There’s nothing worse than buying bland-tasting, watery tomatoes, which means that you have to spend a fortune on vine-ripened tomatoes to recapture the taste of the luscious fruits that you can find in the Mediterranean. Thankfully, it is both easy and rewarding to grow your own tomatoes at home.
When to sow and plant: Sow early to mid-spring; plant out in the early summer months.
Try growing basil alongside your tomatoes; just add some mozzarella and you have a delicious, home-grown Caprese salad.
You can grow tomatoes in most types of container or even in growbags (there are some great surrounds made from materials such as wicker that can make them look more attractive). I would check first how large the variety you’ve chosen will grow before deciding on the container. Tomatoes flourish in a hot, sunny position, but don’t enjoy dry conditions. Dry soil will reduce the number of fruits that are produced, but you’ll have to make sure that the container has adequate drainage at the same time, otherwise the plants will rot in the soggy potting mix. As well as requiring constant watering, tomatoes also need regular feeding once the fruits have formed. Why not try some companion planting by growing marigolds, nasturtiums, or onions with the tomatoes. They all have a strong scent, which will hopefully deter fruit-eating insects?
There are three main types of tomato plant, identified by the size of their fruits: cherry tomatoes; standard, or medium tomatoes; and beefsteak tomatoes. There are also variants on these such as plum tomatoes and oxheart tomatoes. Tomato plants also take different forms, including single-stemmed plants known as cordons; bush tomatoes; and trailing, or tumbling, tomatoes. Here are a few useful tips on growing the different types:
Bush tomatoes don’t require much support or pinching out and will only grow to approximately 12in (30cm) in height, which means they are most suitable for large window boxes or pots. Tomato bushes tend to produce tasty plum tomatoes.
Tumbling tomatoes will trail over the edge of a container and so are ideal for a roof garden or balcony or even a hanging basket. They often produce excellent cherry tomatoes.
Cordon tomatoes are the most popular type of tomato and are usually grown attached to a cane or string. You can also train them up a metal spiral support. You’ll have to pinch out the growing tip of cordons once four trusses of fruit have appeared.
There is a wide range of varieties to choose from. Don’t feel restricted to growing salad tomatoes; you can easily expand your ingredients list and grow beefsteak tomatoes, for example. Reliable varieties include:
Cherry tomatoes: ‘Gardener’s Delight’, ‘Super Sweet 100’, and ‘Tumbler’
Medium tomatoes: ‘Alicante’, ‘Moneymaker’, and ‘Shirley’
Beefsteak tomatoes: ‘Super Marmande’ and ‘Supersteak’
grow eggplants Growing other fruiting vegetables such as eggplants (aubergines) means that you can make dishes such as ratatouille with your own home-grown ingredients. It’s a sensible idea to start off eggplants from seed sown in pots indoors in spring before transplanting them to a larger pot or window box filled with soil-based potting mix and moving them outside in early summer to a warm, sunny, sheltered spot. Delicious varieties include ‘Baby Rosanna’, ‘Florida High Bush’, and ‘Money Maker’. Support eggplants when they get taller with some canes and string, and then pinch out the growing tips once the plants reach a heigh of 15in (38cm). Water your eggplants regularly and feed them every two weeks with a high-potash liquid feed. Harvest the eggplants from mid-summer onwards.
Grow Bell peppers Bell peppers do not have the fiery heat of chilli peppers but still make a useful cooking ingredient. You’ll need to sow your bell peppers in small pots in spring under cover, using a soil-based potting mix. Try varieties such as ‘Kaibi Round’ and ‘Mandarin’. Peppers for outdoors will need to be hardened off in early summer before being placed outside. Make sure you keep your plants well watered and feed them with a high-potash liquid fertilizer once a week. Bell peppers may need staking with a cane and string or garden twine as they grow taller. You’ll be able to harvest them from mid-spring to mid-fall.