How To Grow Your Own Tomatoes.
Now is the time to grow your own tomatoes. This year again we are looking forward to a good crop of tomatoes from the polytunnel. And as I’ve said before, I’m no gardener, so if I can do it anybody can. But, you don’t need a polytunnel or greenhouse to enjoy home grown tomatoes. A bit of space near a window is all you need to give it a try. My seedlings are coming on in the living room ready to be planted later. Once the weather improves and we have seen the end of the frost.
How to Grow Your Own Tomatoes.
Getting started.
If you have never tried growing your own, grab a packet of seeds from the garden centre and get going. I have been growing three varieties Outdoor Girl, Alisa Craig, and San Marzano.
I start the seeds in plug trays and once I have about 8cm of growth re-pot them into 10cm recyclable pots. The seedlings will be quite fragile. And if allowed to grow too tall will be unable to support themselves. When re-potting cover the seedling stem down to just below the formed leaves. If you have small leaves forming near the base of the stem pick these off before covering with compost. If this is not done, they may cause rot below the surface. The pots are used later as a watering aid once the plants are in their final position.
Once they begin to outgrow the pots again, they are re-potted once more into 15cm deep pots proceeding as before. I always use fresh compost when seeding and re-potting. As the plants get larger feed once a week with liquid feed and support with plant sticks as needed.
I keep the plants in the living room by the window until I’m sure the frosts have finished. I you live in a warmer area; you should be able to move into the greenhouse or polytunnel earlier.
Moving outside.
When the time comes the plants are potted on once more into 30cm pots. You can use slightly smaller pots if space is a problem. But if the pot is too small, the yield of the plant may be reduced. Again, I use fresh compost with a layer of gravel in the base of the pot for drainage. The 10cm pots are sunk into the compost to allow water to reach the roots and not form around the stem. Watering the surface of the pot can cause the stem to rot at ground level. The sunken pots get the water/feed down and keep the surface dry. try to avoid getting the leaves wet as this can also be a cause of rot. It’s often a good idea to take the plants outside during the day and then bring them under cover for a few days to become acclimatised to a change in temperature before permanently planting them out.
Using Grow bags.
An alternative is to use grow bags and buy Plant Halos‘. These are doughnut like devices which are perfect for growbags. They allow extra compost to be used in the centre to give the plant more depth for growth. The outer ring is then filled with water that dribbles down via spikes in the base of the halo to water the roots. If you want to try growbags, I would definitely recommend you use the halos. I don’t think the growbag on its own has enough depth to support an adult plant. I have heard of people cutting one side of the plastic off two bags. Then sandwiching the two together to increase the depth. Fine if you are just growing a couple of plants on the balcony, but I think pots are a better bet. This year I am also going to use the Haloes on my 30cm pots to make the watering easier.
Tomato types.
There are two main types of tomato plants, Bush, and Cordon. Some varieties such as Rio Grande, Red Alert, and Incas are bush tomatoes. These are better if you want to use grow bags, smaller pots or even hanging baskets. These are a good bet if you are just starting off or don’t have a greenhouse or polytunnel. They also don’t require any pruning as they grow.
All three of these tomato varieties I’m growing are Cordon Tomatoes, San Manzano, Outdoor Girl, and Alisa Craig. This means they need to be supported as they grow with robust canes as they can grow up to 1.8mt in hight. Set the canes deep into the pots and support the top with garden wire. The watering halos have the provision to set a tepee of canes around the plant.
They also need to be pruned during the growing process. The basic principle in pruning cordon tomatoes plants is that you want the main stem to be where the leaf stems emerge from. Take a look at https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-cordon-tomatoes/ for a detailed instruction on pruning.
Outdoor Girl Tomatoes.
These are well suited to variable, colder UK conditions, i.e., Scotland. And can be grown outside if you have a suitable protected sunny spot in the garden. Flavour is a traditional sweet and sharp, good for salads and preserving.
Alisa Craig Tomatoes.
As far as taste goes this variety is still the one which many gardeners compare against for measuring how tasty a tomato is. Ailsa Craig has the right balance of sweetness and acidity combined with deep tomato flavour. There are few, if any tomatoes, which can match Ailsa Craig when it comes to taste. The texture is good for salads, and firm enough to make them excellent for slicing and serving on burgers and in sandwiches.
San Marzano Tomatoes.
These are my go-to cooking tomatoes and even if you are just buying your tomatoes in a tin, look for San Marzano. This is both a tomato variety and a region in Italy from where they take their name.
They are a plum tomato, a bit thinner and longer than the plum tomatoes you will be familiar with. with a lovely sweet – sharp flavour. The key thing is that they have fewer seeds and more flesh than a plum tomato. I find a lot of ‘Plum’ tomatoes seem to be no more than a stretched round tomato. If you have ever wondered why your tomato sauce is never as good as the one you tasted on your Italian holiday. It’s simply the quality of the ingredients.
So, now’s the time to get started. Once you have tried your home-grown tomatoes, you will realise how poor the shop bought versions are.
Look up the websites below for more in-depth information.
https://www.tomatogrowing.co.uk/
https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/tomatoes/grow-your-own
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
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