Tomatoes

In the greenhouse

Greenhouses in the summer tend to be full of tomato plants in various states of disarray. With any luck you'll get a nice firm, ripe fruit from the end of June until October. Tomatoes need constant looking-after, and it's vital to water any grow bags or pots at daily intervals during the summer months.

Unfortunately, the tomato seems an ideal host for all sorts of nasties, and some say that home-gown tomatoes taste no better than supermarket varieties. But they just don’t smell the same and it's a pleasure just watching them grow, waitinf for them to reipen.

With so many recipes calling for raw and cooked toms, it's no wonder we try and try again. Growing tomatoes under glass is fairly time-consuming, with about sixteen weeks between sowing and picking.

Greenhouse varieties are cordon (single stemmed) plants that can get up to six feet or more, and most people will sow Alicante, Moneymaker or Ailsa Craig in the spring.

Sowing and planting

Tomato seed is sown in late December in a heated greenhouse, with a minimum night-time temperature of 50-55 degrees F. Plant them out in late February or early March, and you'll get a May-June crop.

'Cold' houses, however, are most popular for growing tomatoes; sow seeds in early March and plant them out in late April or early May, and you should be picking fruit by July.

Border soil is best for tomatoes, and raised beds are better than those at ground level. Make sure you prepare the soil in winter by digging in compost or manure and raking in a decent fertiliser. Pesky critters tend to be attracted to border soil, so either sterilise it, or change it every couple of seasons.

There are ways around the pests; growing tomatoess in 9 inch pots with potting compost is a popular way to go. Growing bags are also an option, but make sure you water them properly, otherwise disaster beckons.

If you need loads of tomatoes, plant them thinly in trays or pans filled with a decent compost, and keep them nice and moist at about 65 degrees F. When a pair of true leaves have formed, prick them out into three inch pots filled to the brim with good potting compost.

If you don't need so many plants, it's better to sow a couple of seeds each to a three inch pot, sacrificing the runty seeds after they've germinated. When the seedling have reached 6-8 inches in height, and the flowers of the first truss are starting to open, plant them out in grow bags, border soil or pots. Water them thoroughly before planting, and if you're planting in border soil keep them about 18 inches apart. The expected germination time of tomato seeds is around eight to eleven days.

TLC

Make sure the main stem is tied loosely to a cane, or wind it up a vertical string that's slack but firmly tied. You'll find that side shoots appear where the leaf stalks meet the stem. Cut or pinch them out when they reach a length of about an inch.

When your plants reach about four foot tall, get rid of the leaves underneath the first truss. Yellowing leaves below fruit trusses must be removed with a sharp knife as the season wears on but don't overdo the deleafing.

The soil must be kept moist with regular watering, as sporadic watering will cause blossom end rot or even fruit splitting. When you water try to use a soluble tomato fertiliser and it's especially important to water regularly if you are using grow bags.

Pollen dispersion can be aided by misting the plants and tapping the supports from time to time. In the summer, ventilation is of paramount importance, so shade the glass when temperatures get above 80 degrees F. When, finally, your plants get to the top of the greenhouse or when seven trusses have set, get rid of the tip, two leaves above the topmost truss.

Varieties grown for reliability, earliness or flavour

Moneymaker: A popular variety with large trusses of medium sized fruits, the taste is a bit bland though.
Ailsa Craig: Brightly-coloured, medium sized tomatoes, it matures early and has a wonderful flavour.
Alicante: Moneymaker type that is resistant to greenback, with a fine flavour.
Harbringer: An early-cropper, but now a bit tricky to find.
Moneycross: Selected strain of Moneymaker, earlier cropping and resistant to leaf mould.
Craigella: Resistant to greenback, but still retaining the flavour of Ailsa Craig, of which it is an improved strain.

F1 hybrid varieties-modern crosses that have the advantages of disease resitance and yielding heavier crops

Eurocross: A good heated house plant, it's immune to greenback, resistant to leaf mould and bears large fruits.
Supercross: These are the same size and shape as the Moneymaker, but seriously disease resistant, a tolerance even to mosaic virus has been added.
Estrella: The best advantage to this plant is disease resistance.
Shirley: This variety has serious pluspoints: early cropping, heavy fruit yields, and resistant to greenback, virus and leaf mould. It's not even bothered by a cold spell.
Herald: According to some experts, this is the hybrid to choose for top flavour, again resistant to leaf mould and an early cropper.
Tumbler: This can be grown in a pot on a patio or even in a hanging basket, it produced small, cherry-sized fruit.
Cherry Belle: A great cherry tomato, with good resistance and heavy cropping, the taste is also rated as outstanding.
Danny: Good for growing in an unheated greenhouse, otherwise the fruit may be a bit misshapen.

Beefsteak varieties - popular, large, meaty tomatoes

Big Boy: Most popular variety, producing fruit than can weigh up to 1 lb or more; if you want this sort of size disbud to three fruits per truss.
Dombito: Bred in Holland, the fruits have firm fleshy walls a few seeds, they also have quite good disease resistance and weigh about three quarters of a pound.
Dombello: Classed as one of the best, it doesn't reach the size of the Dombito but it's a early-cropper with great flavour.

Novelty varieties

Golden Sunrise: Good choice if you want yellow toms, medium-sized fruits and a distinctive flavour.
Yellow Perfection: Supposedly a sweeter and earlier-cropping tomato than other yellows.
Golden Boy: A great one to grow if you're after large, meaty fruits.
San Marzano: A popular 'Italian' tom, with firm flesh and a distinct egg shape; best in spaghetti sauce and soups, etc.
Tigerella: An early-maturing tomato with red and yellow stripes. The yield tends to be good and so it the flavour.

Growing tomatoes outdoors

If you live in quite a mild area of Britain, you can grow tomatoes outdoors, and expect a decent crop most summers so long as you have some protection from the cold winds.

The flavour of an outdoor crop is generally better, and a lot of the hard slog of growing is taken care of by the bush varieties. However, there are a number of traps for the unwary no matter how warm and sheltered your spot is.

Firstly, make sure your seedlings are actually suitable for outdoor growing, and make sure that the ground is properly prepared; tomatoes need humus-rich, well-drained soil. Remember that a cordon variety must have its growing point removed whilst the plant is still quite small; if you let it run riot and grow to its' natural height the tomatoes won't ripen.

Sowing and planting

Tomatoes are tender bunch, so if you can, find a spot in front of a south-facing wall that's nice and warm. Dig it over thoroughly during the winter and throw in a load of compost, also rake in a fertiliser before you plant.

If you don't have any land, or are only after a few plants, then you can grow tomatoes in 9 inch pots or in growing bags filled with compost.

You can put these on open ground or on a patio or balcony. Bear in mind that if you're growing tomatoes in a container they will need much more frequent watering and regular feeding to keep them happy.

If you're sowing under glass, the best time is late March or Early April, then the plants are hardened off during May and planted out in early June; if you're growing under cloches the best time to plant out is in the middle of May.

If you're buying tomato seedlings for planting out, look for ones which are sturdy and a dark green, and about 8 inches in height, these should be pot grown.

Plant them out into grow bags, the veggie patch or pots when the first truss has flowers that are starting to open. Before you plant out, water the pot well and make sure that the soil ball is set just below the soil surface.

If you spread some black polythene sheeting across the surface of the soil and plant the tomato seedlings through x-shaped slits, you will get a better crop. The germination time of tomato seeds is around eight to eleven days.

Looking after outdoor tomatoes

If you're growing a cordon variety, tie the stem loosely to a cane, make the ties at 12 inch intervals as the plants grow. Where the leaf stalk joins the stem, side shoots will appear, pinch them out when they reach about 1 inch. As the season progresses, remember to get rid of yellowing leaves below the fruit trusses, but don't overdo it.

Keep the soil in good moist condition in dry weather with regular watering, as alternating dry conditions with flooding will cause fruit splitting or blossom end rot. You have to remember to keep growing bags watered frequently and well-fed with tomato fertiliser. When small tomatoes have appeared on the fourth truss, remove the tip at two leaves above this truss.

Harvesting

When the fruits are ripe and fully coloured, pick them. Hold the tomato gently in the palm of your hand and break off the fruit at the 'knuckle' (the swelling on the flower stalk) with your thumb.

The stems can be removed and laid under cloches on a straw bed at the end of the season; an easier way to get green fruit to ripen is to place them on a tray in a layer and leave them in a drawer. Funnily enough, placing a couple of ripe apples in there with them will help, as this will generate ethylene, a ripening gas.

Cordon varieties

Along with such favourites as the Alicante and Moneymaker, popular varieties include: Gardener's Delight- an oldie but goodie, a heavy-cropper with tangy, bite-sized tomatoes.

Sweet 100- you can get several hundred lovely cherry-sized fruits from a well-grown one of these.

Outdoor Girl- a really early ripener, supposedly one of the best outdoor tomatoes; another heavy-cropper, slightly ribbed and nicely flavoured.

Gemini- holds a reputation for succeeding in cool summers, sweet, medium-size fruit.

Bush varieties

Making outdoor growing that much easier, the bush varieties are either creeping plants under 9 inches tall, or bushes 1-2 1/2 feet in height.

They don't need trimming, stopping or supporting, and are ideal for cloche culture. However, the fruits tend to play hide and seek with you, making harvesting a bit more difficult. Lay straw or plastic sheeting around the base of the plants many of the fruits lurk at ground level. The Amateur- popular but maybe not the best bush variety-produces medium-sized fruits in a heavy crop.

Sigmabush- a good plant, the crop ripens even in dull weather due to its' open growth, early and tasty.

Tiny Tim- a dwarf bush that you can even plant in a windowbox, produces bright fruits that are almost seedless and cherry-like.

Alfresco- a great variety, good disease resistance and high yields.