Tomatoes - A step by step growing guide. Buy tomato seeds online.



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Once known as the "apple of love" tomatoes have always been a popular crop for the amateur and professional gardener.
Sowing to harvesting time - 12 - 15 weeks depending on variety.
Once regarded almost solely as a greenhouse crop, with the development of new, hardier varieties you can now grow some varieties outdoors. However it is important to remember that the crop is native to a fairly hot dry climate.

High summer temperatures suit them perfectly, but since that weather cannot be expected every year in a temperate climate, some care must be taken to produce a good crop. They do not like damp, cloudy, cool conditions and they hate frost.

Most gardeners save growing time by starting tomato plants under glass, in a cold frame or on the windowsill ensuring frost free conditions. There is no doubt that the best way to grow toms is in a greenhouse.

Soil - Tomatoes will grow in any reasonably rich soil, or any poor soil providing the basic nutrients are added during the growing period. Growing soil should be replaced after every crop to prevent disease. Purpose made grow bags are ideal.



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.

Pollination: 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.

Sideshooting and Stopping: 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. 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.

De-leafing: Removing the lower leaves of the plant will encourage it to channel its resources into fruit production and improve ventilation close to the soil.

Feeding and Watering: 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.

Harvesting: 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.

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.


	Tomatoes Ailsa Craig
	Good shape and medium-sized fruit produced.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomatoes Alicante
	Red fruit which crops well.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato F1 Beefeater
	Heavy crops produced.
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomatoes Big Beef
	Has a strong growing habit.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomatoes Cherry Belle F1
	Produces a good crop of tasty, cherry-type fruit.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomatoes Cossack F1
	Disease resistant producing medium sized fruit.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomato Costoluto Fiorentino (T2)
	Big, old-fashioned, misshapen, heavy, ribbed beef tomato from Florence.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomatoes Cumulus F1
	Crops well, medium sized fruit and resistant to disease.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomato Cuor di Bue
	Superb tasting and fleshy.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomatoes Fantasio F1
	Bears a prolific crop that is superbly flavoured.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato Floridity
	Trusses with up to 35 fruits per cluster.
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomatoes Gardener's Delight
	Crops extremely well with fruit on long trusses.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomatoes Golden Peardrop
	Delicious flavour and thin skinned.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomatoes Golden Sunrise
	A delightfully flavoured, good shaped tomato.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomatoes Incas F1
	Can be picked early and excellent for soups and sauces.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato Lilliput F1
	Heavy cropper with small round tasty fruits.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomato Marglobe
	'Perfect' tomato shape.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomato Marmande
	Produces fruit with few seeds.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomatoes Moneymaker
	Yields extremely well with medium-sized fruit.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato F1 Nimbus
	Crops producing early fruiting and lovely tasting fruits.
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato Pomona F1
	Juicy eating tomato, ideal for use in salads.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomatoes Red Cap
	Ideal for growing in pots.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomato Red Pear Franchi
	A very unusual beef tomato.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomato Roma
	Traditional Italian Plum Tomato. Bolognese favourite.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomatoes Romana F1
	Resistant to disease, ideal for glasshouse and outdoor growing.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomato San Marzano Redorta
	Huge regional plum tomato for cooking and named after a mountain in Bergamo.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomato San Marzano 2
	Classic Italian plum tomato.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomato F1 Shirley
	Good quality and tasty fruit produced.
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomatoes Sultana
	Fruits of a nice with a lovely flavour.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomatoes Summer Sweet F1
	A tall variety with deep coloured fruit.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies

	Tomatoes Sungold F1
	Grows vigorously producing cherry-sized fruit.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato F1 Sweet Love
	Early ripening, producing healthy plants that become laden with fruit.
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato F1 Sweet Million
	Crops very well and fruit keeps over a good period.
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato Tamina
	A heavy cropping variety.
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato The Amateur
	Crops well with a medium size fruit.
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomato Tondo Giallo - Golden Boy
	A round, yellow, hybrid tomato for eating.
	Seeds available online from: Gardening Express

	Tomatoes Tornado F1
	Produces continues crops of delicious tasty fruits.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomatoes Tumbler F1
	High yields of delicious fruits produced in one season.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomatoes Tumbling Tom Red
	Excellent for hanging baskets and patio containers.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons

	Tomatoes Tumbling Tom Yellow
	Produces tumbling golden-yellow fruits.
	Seeds available online from: Dobies
	Seeds available online from: Suttons


	Topsy-turvy Tomato Planter
	An ingenious grow bag that is suspended from above so you can grow tomatoes without needing to stake or weed. It's ideal for hanging above the patio and porch, and thanks to the innovative design the fruit even ripens nearly a month earlier than anyone else's! Pest problems, in particular cutworms, are reduced and as the plants hang down there's no need to bend or search for the fruit. Also ideal for growing cucumbers, peppers, courgettes, aubergines, herbs and even flowers


	Tomato Greenhouse
	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. Includes a roll-up door with 2 zips for easy access Strong tubular framework Heavy duty construction Ground anchoring pegs included Reinforced UV resistant cover Size - 198 high x 78 width x 200cm length.


	Tomato Support Cage
	Suitable for all climbing fruits, flowers and vegetables. Adjustable support allows you to give your plant more support as it grows. Re-useable - lasts season after season. Perfect for beds, borders and containers. 1.5m High

Propagators

Dobies Vegetable Seeds

Gardening Express

British Tomato Growers' Association

Suttons Vegetable Seeds

Two Wests & Elliot



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