Tomatoes - Growing Your Own / RHS Gardening

Young, well-rooted tomato plants, either grown from seed or recently bought, can be planted into their final position in early summer, once temperatures are reliably above 16°C (60°F). You can plant them in large containers or growing bags in a greenhouse or outdoors, or plant them in the ground. To grow outdoors, choose a really warm, sunny, sheltered location.Plant tomatoes deeply, so the first set of leaves is just above the soil surface – the buried section of stem will then produce additional roots. Tomatoes are tender, so before planting out, acclimatise them to garden conditions by hardening off.

Planting in containers

Tomatoes do well in large containers and growing bags in a greenhouse or outdoors in full sun, and are very productive in a small space. Use peat-free loam-based or multi-purpose compost Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own. . Plant one tomato plant in a 30–45cm (12–18in) pot and two in a standard growing bag.

• Bush types are compact and ideal for large patio containers, troughs, windowboxes and even hanging baskets
• Cordon A plant that is restricted by pruning to usually one main stem, either upright or at a 45 degree angle, with short fruiting side-shoots (spurs). Apples, pears, gooseberries, tomatoes, redcurrants and whitecurrants are often grown as cordons, especially where space is limited. Sweet peas can be grown as cordons to produce large flowers for exhibition. types grow well in large containers, with a tall cane A cane is a slender, straight, length of woody plant material, usually bamboo. Canes are primarily used as plant supports. The fruiting stems of blackberries, raspberries and hybrid berries (such as loganberries and tayberries) are also known as canes, so these crops are often referred to as cane fruit. for support. This can make the pots top-heavy, so position in a sheltered site, ideally against a sunny wall. In a greenhouse, you can use canes or vertical strings for support – tie the stings to the roof, so they hang down vertically, and bury the other end under the rootball The roots and accompanying soil when a plant is removed from a container or lifted from the ground. when you plant. The string should be quite slack, so it can be wound round the top of the main stem as the plant grows. See Pruning and Training, below, for more tips

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Planting in the ground

Tomatoes thrive in rich, free-draining but moisture-retentive soil, so add plenty of garden compost Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own. before planting. Alternatively, if you're practising no-dig, mulch the soil and plant directly into the mulch Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings. . Choose your warmest, sunniest spot, sheltered from the wind. Space plants 45–60cm (18–24in) apart, depending on their eventual size – check seed packets for exact spacings. With cordon A plant that is restricted by pruning to usually one main stem, either upright or at a 45 degree angle, with short fruiting side-shoots (spurs). Apples, pears, gooseberries, tomatoes, redcurrants and whitecurrants are often grown as cordons, especially where space is limited. Sweet peas can be grown as cordons to produce large flowers for exhibition. tomatoes, insert a sturdy cane A cane is a slender, straight, length of woody plant material, usually bamboo. Canes are primarily used as plant supports. The fruiting stems of blackberries, raspberries and hybrid berries (such as loganberries and tayberries) are also known as canes, so these crops are often referred to as cane fruit. next to the plant and tie in the main stem loosely.Avoid growing tomatoes in the same bed in consecutive years, to prevent the build-up of diseases in the soil. Alternatively, you can use a growing method called ring culture in a greenhouse border.

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No-dig gardening Mulches and mulching Vegetables: transplanting