Basic Guide to Growing Tasty Indoor Tomatoes

The sight and taste of home grown, succulent, ripe, flavoursome tomatoes bears no comparison with the pallid, tough-skinned, virtually-tasteless fruits on sale in supermarkets which are an insult to the palette.

The difference is largely due to supermarket produce being picked early and firm so it never has chance to go through the flavour enhancing complex changes which occur when tomatoes ripen on the plant. In addition the varieties grown commercially have been chosen for yield and shelf life as opposed to taste. To further enhance the flavour the gardener is able to feed tomatoes with plant food designed to both increase the yield and improve the taste.

Different Growth Habits of Tomatoes

1. Cordon or Indeterminate tomatoes are naturally sprawling types which can reach several metres high. To keep them neat it is necessary to pinch out all the side-shoots (those which grow where each leaf meets the main stem). Be very careful not to remove the flower shoots. Cordon tomatoes need to be tied to a strong cane or wooden stake at least 1.5m tall. When the plant reaches the top of the stake and has 4 or 5 fruiting shoots (known as trusses) the top of the plant should be nipped out.
2. Bush tomatoes don’t need any training but they do need plenty of room to sprawl as they branch out sideways.
3. Dwarf bush tomatoes don’t need training or supporting. They have been specially bred for containers and they produce compact, bushy plants.

Some of the Tastiest Varieties of Tomato

• Gardener’s Delight is a cordon type renowned for the superb flavour of its 2.5cm diameter cherry fruits.
• Sungold F1 is another cordon which produces shiny orange cherry tomatoes with superb flavour.
• Red alert is one of the best bush tomatoes producing good crops of cherry fruits.
• Tumbler F1 is a dwarf bush variety ideal for hanging baskets and tubs. The flavour is excellent.
• Ailsa Craig is a long established standard cordon variety renowned for the flavour of its 3-4cm diameter fruits.
• Of the many heirloom varieties of tomato available Brandywine red, Brandywine yellow and Brandywine original are all cordons with gorgeous, whopping fruits.

Propagation and Raising of Young Tomato Plants

Follow these simple steps to raise quality plants:-

1. Sow tomato seeds in a heated propagator (temperature 18-20 degrees centigrade) in mid-March.
2. Prick out the seedlings at the seed leaf stage into individual 10cm pots filled with multi-purpose compost.
3. Plant them so the seed leaves are just touching the compost – this gives sturdier plants as extra roots grow out of the stem.
4. Grow the plants on at a temperature of 10-15 degrees centigrade.
5. Only water when they really need it and the result will be strong, sturdy plants with leaf joints which are close together.
6. When the first flower on the first truss is open the tomatoes are ready to be transferred to their final destination.

Grow Tomatoes in the Soil or Containers

There are benefits to be had from growing tomatoes in the greenhouse border soil. The plants dry out less quickly than those grown in containers and as a consequence suffer less from blossom end rot (leathery dark coloured patches at the base of the fruit). However growing tomatoes in the same soil every year results in the build-up of soil borne diseases. To avoid this it is necessary to remove the soil to a spade’s depth every winter and replace it with fresh. The easiest ways is to grow tomatoes in isolation from the border soil.

• The use of grow bags avoids the problem of disease build up. Grow bags with a larger volume of compost dry out less quickly than the standard sized ones and are well worth the extra money.
• Grow pots which are used in combination with grow bags are widely available from suppliers including Dobies. These pots consist of an outer section which holds water and an inner pot holding extra compost in which the young tomato plant is planted. They are washable and reusable for many years. They do, however, cost around ¬£15 for three.
• Reusable individual Grow tubs from Two Wests and Elliott cost ¬£22.95p for three or ¬£33.95p for six.

Watering and Feeding Tomatoes

For best results keep it simple:

• Water regularly, little and often is best.
• Over watering or sporadic watering can dilute flavour or cause the fruit to split as well as cause in blossom end rot.
• Spraying over the foliage and gently shaking tomato plants helps fruit to set.
• When the first fruits on the first truss reach marble size tomatoes should be fed with specialist liquid tomato feed. This has the optimum percentages of essential nutrients to ensure sufficiently vigorous growth yet at the same time produces tomatoes bursting with flavour.
• For strength and frequency of application always follow the manufacturers recommendations.

Harvesting Fully Ripe Tomatoes

Once gardeners pick and taste their own tomatoes there’s no going back to the shop. Harvest the fruits as they ripen by pinching the vine above the individual fruits on the stem. Keep them at room temperature rather than in the fridge to enjoy the full mouth watering gastronomic experience.