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| Buy
Tomato Seeds and Plants |
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| How to
grow tomatoes |
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| 1.
Sow seeds in a propagator
or seed tray from late winter to early spring. Space the seeds
2cm apart. |
| 2.
When the seedlings
are large enough to handle, prick them off into 8cm+ pots
filled with compost. |
| 3.
When the plants are
12-15cm high, transplant them to permanent beds and tie to
stakes. |
| 4.
If growing single
stem varieties, remove axil shoots with a clean knife to
control the plants growth. |
| 5.
Feed with liquid
tomato feed as soon as the fruit begins to swell and repeat
every two weeks until harvesting. |
| 6.
If growing bush
varieties, put dry straw on the ground under each plant to
protect from damp soil and slugs. |
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| Pollination
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Greenhouse tomatoes may need help with pollination. The pollen needs
exactly the right atmospheric humidity to adhere to the female parts of
the flowers and to grow down towards the ovule. The remedy is to spray the
plants and surroundings in the early morning. |
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Sideshooting and
stopping |
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| As soon as the flower trusses start to form the plant will
begin to produce shoots in the joints between the stem and the leaf. By
nature the tomato is a bushy plant, but allowing these shoots to grow will
result in a mass of bushy foliage and small fruits. Remove sideshoots by
"pinching out" using your thumb and forefinger.
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| Repeat this
every two days towards the end of the season. When the plant is bearing
six or seven trusses of fruit break off the growing tip cleanly just above
the second leaf above the top truss. The plant can then concentrate all of
its resources into growing fruit.
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De-leafing |
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| Removing
the lower leaves of the plant will encourage it to channel its resources
into fruit production and improve ventilation close to the soil.
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| Feeding and
watering
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Tomatoes need plenty of moisture but not a saturated soil. Twice daily
watering is a must in hot weather. Greenhouse grown crops will benefit
from a good misting by spraying the whole greenhouse including floor,
staging etc.
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Harvesting |
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The bottom trusses ripen first, pick the tomatoes before they are quite
ripe. Sever the stalk at the "knuckle" just above the calyx.
They can complete their ripening on a windowsill within a few days.
Removing the crop before it's ripe helps the plant to concentrate on the
next lot of fruit.
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| Mini
greenhouses |
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Mini
greenhouses Ideal for growing tomatoes |
| Includes a
roll-up door with two zips for easy access, a strong
tubular framework, ground anchoring pegs and reinforced
UV-resistant cover. Ideal for growing tomatoes,
cucumbers
& chillies.
Strong tubular framework. Heavy duty construction.
Ground anchoring pegs included. Reinforced UV resistant
cover. |
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| Interesting
tomato facts |
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 Tomatoes
were first cultivated in Peru and Ecuador and the first extensive
plantings were made in Mexico. Columbus brought both seeds and
plants to Europe in 1498, they were grown for medicinal purposes and
for decoration.
Books
dating between 1597 and 1629 describe tomatoes as "apples of
love" or "poma amoris". The name love apple was
derived from the literal translation of the French name pomme d'
amour, the fruit was believed to be a good aphrodisiac.
A
good way to ripen off green tomatoes at the end of the season is to
place a mature, aromatic banana or apple into a polythene bag with
the tomatoes. Ethylene gas produced by the banana or apple will
quickly turn your toms red.
Tomato
plants account for one fifth of all vegetable plants purchased. They
are so popular that they are grown in three-quarters of all domestic
greenhouses in this country.
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Tomato
Varieties |
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Tomato Supersweet Collection |
| We've trialled
over 250 varieties and we can safely say that these exceptional new
cordon cherry tomatoes are the unanimous choice for superb sweetness! |
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Tomato
'Garden Pearl' |
| Specially bred for containers, this is a high yielding, self-branching variety with a neat, compact habit. Produces an abundance of cherry-sized fruits over a long summer season. Can be grown in a hanging basket too! |
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Tomato 'Ferline' F1 Hybrid
- Indoor or Outdoor |
| Could this be the
answer to many gardeners' prayers? In recent trials Tomato ‘Ferline’
has shown impressive blight tolerance in a garden situation, and
resistance to fusarium and verticillium wilt. A useful variety for
outdoor cultivation in wet summers! Grow these vigorous, indeterminate
plants as cordons either under glass or outdoors, to produce heavy crops
of deep red fruits. |
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Tomato
'Gardener's Delight' |
| An exceptionally sweet and delicious indoor or outdoor cherry tomato.
A popular small-fruited variety, very reliable and prolific with long trusses of bite-sized fruits.
Each one is packed full of old fashioned true tomato taste. |
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Tomato
'Sungold' - Indoor or Outdoor |
| An outstanding
cordon cherry tomato for glasshouse or outdoor culture. Tomato
‘Sungold’ has an exceptionally high sugar content, that easily
rivals ‘Gardeners Delight’, making its attractive, golden-orange
fruit irresistibly sweet and juicy. The high yields of delicious fruit
(each approximately 13g) are ideal for salads or as a tasty snack. |
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Tomato
'Sweet Million' |
| Really easy-to-grow cherry tomato with an excellent fruit set so you are sure of a huge crop of bite-sized, extra sweet fruits. |
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Tomato
'Cherrola' F1 Hybrid - Indoor or Outdoor |
| Tomato
‘Cherrola’ bears long trusses of up to 20 well-spaced, dark red
fruits weighing on average 20g (¾oz)! This delicious cherry tomato has
an excellent balance of sweetness and acidity giving the fruits an
outstanding flavour. Delicious in salads and sandwiches or eaten
straight from the garden as a snack! This heavy cropping cordon variety
is suitable for growing outside or under glass where it will ripen
particularly early. |
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Tomato
'Shirley' |
| The standard greenhouse variety 'par excellence'.
A relatively compact, early maturing variety yielding a reliable crop of sweet tomatoes.
Does well in an unheated greenhouse. |
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Tomato Tomazing™ |
| For sweetness
without the calories, grow your own gourmet tomatoes! Already a customer
favourite for its superb flavour, this fantastic cordon variety produces
an enormous crop of up to 500 juicy, bite-size cherry tomatoes per
plant. |
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Tomato
'Super Marmande' |
| A classic continental 'beefsteak' variety.
Very early crop of large, meaty, irregular shaped fruit that are great for grilling, frying or eating raw in summer salads. |
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Tomato Tomarvellous™ |
| If red tomatoes
are your preference then try Tomato ‘Tomarvellous’™. Remarkably
tasty, extremely sweet, and heavy cropping! This fantastic cordon
variety produces an enormous crop of up to 500 juicy, bite-size cherry
tomatoes per plant. |
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Tomato Moneymaker |
| An old established but still popular variety that's hard to beat for good all-round indoor/outdoor cultivation.
Produces heavy crops of medium sized fruits over a long season. |
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Tomato Tasty Tumbler |
| At last - a basket
tomato that tastes as good as it looks! This compact variety is ideal
for growing bumper crops in the smallest of spaces, having been
especially bred for growing in hanging baskets and patio containers -
you can even grow it in a window box! Why not plant Tomato ‘Tasty
Tumbler’ outside your kitchen window for a convenient supply of
delicious cherry tomatoes? |
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Tomato 'Country Taste' F1 Hybrid |
| Tomato ‘Country
Taste’ produces meaty, delicious fruits, which can easily attain
weights over 227g (½lb) if trusses are trimmed to allow 3 or 4 fruits
to ripen per truss. This fantastic beefsteak tomato is particularly
early to set and ripen when grown under glass. An excellent cordon
tomato for exhibition and competitions - you could grow a record
breaker! |
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