Tomatoes are one of the most common fruits (Yes officially they
are fruits and not vegetables!) grown around the World. They are easy to
grow, and with a few simple tips you can aim to get a big bumper crop
of large tomatoes.
Now not everyone will agree with all of these tips, yet they have worked very well for me and resulted in big, strong flavoured tomatoes, as well as bumper crops all round.
Firstly the earlier you can get your tomatoes growing the better. This year I have planted mine inside towards the end of February. Many people will say do not do this until the end of March, but to an extent it does depend on where you live in the World. I live in the South of England and so I can get away with planting a full month earlier than most people.
I always feed my tomato plants with tomato food from the minute I plant them in their seedcompost .
Indeed I even water the dry compost with tomato feed before I plant the
seeds. Whilst many people will tell you that this initially makes them
leggy, I have found that as the plants mature the stems grow far thicker
and stronger, and hence they are much more resistant to wind.
To set your tomato plants going I recommend planting two seeds per tray section, and simply either pull out the weaker of the two seedlings once they have germinated or re-pot the weaker one. Planting two per tray section is particularly a good idea if like me you are going to grow some plants to sell on to other people.
To plant your seeds imply use the blunt end of a pencil and press it down around 5 mm into the compost, then drop two seeds inside of the hole and simply use you fingers to pinch compost lightly over the top of the seed.
I then either place mine in my electric propagator (Highly recommended as they only cost around £15), or place them on a warm windowsill.
In either case I cover them with a layer ofbubble wrap
and then a layer of newspaper. The bubble wrap keeps them nice and
warm, and the newspaper helps block out the light, which forces the
seeds to seek out the light and germinate early. This can push your
tomato seeds to germinate in less than 7 days, and not the 14-21 it says
on the packet.
If you follow these tips then you will end up with great tomatoes far faster than your neighbours!
Now not everyone will agree with all of these tips, yet they have worked very well for me and resulted in big, strong flavoured tomatoes, as well as bumper crops all round.
Firstly the earlier you can get your tomatoes growing the better. This year I have planted mine inside towards the end of February. Many people will say do not do this until the end of March, but to an extent it does depend on where you live in the World. I live in the South of England and so I can get away with planting a full month earlier than most people.
I always feed my tomato plants with tomato food from the minute I plant them in their seed
To set your tomato plants going I recommend planting two seeds per tray section, and simply either pull out the weaker of the two seedlings once they have germinated or re-pot the weaker one. Planting two per tray section is particularly a good idea if like me you are going to grow some plants to sell on to other people.
To plant your seeds imply use the blunt end of a pencil and press it down around 5 mm into the compost, then drop two seeds inside of the hole and simply use you fingers to pinch compost lightly over the top of the seed.
I then either place mine in my electric propagator (Highly recommended as they only cost around £15), or place them on a warm windowsill.
In either case I cover them with a layer of
If you follow these tips then you will end up with great tomatoes far faster than your neighbours!
Visit us to find out more about how to grow tomatoes, and learn more about how to grow vegetables from asparagus to how to grow turnips
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