About growing Tomatoes

Growing tomatoes in the UK and around the world is still a massive thing. From children to adults growing tomatoes is great fun and enjoyable, plus you get produce from it. If you have got a greenhouse tomatoes will grow fantastic in it. Some varieties of tomatoes can also be grown outside but can take longer to ripen and develop. You will certainly have more success at growing them in a greenhouse or a polytunnel. Many varieties and types of tomatoes are popping up on the shelves each year. Also their are many colours, you can get the normal red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes and even black black tomatoes. On this page you will find out how to grow tomatoes and how to care for them with all our tomato growing tips and advice.

Sowing , planting and harvesting time for tomatoes

Here you will find the times of the year when it is best to sow, plant and when you will be harvesting your tomatoes in the UK – depending on the weather.

Sow	February – April
Plant	May – June
Harvest	July – October

Choosing the best site for Tomatoes

Choosing the best site to grow your tomatoes is important as this will help when getting a good crop. The better the soil the better crop you will get. Tomatoes tend to be grown in the greenhouse or polytunnel, but you can now get lots of different varieties which can be grown in hanging baskets, tubs, window boxes and outdoors in the garden. When choosing the best site for the tomatoes they need to be grown in a sunny position. If you don’t have the tomatoes in a sunny spot they will not ripen and you will end up with lots of green tomatoes. If possible grow your tomatoes in a greenhouse, mini greenhouse or a polytunnel as they will get a lot more warmth and they will be faster at producing and you will get better crops from the tomato plants.
Ideally you want to grow your tomato plants in grow bags or flower buckets which you can pick up from the supermarkets cheap – just make sure you drill holes in the bottom for drainage. Make sure that you use a good quality compost in the buckets so that you get a good quality crop of tomatoes.

How to plant tomato seeds

Tomato plants are extremely easy to grow. When sowing the whole packet of seeds they will tend to all grow. The best way to plant tomato seeds is to get a seed tray and fill it half way with compost. Next you need to get the tomato seeds and sprinkle them across the compost evenly. Cover the tomato seeds with a layer of compost and sprinkle them with water. The tomato seeds need to be kept warm for them to germinate. You can do this by covering the seeds with a propagator or a sheet of cling film, this will keep them warm and the seeds moist. Remember to label your tomato seeds so you can remember what variety of tomatoes you have planted. When the tomato seeds start to grow and pop through the soil you can then take off the cling film or propagator – just remember to keep them somewhere warm.

Check out our video on how to sow tomato seeds

How to plant tomatoes

When your tomato seeds have germinated and are big enough to handle, you need to transplant the tomato plants into separate pots so they can then get established and let the tomato plant roots take form. These can be grown on somewhere warm until they reach around 20cm. When the tomato plants have reached this height they can be transferred into grow bags or containers.

Check out our video on transplanting tomato plants into plant pots.

How to care for tomato plants.

Tomato plants need quite a lot of love and attention to get great crops. you can even try talking to them. You need to keep the soil moist by watering regularly, in warm weather at least once a day. Do not leave them for a few days as leaving gaps in water and the soil going fry can cause your tomatoes to split. If you do leave them to go without water it can cause blossom end rot and cause the tomatoes to go black. When the tomatoes start to appear on the plants you can start to feed them with tomato fertiliser once a week. This will help produce great crops.

Findout how to make your tomatoes sweeter in our helpful video below.

How to Harvest Tomatoes

The best thing about tomatoes is that once they start ripening they will all start ripening. Pick the fruit when it is fully ripened but do not leave on as it will split. They need picking there and then. If you are struggling with getting them ripened use banana skins. Plant a few plants and you will be picking a handful off every day.

We hope that these tomato growing tips have helped you learn how to grow tomatoes in pots and how to grow your tomatoes indoors and in greenhouses. Subscribe to our regular tips and advice by filling in your details below.

You can find out more information on Tomatoes here. You can also learn about growing other vegetables here. Why not try growing your own flowers with our tips here.