How to Grow Tomatoes

There are many aspects of how to grow tomatoes that have not been explained to the first timer tomato grower. This is something that for the expert tomato grower they, either forget to tell you or have forgotten! But all gardeners have made mistakes with tomatoes and have learnt with each crop they grow, so don’t worry you are not alone.

“This is a venture which I would like to share with you -  my experiences of growing my own tomatoes. Probably like you I had read a lot of information before I started and, boy is it hard to find. So, I thought I would try and put down here some of the information which I found most  helpful and some other bits and bobs that I found interesting too.

I think a lot of professional gardeners assume you know quite a bit before starting out, so I have gone for the real starters approach. I hasten to add I am not a commercial grower, but I am a Mum who wants to feed  my family good wholesome food that I have   grown myself.

I’m keen to share my successes with you, so I do hope that you find the information here useful and if you have any suggestions for me and your fellow keen tomato growers then please let me know and I’ll add it to the site” – Thank you   – Lesley Pirrie (Author)

If I’m honest the first time I grew tomatoes I bought mine as plug plants , you can pick them up from car boot sales village halls or garden fetes quite cheaply as everyone I know always grow too many from seed and so have surplus to get rid of, May is a good month to pick them up. It is also a great way to buy different types so you can grow a selection. Look for sturdy plants with several ‘branches’ and dark green leaves; reject any which have yellowing leaves or dried out compost.

Or you can go along to your local garden centre and pick up ready grown plug plants (these are plants which have been grown commercially and usually have been grown early so when you pick them up you need to keep them inside for a while) The tomatoes can be planted outside when all danger of frost has passed this can be mid may in UK or even as late as the beginning of June. Plants bought before this time will need to be kept in a sunny frost free area until the frosts have passed without too much of a fluctuating temperature.

How to grow tomatoes sounds easy but when I started out I didn’t realise that if you start off with a leggy young seedling and planted that then you would end up with a leggy droopy and weak plant. I hope to be able to give you a couple of pointers of what to do to get it right the first time.

If you want to find out about growing tomatoes from seed then please consult the other links as I have written about those too. When the young seedlings have been grown on and are about 6 inches / 15cm high they will need to be planted either into the garden or their large pots or grow bags. If your young plant is looking still on the leggy side at this stage you can still remedy the situation.

When you choose how to plant tomatoes it depends on your environment your tomatoes will need a warm place to grow and that may mean planting in pots rather than in the garden plot.

It may be sunnier and more protected in a certain area in which case choosing a grow bag or large pot may be more appropriate. If you have chosen to grow tomatoes in the garden then they will need to be grown approximately a foot and a half apart. You will need this area to allow for growth and to discourage diseases.

When planting in the garden make sure you dig a deep enough hole to be able to bury the whole length of the stem so you only have two inches above the ground showing from the first leaves. Planting this deeply means that your tomato plant will be able to more readily access moisture trapped in the soil.

All along the now buried stem the tomato plant will form more roots and it will be able to grow strongly on a sturdier stem.

If you want to plant your tomatoes in a grow bag you can lie the plant down on its side to ensure that the majority of the stalk is buried. Now that might sound very odd but don’t worry about putting it on its side, they will grow upright and again with a much sturdier stem. If you are using large pots which will have to be about 30cm /10-12’’across place the young plant as low down in the pot as you can so that again only two inches above the compost layer are showing below the first leaves.

Go along to your local garden centre and pick up ready grown plug plants (these are plants which have been grown commercially and usually have been grown early so when you pick them up you need to keep them inside for a while)

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