“This is simply the best heated propagator on the market. Best Buy Propagator.”

- BBC Gardeners’ World Vitop Prop od Heate agat or: F d rom

£110.

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Hardening off Tomatoes Patio Gree nh

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£49.

Protect your plants from frost and wind in the cold months and from sun scorch and pests in the Summer.

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Young tomato plants need to be gradually weaned off the heat of a propagator, greenhouse or polytunnel.

The timing of this stage depends on the temperature conditions and whether you have a heater in your greenhouse or polytunnel.

Timing

The weaning off period required depends on the time of sowing rather than the development stage of the plant. This is because the key is not to subject your young plants to night temperatures below 4°C without protection.

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Once your plants have developed their true leaves (the leaves that are typical of the mature plant, not the two leaves that first appear) they will be ready to be weaned off the heat for a few days.

Gradually decrease the humidity by turning the heat down and gradually off, opening the vents and then removing the lids.

Once the plants have been in the propagator without a lid and no heat for a couple of days you can remove your plants, just keep an eye on night temperatures.

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Night protection in an unheated polytunnel or greenhouse If you are growing in an unheated polytunnel or greenhouse you will need to provide protection at night until the night-time temperature in your greenhouse/polytunnel is no cooler than about 10°C.

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Temperatures between 5° and 10°C: Keep your plants in the heated propagator OR place a mini polytunnel or a cloche over your plants to give your plants extra protection on cold nights if your propagator is still packed full of young plants.

*Do not put tomatoes or chillies outdoors until the night temperatures do not drop below 10°C. We’re in Lancashire, so for us that means late April, which would mean sowing in March.

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Temperatures below 4°C: Bring your young plants into the house overnight.

We find that putting the pots on a tray makes it easy to bring all the plants into the house without too much trouble.

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Caring for your tomato plant

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Your tomato plants need to be kept at a daytime temperature of at least 17°C. They can be placed outside once all risk of frost has passed, but they will do better if kept in a greenhouse or indoors overnight until the summer.

If you are using the Quadgrow keep the SmartReservoir topped-up as per the Quadgrow instructions.

If you are growing your tomatoes in a standard pot take care not to let the plant dry out too much or to over-water.

Tomatoes hate irregular watering - overwatering or sporadic watering can cause blossom end rot or cause the fruit to split - little and often is the rule here. Try to avoid watering in the evening. Tomatoes will use very little water or feed during the night. It’s always better to water in the mornings and early afternoon.

Unless you are growing in one of our planters and using our plant nutrients, feed your tomatoes with a general liquid fertiliser until they are established. Following that use a high potash fertiliser to encourage your tomatoes to flower and fruit.

Keep your tomato plants weed-free and keep an eye out for the common pests.

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“Plants grow fast much stronger and masses of tomatoes.”

- Jan Little, Quadgrow customer.

Side-shooting

Cordon varieties need their side-shoots removing - this involves removing the new shoots that grow between the leaf and the stem. This ensures your tomato plant puts all its energy into growing its main stem until you remove the growing tip. Take care to remove the side shoots cleanly, without leaving any stubs or damage that might encourage fungal diseases such as botrytis.

£42.

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Flexible enough to twist twist, bend and tie tie.

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Tying-in

It is easier to manage cordon varieties if you tie the plant up with string or we recommend using a soft-tie plant tie. Twist the main stem around the string or the plant tie as the plant grows.

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This strong and super flexible plant tie tenderly secures and supports your plants.

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£8.5

Pinching-out the growing tip

Usually the growing tip (top of the plant) is pinched out when the plant reaches the desired height. Don’t leave it too late in the year before removing the growing tip as there may not be enough time to ripen off the last fruit (unless you enjoy making chutney). Leave 2 leaves above the top flowering truss when removing the growing tip. This will ensure the last tomatoes grow to full size.

Removing Leaves

Taller plants will require some removal of the lower leaves, known as deleafing, to encourage ripening of fruit. Use a sharp knife to deleaf flush with the stem.

Remove leaves up to the first (lowest) truss that has ripening tomatoes on.

5. Harvesting

Harvest can begin from mid-May and continue through to October depending on where they’re grown (when using our Hydrogrow planters in a greenhouse you could still be picking even in December).

Harvest tomatoes as and when they ripen to encourage the plant to produce more tomatoes.

Always pick the tomato with the calyx (green stalk) still attached to the tomato.

There is always a knuckle between the calyx and the truss which allows you to pick the tomato easily. Leaving the calyx on the tomato will keep it fresher for longer.

A ripening cover considerably speeds up ripening, reducing the proportion of tomatoes that will need to be picked green as the first frost approaches.

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Frost and green tomatoes - See our guide to ripening green tomatoes and protecting plants from frost.

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Ripening Tomatoes Most of us find that we have lots of green tomatoes in late September, this is because when the temperature drops ripening slows down considerably. If you are growing outdoors or in an unheated polytunnel or greenhouse the tomatoes will need to be harvested before the first frost. Here are some top tips for ripening tomatoes.

Pre-frost - speed-up ripening

Before the first frost take steps to hasten ripening while the tomatoes are still on the plant.

1. If you are growing cordon (vine) varieties remove the supports and lay the stems on the ground and cover them with cloches.

2. Remove the leaves around the green tomatoes to expose the fruit to the sun.

3. Cover your tomato plant with a polythene ripening cover with air vents.

The To Book mato :

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Everything you need to know about growing tomatoes and cooking with them.

Post-frost – ripen off the plant Tomatoes won’t survive a frost, so if a frost is forecast and you are growing outdoors you need to either bring the plant indoors or harvest the tomatoes green and ripen them off the vine.

If a frost is forecast you can pull up the whole plant and hang it upside down in a frost-free, cool darkish place like a cellar or garage. Many people say that this method gives the best flavour, which makes sense because the tomatoes are still ripening on the vine, although more slowly than when they were in the greenhouse or garden. Make sure that some roots are still attached. Shake off as much soil as you can and hang it upright. Avoid direct sunlight or total darkness, otherwise your tomatoes will die!

Bananas are our favourite method of ripening green tomatoes. Put 5 to 10 tomatoes in a brown paper bag with a banana. You can ripen more tomatoes if you line a cardboard box with dry newspaper and place the green tomatoes in a single layer with a little space between each. Cover with another layer of newspaper and leave somewhere warm. Check every day or two, removing anything suspect. This works because bananas give off ethylene which is a gas that speeds up ripening. Apples give off the same gas.

Train the stems of vine/trailing tomato plants around the frame, so that the length of your plant isn’t restricted by the height of your greenhouse.

Successful Banana-assisted Ripening Pick green tomatoes that have a tinge of colour at the blossom end and feel a little softer than the solid young fruits. To check whether your green tomatoes are mature, cut one in half.

If it’s yellowish inside and has a jelly-like or sticky tissue around the seeds making it difficult to cut the seeds, it is mature enough to ripen, so pick the ones that look similar to that one.

Clean the tomatoes removing vines, twigs, stems, leaves and anything that might rub on other tomatoes and cause damage during the ripening process. Take care not to bruise or squash the tomatoes, and don’t pile them up.

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About tomato varieties - which to choose When growing tomatoes, choose a variety that will be suited to the space you have available and the flavours and the textures you like. Tomato varieties either grow as vines (cordon) or bushes.

Vine types (also known as indeterminate) are best suited to greenhouses and polytunnels due to their large size and the care they require. Indeterminate varieties are the most popular. These tomato plants are grown with a single main stem and the side shoots need to be removed regularly. These tomato plants can grow to be several metres long and therefore they need to be supported. Our Support Frame in combination with our Roller Hooks would be ideal.

Bush types are also known as determinate. These are more compact tending to stay bushy and quite short, so they’re ideal for growing outside as they are very easy to support with a bamboo cane. Popular varieties include Tumbling Tom, Red Alert and Garden Pearl. It is not necessary to remove the side shoots with these varieties.

Here are some of our favourite varieties: All are indeterminate unless otherwise stated.

Alicante Tomatoes - a medium sized fleshy full-flavoured tomato. A popular variety which matures early and produces excellent sized crops of medium sized fleshy fruits with very good flavour.

Tigerella - red and yellow striped tomato, looks superb and has a lovely rich, tangy flavour. Produces heavy crops up to 3 weeks earlier than the other popular early cropper ‘Moneymaker’. It grows well outdoors or in a polytunnel or greenhouse.

Gardener’s Delight - very popular bite-sized variety, very reliable and prolific. This tomato is packed with rich, sweet flavour.

The plants carry a heavy crop of fruits borne on long trusses. Can be grown indoors or outdoors, either as a bush or as a single stem with the side shoots being removed.

Country Taste - a Beefsteak tomato – these meaty, delicious tomatoes can weigh around 227g (½lb) if trusses are trimmed to allow 3 or 4 fruits to ripen per truss. One of the earliest beefsteak tomatoes to set and ripen when grown in a greenhouse.

Popular exhibition tomato.

Cristal - Firm, round, glossy scarlet-skinned fruits with ruby-red, dark flesh. The tomatoes weight around 120g (4oz) and are greenback-free. Best grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel, although it can be grown in a warm, sunny position outdoors.

Excellent disease resistance.

Marmande Tomatoes - Provence’s favourite tomato. These tomatoes are large and meaty with gorgeous ribs. Great slicing.

Best grown outdoors but can also be grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel. Semi-determinate, may need support Sungold - we grow this every year. A hugely popular sweet, heavy cropping, tasty, thin skinned, golden orange cherry tomato. Can be grown outdoors or in a greenhouse or polytunnel.

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San Marzano - the tomato of chefs and the only tomato that can be used for Vera Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza).

The perfect balance of acidity and sweetness, superb flavour with thick flesh and few seeds. Ideal for passata, pizzas and roasting.

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Did you know?

Plants that receive the perfect balance of water and nutrients are healthier and stronger, helping them to also have a greater resistance to pests and diseases.

Most problems occur when plants receive too much water or too little so knowing how much to provide usually involves a little guesswork and green fingers.

If you would like to grow tomatoes more successfully then our Quadgrow 4x Self-watering Pots may be just what you are looking for. These 11 litre pots are the ideal size for your tomatoes and thanks to clever SmartMat Strip powered watering, we guarantee you’ll have a bumper harvest.

Any Questions? Contact us

We are here to help, so if you have any questions feel free to contact one of our Gardening Angels:

Call: 0845 602 3774 Email: info@GreenhouseSensation.co.uk Watch our advice videos on our website and Facebook

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