It is spring and now our harsh winter is finally over it is time to start planting those organic tomatoes just in time for summer. It doesn’t matter if you intent planting hybrid or heritage tomato plants, you should be ready to start as soon as the temperatures are warm and stable enough for the organic tomatoes to thrive.

So here are my top 7 tips for growing organic tomatoes

1. Weather:

Keep an eye on the temperature which in this day and age is simple. Either go online and get an up to date reading or I use my iPod and have downloaded an app to do this. Make sure you don’t plant out until the temperatures are above 10 degrees

2. Temperature of the Soil:

Make sure your soil is above 12 degrees before planting. I don’t often plant my tomatoes before May in the UK

3. Warming the soil:

If you want to speed up the process of warming the soil then you can cover your beds with clear or black plastic about a week before planting

4. Separate your organic tomato plants:

Organic Tomatoes like to be about 3 feet apart allowing the roots to spread out and make sure you plant your tomato plant in a deep enough hole. If they are a bit leggy don’t forget you can bury them deep to encourage good strong stems.

5. Feeding & Watering:

Put a cup of organic fertiliser such as bone meal before you plant in your carefully prepared soil. Giving the soil a good soaking before planting helps with root expansion. Organic tomatoes need the same love and care as other tomatoes and regular feeding with a good comfrey fertilizer.

7. Pest & Insect Control:

To keep pests away companion plant bulbs of garlic around the area as the little critters hate the smell. French Marigolds are good too-  Did you know that you can buy ladybugs for your garden. They eat many of the insects that would just love to eat your plants

The best tip of all I can give you is have fun growing organic tomatoes. It is undoubtedly harder work but the rewards are justifiable no chemicals in your tomatoes. Enjoy being in the garden, the sun, the sounds of summer and the exercise and you will have a bumper crop of tomatoes this summer.

Can you imagine what an upside down tomato is? I imagine it as what happens after a freak storm has hit my garden and I find all of my tomatoes all over the place.

Upside Down Tomato Planter

It is amazing that gardeners have come up with a way of producing tomatoes that are upside down and you may be interested to learn that there are some advantages to this madness as well.

Upside Down Tomatoes

You will Need

• A sturdy (at least 10 inch across ) container
• Rope or Chain
• A drill/ stanley knief
• Landscape fabric

Traditional growing of tomatoes require heavy maintenance with proper support required such as Tomato Cages. You must also weed regularly and you must be careful not to let the fruits rot. If you are going to grow upside down tomatoes then you don’t have to worry so much about caring for the plants and you can also grow them on your patio in the house border and in your backyard. This is great if you are like me and love just going outside of the kitchen and picking the tomatoes and eating like sweets.

How do you grow Upside Down Tomatoes?

You can buy specially designed pots for this but if you feel adventurous you can DIY it .

To grow upside down tomatoes you must select a properly sturdy container for it. You can save money if you spend a bit of time creating your own container. What you do, is buy a thick quality container that is about 12 inches thick in diameter. Drill a large hole at the bottom of the bot using an ordinary home electric drill. The hole should be where the upside down tomatoes protrude in the bottom of the container. You should also drill three smaller holes on the side of the pot for the ropes you will use to hang the tomatoes.

Place landscaping fabric at the bottom of the pot so as nothing gets washed away when you water the plants or during a rain storm. Make sure you cut a hole at the center of the fabric. This should match the expansion of the root ball. Place the fabric so that it lines up with the hole in the pot.

The next step is to plant the tomato plant by putting it through the hole of the container where you have made the cut. You might need to ask for some assistance in holding the pot when you are doing this or you could find a place to hang it. As with any new plant that you are potting, make sure that you add some potting mixture so that the plant will be healthy.

Hang the pot with the tomato plant in an upside down position. If you are using a home made container then you can tie the ropes from the sides of the container. Remember to give the new plants a good watering, make sure they have plenty of sunlight and use the same processes that you do to grow and feed tomatoes in a traditional way.

Growing upside down tomatoes stops you having to worry about poor garden soil or having enough garden space and if you live in a flat or apartment. You can even hang them on the balcony which is really convenient and will look really nice when the plant is bearing its succulent fruits.

When I was asked how to grow indoor tomatoes I thought immediately that they were referring to “under glass” greenhouse tomato growing which I thought I could easily write about. Alternatively growing tomatoes indoors could mean on the windowsill but in fact they were referring to is what I would call the more commercial venture or exceptionally keen tomato growing enthusiasts.

This was something I hadn’t really looked into before now but decided that it would be helpful for people to know exactly what is involved. The main considerations to take into account are firstly whether the amount of extra work and effort involved in the production of indoor tomatoes is worth your time. Secondly does the cost of setting up the indoor garden out weigh the savings made from growing your own tomatoes? The amount of electricity that will be used plus the cost of the extra equipment the space taken up with in the home or garage and the safety aspects of water and electricity in close proximity, or indeed where to put the car!

If you choose a bush tomato variety it will need plenty of space in which to grow and will need to be kept under a florescent cool white lighting system for seedlings as well as high pressure sodium light to help force the plant to flower and fruit. These lights remain on for extended periods at a time and need to be positioned at a specific height to maximise the growth potential for the plants.

The temperature and humidity for the tomatoes requires regulating as you neither want it too hot or too humid or too cold for the plants. The lighting system can raise the temperature in the room for those plants and therefore you may require a fan to gently move the air around this will also help with the pollination of the tomato plants.

Usually people that decide to grow indoor tomatoes will often decide to use a hydroponics system. These systems can also be quite expensive to set up but the growth rate of the plants and the fruit production is the real bonus. The amount of chemistry involved in the maintenance of the nutrient solution for your plants is quite in depth, balancing the Ph of your reservoir has a direct affect on the amount of nutrient added to the water. My personal conclusion is that you do need to be a very attentive gardener with an interest in the technology of growing indoor tomatoes to embark on this venture.

How to Grow Great Tomatoes

Here are ten tomato growing tips for growing great tomatoes:

• It’s all in the preparation as they say – a good tip is to turn your soil over during January and February. You will be surprised how many pest eggs have been hiding in your soil over the winter and if you expose them to the frosts you hopefully will have less pests during the year.

• Preparation of your soil is important you can go the whole nine yards and test your soil for PH and add chemicals or supplements appropriately or you can add some well rotten compost which usually is just as effective at balancing the soil out

• Mulching your soil is the best way of reducing the weeds around your plants in addition to adding nutrients, keeping the soil warm and retaining moisture

• If you are growing your tomatoes from seed it is a good idea to choose a selection so you have late and an early crop. In addition you can have cherry and plum ones, these are ideal for making sauces which will give you a wonderful crop which will see you through the season

• Seedlings require sunshine and warmth to develop into healthy plants. Leggy seedlings can be planted deeply when planted up as this will enable them to grow stronger stems

• Do not fertilise your plants either too early or too much as you can cause a build up of chemicals in the plants leading to problems with leaves and fruit production. Only begin to add fertiliser after the plant begins to flower and then only one a week

• Diseases can easily affect your plants if they are kept too humid or become infested, know the enemy and be prepared. Companion planting will prevent some pests and is environmentally friendly

• Supporting your tomatoes as they grow is important as tomatoes which are not tend to become damaged leaving fruits trailing on the ground. Using either cages or stakes and strong but gentle ties will prevent damage and ensure a well supported and productive plant

• Watering correctly is always a problem too much can lead to fruiting problems too little can lead to fruiting problems. Try no to let the plants dry out if they are in either pots or grown bags as when you do water them it will just run off

• When thinking of the best tomato growing tips the most practical is probably the storing of your wonderful stock of tomatoes. This is a worthwhile as well as cost effective project. You can easily make sun dried tomatoes and thick rich sauces which you can freeze and use throughout the winter months reminding you of summer and tasting so much better than those bought at your local supermarket

How to Grow Great Tomatoes

This is a great way to get the tomatoes that you want rather than the ones which are available at he garden centres. They do not often have an extensive range and with over 7000 to choose from you should be able to find one that you like. You can purchase seeds from many different outlets – online, garden centres, some DIY shops and mail order. Often the mail order ones are little plug plants which are usually very good quality but I have to say for me there is just something about watching that first seedling poke its way out of the compost which I find sadly very satisfying.

Growing Tomatoes from Seed

If this is your first time at growing tomatoes from seeds it doesn’t have to be an expensive venture seedlings can be grown in any little pot or container which has good drainage holes, yoghurt pots are really good and usually readily available. If you want to take this up as a hobby it is worth purchasing seed trays and a propagator, however, if you are just growing a couple of plants to have in a grow bag on your patio, balcony or in your hanging basket plastic bags with an elastic band round the top of the pot can be just as good as a propagator.

It is always a good idea to grow a few more seeds than you are expecting to plant. Just in case one of those mishaps, which befall us all, like knocking plants over, or having some little blighter eat them. If you do have spare plants you can always give them to friends or neighbours and spread the word.

Sow the seeds indoors if possible for quicker germination and keep them in a really light area, like your conservatory or windowsill so they don’t get too leggy searching for the light.

The ideal temperature needs to be 18-21ºC (65-70ºF) and if you can use a propagator that will be a bonus. This acts as a mini green house for your plants, the bottom of a fizzy drinks bottle of the right size can be cut and placed over the pot the same effect. Once the seedling appears and has cast off its seed pod the plants needs to have air circulating or the seedling may rot therefore the top needs to be taken off the propagator.

Growing Tomatoes from Seed

• The seeds will germinate between, 8-12 days depending on the temperature.It is advisable to water young seedlings in the tray so that they aren’t knocked over with watering the compost just needs to be moist.

If you fancy trying something from the heritage range of tomatoes you can link up with “The Heritage Seed Library” here in the UK or “The Seed Savers Exchange” in the US both of which have seed swap registers.If you wish to save seeds from the Heritage tomatoes for the following year or to share you can:

• Carefully scoop out the seeds from your chosen tomato

• Place onto a plate  taking care to separate them

• Allow them to dry out naturally

• Pop in a paper envelope and with details of the tomato and any special growing instructions

• Keep in a cool place either the fridge or the freezer – I put them in the freezer in freezer bags the zip up ones are good.

How to Grow Great Tomatoes