
When to Grow
Tomatoes come in all shapes, sizes and colours, so grow a few different varieties for your sandwiches! They are an important crop in the vegetable garden. They are actually ‘fruits’ which are the fleshy berries of the plant. Tomatoes are often referred to as ‘fruiting vegetables’. There are lots of different varieties. ‘Tigerella’ is a stripy tomato, ‘Gardener’s Delight’ is a cherry tomato, ‘Tumbling Tom’ is a tomato to grow in a hanging basket. Sow seeds in spring.
What you need

Seeds

Plant Label and Pencil

Small Pots or Seed Trays

Peat-free Seed Compost

Gloves
How to Grow
- Fill the pot almost to the top with seed compost and firm the surface of the compost lightly so it is level.
- Place the seed evenly on the surface and then add a light covering of compost.
- Place on a warm, sunny windowsill and keep the compost just moist. Tomatoes need to be kept at about 18°C (64°F) to germinate.
- Once two ‘adult’ leaves have formed, gently move the tiny plants into individual 7.5–9cm pots. This is called ‘pricking out’. Paper pots are good as they will allow you to plant the tomatoes out without disturbing the roots. Label your young plants.
- When the roots of the tomatoes have filled the pots, you can plant them outside in the ground, pots or growbags. Make sure the risk of frost has passed in your area (late May–mid June).
Maintenance
- Vine or cordon tomatoes will need to be supported by being tied to stakes or canes pushed firmly in the ground. Make sure you put toppers on canes to protect from eye injuries.
- Remove the side shoots regularly, when the side shoot reaches about 2.5cm long. Side shoots grow where the base of where the leaf joins the main stem (leaf node). Tomatoes grown as bush or hanging basket varieties do not need to have side shoots removed.
- Tomatoes need watering on a regular basis to keep the soil or compost moist. Feed with a liquid fertiliser suitable for tomatoes, following the instructions on the pack.