how to grow tomatoes

How to Grow Tomatoes

You can’t rival the flavour of a fresh home-grown tomato straight from the vine. Their taste is far superior to the bland tomatoes offered in the supermarkets and they’re so easy to grow! Thompson & Morgan offer a great range of tomato seeds and tomato plants for sale. With such a huge range of tomato varieties available, from tiny cherry tomatoes to big beefsteak tomatoes they are ideal for gardens of any size, including patios, balconies, window boxes and even hanging baskets. Follow our tomato growing guide below to learn how to grow tomatoes successfully.

Take a look at our tomato selector guide to help you decide which tomato varieties to grow.

Growing tomatoes from seed

Growing tomato plants from seed is a great way to discover new varieties. Tomato seed is normally sown 6-8 weeks before the last frost date (March/April) although they can be sown earlier for greenhouse cultivation. Sprinkle your tomato seed thinly on the surface of good quality seed compost. Cover the seed with about 1.5mm (1/16in) of compost and water lightly with a fine-rose watering can. If only a few plants are required sow two seeds into a 7.5cm (3in) pot and after germination remove the smaller plant. The seeds generally germinate in about 7 to 14 days at a temperature of around 21C (70F). Keep the compost moist, but be careful not to over-water as wet conditions can encourage "damping off disease and other moulds and diseases.

Pot on the tomato seedlings when large enough to handle, taking care not to touch the stem. Handle the plants by the leaves and transplant them carefully into 7.5cm (3in) pots. Take care not to expose the plants to frost, cold winds and draughts as this may kill them.

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