7 Detailed Steps to Grow Your Own Tomatoes

7 Detailed Steps to Grow Your Own Tomatoes

The first thing that most greenhouse owners want to grow is a few tomatoes -- and for most families few is the operative word. You can harvest as much as 20Ib (9Kg) of fruit from one plant and even if you get less than half that, you can see that you won't need many plants. Which is just as well as if you grow them along one side of a standard greenhouse you won't get more than six plant in.

Choosing a variety

If you buy plants in a garden shop, the choice will be limited. Forget 'Moneymaker' in spite of its reputation -- it doesn't taste of much and the skin is tough. Look out for for 'Alicante' which is about the best greenhouse tomato you can get, 'Sweet 100' which is a very sweet, small fruited type and finally 'Marmande' the larg beefsteak type. Growing from seeds gives you a wider range, especially if you buy mail order. In that case go for 'Shirley' again, or look out also for 'Herald' wich has a wonderful flavour, 'Dombito', the best of the beefsteak types by far, and 'Piranto' which does well in border soil.

Buying plants

For growing in unheated greenhouse buy plants around the beginnig of May. They should bi pots al least 3in (9cm) across and be stocky and short jointed. Tap the foliage and if little white flies flutter around go somewhere else -- you don't want to import whitefly. Leave any that are starting to go dark blue in the top of the plant as this is a sign of cold damage and they may take a while to recover.

Growing your own plants

Sow in March at a temperature of 65F (18C) and as soon as they are up transfer them to 3in (9cm) pots. A soil-less compost is best. They can then be kept rather cooler and must be toughened up before begin transferred to the greenhouse.

Containers and compost

The simplest method by far is to use growing bags and enormous crops can be had from them. The different brands vary to some extent but all will produce good crops. Set the bags out end to end on the border, and loosen the contents so they are evenly spread in the bag. Follow the instructions on the bag as to cutting open and watering. You'll need just three plants a bag -- the crop will be no larger if you put four in and there's more chance of disease. If you prefer you can put single plants in 10 or 12in (25 or 30cm) pots or plants them in the soil you must alternate the sides in which they are grown each year.

Support

If you grow in bags it's simple. Run a wire along the greenhouse under the vents. Next loop some polypropylene twin around the bag, one lenght by each plant, and run it up to the wire and tie tightly. Each plant then has its own support string and the stems are twisted round as they grow. Plants in the ground have canes to each plant and the same for pot grown plants in which case a cross-wire can be used to support the canes.

Watering and feeding

A plant in a growing bag can use as much as half a gallon (2 Liters) a day in hot weather and may keep the plants -- be they growing in bags, pots or the soil -- evenly moist all the time. You should feed every week with one of the special tomato feeds as soon as you see the first tiny tomatoes form.

Pests and diseases

Whit fly Tiny, white, moth-like flies which appear in clouds when the foliage is tapped. Specific sprays and fumigants are very effective, but treatment must br regular. Grey mould Grey, felty growths on stems, leaves and fruit. Especially common in late summer and encouraged by warm damp atmos-phere. Ventilate well, keep water off the leaves and spray with a fungicide. Greenfly Common. Specific sprays are available. Blossom end rot Not a disease but caused by uneven watering. The end of the fruit goes black. Magnesium deficiency Leaves go yellow leaving the veins green.

Use a tomato feed with magnesium or spray with Epsom salts at 1oz per gallon of water (10g per litre). These are the main problems but a number of other troubles occur, many caused by watering and feeding problems.

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