The tomato is one of the world’s most popular fruits. This (usually) red-coloured fruit is used to make many of the world’s most delicious dishes and it can be very easy to grow. Tomatoes need a warm atmosphere and a good deal of sunshine to grow, so summertime is the best time to grow tomatoes in the UK. That said it is possible to grow tomatoes in colder climates like the UK. We’ve put together 10 tomato growing secrets that will help you to grow great tasting tomatoes at home.
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Why you need our Tomato Growing Secrets
Normally tomatoes need great sunshine and heat to grow to their best potential. A warm environment is essential and tomatoes that are grown indoors in colder climates tend to have less taste as they’re grown with the assistance of chemicals and/or artificial light. Growing tomatoes when it’s colder or in the winter needs time and effort, and in return, you will get delicious tomatoes. Here are some of the best secrets for growing tomatoes in colder weather.
10 Secrets for Growing Tomatoes
There are a few key requirements when it comes to growing tomatoes successfully and once you have these down you’ll have no problems growing tomatoes – here’s our guide and 10 secrets to growing awesome tomatoes.
Tomato Growing Secret 1: Tomatoes Need Light
Our first secret to growing tomatoes requires a lot of light. During winter in the UK, sunlight is not sufficient to grow and ripen your tomatoes. Tomatoes require large amounts of sunlight, especially in their early stages of growth. You’ll need to try and get 10-12 hours of artificial light to a young tomato plant to allow it to grow rapidly. Once it starts to mature then a greenhouse (read our mini greenhouse guide here) will help it grow further and produce fruit. You can start tomatoes off inside and move them outside for the summer season.
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This mini greenhouse is small, compact and easy to put up and store in the winter. It’s not expensive and its reasonably robust.
You won’t need artificial light if you’re growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, just remember to water them as they can dry out quite quickly, especially when they are fruiting. If you want to know about growing tomatoes indoors with artificial light, then take a look at our guide to hydroponic fruits here.
We use collected rainwater as much as we can, when that’s not possible, we use space-saving expandable hoses – check out our guide to expanding hoses here.
Tomato Growing Secret 2 – Getting Your Tomatoes off to a good start is easy
Whether you’re growing tomatoes from seeds that you’ve saved from tomatoes or from tomato seeds that you’ve bought, you want to give them a good start. An easy way to do this is to use a paper cup, or a coffee filter or a cardboard egg box. Add a small amount of compost, sprinkle the compost with tomato seeds (one per cup/filter/egg slot). Gently water. After a few days, you’ll see sprouts coming through. When the size of the tomato seedling is about 2-3 centimetres then you want to cut away excess paper cup/filter paper or cardboard egg container and plant it in a pot. If you’re not using tomato grow bags (or an oblong container), then you’ll have better success with pots if you only plant one tomato plant per pot. Read about the best compost to use for vegetables including tomatoes here.
Tomato Growing Secret 3: Plant the seed quite deeply
As we’ve mentioned Tomatoes need a good warm environment to grow, so you’ll want to sow the tomato seeds (and young plants quite deep in your compost – meaning that the seed and young plant get the insulation of the compost or soil. When you transfer your tomato plants to either their own pots or a grow bag – in what will be their forever home, be sure to put your supporting stake not too close – you don’t want it hindering the growth of the tomato plant. These tomato seeds are brilliant for home growing!
Tomato Growing Secret 4: – Keep the compost warm in cold weather
Tomatoes grow better in a warm environment. If you’re in a colder climate, then the soil takes some time to warm up and this will stunt the growth of your tomatoes. To increase the heat of soil or compost, just cover the plant with insulating material while is it seeding and growing. Don’t just think about the temperature of the soil during the day, but also at night as well. We recommend this compost from Miracle Gro if you’re not using a specific tomato grow bag.
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The Best Multi Purpose Compost
When you buy compost for veg growing you want something that’s multi purpose and great quality. This compost is perfect for giving your veg the best nutrients.
Tomato Growing Secret 5: Pick Your Growing Spot Carefully
From the beginning – well from the point when your tomatoes have progressed into their forever homes, you’ll want to choose a place where there is enough sunlight. A tomato plant will flourish the best if it gets 8-10 hours of sunlight a day. Tomatoes are a fast-growing veggie – want more of those? Here’s our guide to the easiest fast-growing vegetables to grow.
Tomato Growing Secret 6: Give Tomatoes their Space!
To produce a good harvest, your tomato plants need a lot of nutrients (which is one of the reasons that we’re feeding them right?) and this means that they need enough space in which to live and grow. This is a key secret to growing large tomatoes. So when you’re growing tomatoes in pots or containers or bags you need to make sure that your plants have enough compost or soil around them. This compost is brilliant for tomatoes. You can grow 3 or 4 tomato plants in a tomato grow bag – our guide to the best tomato grow bags is here.
Tomato Growing Secret 7: Get the Stake in Early
To give your tomato plant the support that it needs you need to stake or support it properly. Those fruits are going to be heavy for it then you’ll need to keep your soil moist (don’t let it dry out) and you need to use a supporting stake.
How to stake tomatoes
Tomato support stakes can be bamboo, or twigs or sticks, they don’t need to be fancy. But they do need to be inserted into your pot early on. Too late and you run the risk of slicing straight through the roots of the tomato and that will not end well for your growing season. It’s best to put the stake in when you move tomato seedlings to their forever home. Remember, not too close, this plant is going to grow bigger. If you’re using a gardener’s string to attach them to the stake, then do NOT tie them too tightly. Leave it relatively loose then you can adjust as the plant grow.
Supporting tomato plants in pots is very similar to supporting tomato plants in a greenhouse. In a greenhouse, you can attach canes and gardeners string to the framework of the greenhouse. It’s slightly different if you want to support tomato plants in grow bags.
How to stake tomatoes in grow bags
Supporting tomatoes in grow bags and staking tomatoes in grow bags is different from providing support in a pot.
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This tomato grow bag really is the best in the business. It’s really good, easy to used and just the number one around.
The grow bag doesn’t provide a solid structure, so you’ll need to create a frame of canes to support your tomato plants.
Tomato Growing Secret 8: Grow different varieties of tomatoes
There are many types of tomatoes – you shouldn’t stop at just growing one variety. You’ll find that tomatoes are sensitive to heat (as in they like it!) and watering conditions (you need to keep a steady program of watering them). Experiment by growing different varieties of tomatoes to work out what’s best for your garden, yard or greenhouse. If you’re particularly impatient, then make sure you go for fast-growing tomato plants!
Tomatoes will fruit at different times. They have different tastes. Some varieties prefer to be grown in hanging baskets, others need more heat and warmth. When selecting which variety of tomato to grow you need to work out where you will be growing your tomatoes (in a greenhouse, outside, in a pot, in the ground).
Tomato Growing Secret 9 – Water = Life
Your tomato plant will need water on a daily basis. Sometimes tomatoes will need watering twice a day, especially when the temperature is high. Don’t wait until your tomato plant starts to wilt. No matter how good you are to your tomato plants they will have dead branches. Just cut them off, there’s no point in your tomato plant giving them any more energy when it’s obvious that they’re dying. You can leave them in the base of the plant pot, they will rot down and provide additional nutrition. Obviously, remove them if it looks like they have pests or some form of rot on them.
You can also grow tomatoes in water. No compost. And all year round. If you want more details on growing tomatoes in water – then read our guide to hydroponics here.
Tomato Growing Secret 10: Feed your tomato
This probably isn’t a secret unless you’re an absolute beginner. Tomatoes need food to give their best tasting harvest. Ensure that you have a steady supply of water – we check morning and evening. You’ll also want to feed your tomatoes. Read my guide on the best tomato feed here.
We use and recommend Tomorite Tomato feed > buy yours here
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This tomato feed is the best in the business. It’s great for giving your tomatoes everything they need to deliver the best and tastiest fruits.
The general rule of thumb is to follow the advice from the tomato feed manufacturer – but you should feed little and often. Water the compost around the base of the plant. You’ll want to be careful, especially when it’s hot, not to water the leaves or the fruit, as this will help the sun to burn your plant. Once your fruits have set, then you’ll want to feed twice a week with a liquid specialist tomato feed.
FAQs on Tomato Growing Secrets
Got questions about how to grow great tomatoes?? Or want to know what to look for with successful tomato growing and growing better tomatoes and we haven’t answered your questions? Check out our frequently asked questions about the secret to growing tomatoes below, or ask us yours in the comments.
How do you stake up tomato plants?
There are a variety of methods to stake up tomato plants, but in essence, all you need to do is provide support for the plant as it grows. The best material to use is bamboo cane and gardeners twine. I always tie my twin in a releasable knot or bow, as then I can use the twine again, and also move it when the tomato plant grows.
When do you stake up tomato plants?
I think it’s best to stake your tomato plants as early as possible. Certainly no later than a month after transplanting them to their forever home. You want to get the stake in early so that you avoid damaging the roots when placing the stake in the pot or ground.
How to collect seeds from tomatoes
Collect seeds from tomatoes at the end of the season when the fruits are ripe. Simply scoop the seeds out of the tomato fruit and place them in a sieve. Rinse them under running water (cold). Rub the seeds against the metal of the sieve to remove their sticky coating and then spread the tomato seeds on a bit of kitchen towel and leave to dry. When they are completely dry fold up the paper, make sure you label it and store it with the rest of your seeds – somewhere cool and dry.
What is the best tomato feed UK market?
You can buy dry or liquid tomato fertilizer. I prefer liquid tomato feed and while I recommend Vitax and Tomorite, I seem to end up using Tomorite more often – Buy Tomorite tomato feed here
When to feed tomatoes?
You should begin feeding your tomatoes when the first truss of tomatoes has set. This means that when the first lot of flowers start to form into tiny tomatoes. If you feed earlier you are likely to just increase the number of leaves that the plant has. Once the first truss has set follow the instructions on the tomato feed – this is usually not less than once a week. Here’s our recommended tomato feed
What is the best compost for tomatoes?
The best compost for growing tomatoes is a compost that holds moisture and nutrients, but that also drains well, so that your tomatoes don’t get soggy. A multi-purpose compost will work well, so long as you continue to feed the tomato plants.
Can I grow tomato plants during winter?
Yes. you can grow tomatoes in winter. You can actually grow tomatoes all year round. However, they will need light and heat. Some of the easiest tomatoes to grow year-round at hydroponic tomatoes. You can grow tomatoes in a specially designed desktop grower easily and quickly.
Can you grow tomatoes near oregano?
You need to be careful when planting other crops near tomatoes. I’ve covered details of what companion planting is in my guide here. But I also specifically write about growing tomatoes with oregano here.
Our favourite recipes for using tomatoes in
- Amazingly fresh tabbouleh salad
- Extend the life of your tomatoes – here’s how to dehydrate tomatoes!
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Final Words on the Secrets to Growing Tomatoes
So what is the secret to growing tomatoes? There is no one secret. There are a series of tried and tested techniques that will help you grow tomatoes at home. We hope that we’ve covered the top secrets of growing tomatoes here. We love growing great tomatoes, they taste so much better than those bought from the store. And there is something just so nice about taking them off the vine and eating them soon afterwards. Tomatoes can be easy to grow, they need a few items in order for that to happen and a few little touches to make them flourish. We hope you’ll have success in growing tomatoes with our tomato growing secrets and that the homegrown taste is worth it!
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