Top Tomato Growing Tips
It’s that time of year again, when growers across the land crack open their seed stores and get excited about all of the tomatoes that they will grow this season.
Last weekend, I was lucky enough to attend a talk at my local garden centre with tomato grower extraordinaire Niall Radford, who shared his wisdom around growing healthy and fruitful tomato plants.
Below I have distilled a few snippets of his knowledge to help you (and me!) to grow the best tomatoes we can this year.
Picking the perfect variety
Did you know there are over 30,000 types of tomatoes worldwide?! With that many to choose from really it comes down to a matter of preference on colour, shape, and taste. If you are hoping to save seeds and grow the same tomato each year without having to buy a new packet, then choose heirloom, heritage, or open-pollinated varieties. F1 hybrids, whilst reliable growers, won’t produce identical fruit from saved seed.
Soil setup
Make sure that you bring your bag of compost inside to warm up before you start sowing. Warm and moist soil, mixed with around 25% perlite for aeration, creates the perfect environment for your seedlings to thrive. A sprinkle of vermiculite on top of the soil helps to retain moisture.
When your plants are big enough to pot on you can up the percentage of perlite to 30-35%.
Water like a pro
Inconsistent watering can cause blossom end rot (those nasty brown/black spots on the bottom of the fruit). Water frequently and from below for the healthiest plants.
Did you know - tomatoes are 94% water so hydration is key!
Boosting growth
Using mycorrhizal fungi helps roots to grow stronger for a better start. When your plants are a little bigger you should start to feed for fruit growth using a potassium rich feed. Potassium promotes fruiting and ripening.
If you are interested in checking out any of Niall’s tomato seed I have it on good authority from the man himself that these varieties are particularly good: Black Beauty, Lucid Gem, Blue Beauty, and Ozark Sunrise.