Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are probably the most popular vegetable for both the experienced and amateur to grow. It’s not hard to see why as home grown tomatoes are far superior to anything that you can buy in the shops. They are not the easiest vegetable to grow, not the most difficult either but they do need very specific requirements and need a fair amount of attention while they are growing. This shouldn’t put you off; if you can successfully grow tomatoes then you can grow just about anything.

 

Sowing seeds

Whatever seeds you are sowing moisten the compost first so that you disturb them as little as possible. Sow tomatoes and other small seeds as close to the surface as possible in three inch pots or modules if you want to raise lots of plants. The easiest way is to put two or three seeds on top of the compost and cover with a very thin layer of fine compost or vermiculite. If you have a hose with a gun water on a fine spray or use a household spray mister. When the seedlings are big enough to handle remove the weaker ones and leave the strongest. The seedling will be ready to plant out when it has formed a good root system and you can pull the plant out of the pot without losing any compost. Tomato seeds germinate at about 69 degrees Fahrenheit, this is where a cold frame, conservatory, enclosed patio or sunny window sills come in handy.

Soil

Tomatoes like rich soil so incorporate compost or well rotted manure into your plot prior to planting. If you’re growing in pots use good quality compost. There are some very cheap bags of compost out there but they lack the nutrients of the better stuff and in my opinion is false economy.

 

Aftercare

Aftercare falls into two categories, looking after the plants and looking after the soil. The soil part is easy, pull up any weeds taking care not to disturb the plant and feed with a nitrogen rich, preferably organic, fertilizer once a week.

Looking after the plants is a little trickier. To achieve a bumper crop you will need to remove the side shoots when they are about an inch long that appear in between the leaf stalk and the main stem. Leaving them on the plant to develop will use up valuable energy that the plant would use for flowering and fruit set. If you have no idea of what I am talking about take a tomato plant and follow a leaf stalk from its tip to the point where it meets the stem. That is the point where the side shoots appear. Take care not to remove the fruit stalk which grows quite close to the side shoots.

When the plant has developed small tomatoes on the 4^th truss remove the growing tip 2 leaves above the truss. This encourages fruit to ripen.

                                                                                                                 
Watering

It is essential that you keep the soil moist but not over watered. Allowing the soil to dry out then watering heavily will cause the fruit to split or develop blossom end rot. Mulch around the base of the plants to conserve moisture especially in the heat of summer. You can use straw, leaf mould, weed fabric or black plastic sheets. You will need to water very frequently if you are going to grow tomatoes in pots, probably twice a day.

General advice

You’ll need to support your tomatoes with bamboo sticks or better still the canes that grow wild everywhere in southern Spain. Tie them loosely with string or special garden wire and keep tying them up every foot or so. Don’t use thin metal wire as it has a habit of cutting into the stem causing damage.

If you don’t think you can spare enough time to grow tomatoes then think again. There are bush varieties that take all the hassle out of growing tomatoes, there is no de-leafing and no pinching out of the growing tips. Yes, you will still have to water regularly and feed occasionally but no more than any other vegetable.

There are special trailing varieties too that can be grown in hanging baskets. So there is no reason why you cant grow a few tomato plants even if all you have is a small terrace or patio.