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Expertly Grown in the UK
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Tomato Plants

There’s nothing to compare with the smell of a homegrown tomato, and with a winning mix of trusted favourites and exciting new varieties, our growers in Lancashire have made it easy for you to grow the best tomatoes you’ve ever tasted, too. They’ve been raising tomato plants the traditional way for sixty years, and you can see it in every one. With a hand picked selection of varieties, including new high yielding grafted plants, choosing which ones to grow is half the fun!

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South Downs National Park

Meet Josh

Slow grown veg from the sunny South Downs

Our vegetable plants are sown on a family farm in Lancashire, then nurtured into strong young plants by Josh in the sunny South Downs before they rock up in your garden. By selecting only the strongest and tastiest varieties, Josh makes sure you get a headstart on your plot, with impressive crops and no waste.

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Which tomatoes should I choose?

Which tomatoes should I choose?

There are four main types of tomato, each with their own uses, flavours and sizes. Round, red salad tomatoes are the most familiar (but these Moneymakers are a world away from the bland, artificially ripened shop ones), Cherry tomatoes like Supersweet are perfect raw for salads and snacks and plum tomatoes like Roma are the best for sauces. Beefsteak tomatoes like Brandywine are large, meaty and perfect for slicing. Consider also that cordon varieties will need some support as they grow quite tall. Lastly, hanging basket tomatoes are space saving, attractive - and far tastier than petunias.

Growers' tips

Growers' tips

Plant your tomatoes in the sunniest and most sheltered spot in your garden, as they need around 6-8 hours of sunlight daily during the growing season for the fruits to ripen. This can be a raised bed, a border, a patio pot or grow bag. Make sure the soil is weed free and full of nutrients - mix in plenty of compost or well rotted manure before planting, and put some support in place - especially if you’re growing cordon varieties. For more tips, here’s some expert advice from our growers.

Using your tomatoes

Using your tomatoes

You think you know all the ways there are to eat tomatoes, then you sample something simple yet exquisite like a Pappa al Pomodoro and have to reassess your entire belief system. Raw, cooked, sun dried or roasted, tomatoes are incomparably versatile and delicious, and the first one to ripen just has to be eaten straight off the plant. They’re the perfect partner for basil, aubergine or roasted sweet peppers.

Tomato Plants FAQs

What are the different types of tomato plants?

There are two main types of tomato plants:

  • Vine tomatoes - also called cordon or indeterminate, as they don’t grow to a fixed size and require staking and pruning.
  • Bush tomatoes - also called determinate, as they grow to a set, compact height and don’t require much if any staking or pruning.

How do I grow tomatoes?

You can either raise tomato plants from seed or skip that stage and start with a healthy young plant, like we offer at Roots. Plant it in a pot, making sure it’s packed full of good compost. Keep it well watered, so the soil is never dry. Whenever the roots fill the pot (and creep out of the bottom), rehome your plant into a bigger pot. Keep it in a sunny indoor spot or greenhouse until after last frost, then you can move it outside if preferred. Vine tomatoes need pruning. For more information, read our full tomato growing guide.

When should I plant tomatoes?

Plant your new tomato plant from around April onwards and keep it indoors in a sunny spot until late May or June.

Do tomatoes grow better in pots or in the ground?

Most tomato plants grow better in the ground, where it’s easier to support cordon varieties. Bush and trailing varieties are well suited to growing in pots or growbags - just make sure you keep them well fed and watered. It can also be more practical to grow tomatoes in pots, where you can move them into sunny and sheltered (indoor) spots.

How should I care for tomato plants?

Tomato plants, particularly vine varieties, will need staking to support their growth. Tie the stem to the stake every 15-20cm, or train the vine around a vertical string. Remove all leaves within 10-15cm of the soil. Then for vine varieties, pinch off any suckers that grow from the ‘armpits’ of the main stem and side stems. For more details, see our complete growing guide.

How big do tomato plants get?

Eventual size depends on the variety, with some vine tomatoes growing in excess of 2m tall! Bush varieties will likely stay under 30cm high.

How do I top tomato plants?

Topping tomatoes means cutting off the top of the main stem, which can help keep the height of vine tomatoes under control, direct more energy into flowering and fruiting, and produce a more wind resistant plant. To top a tomato, simply cut off the main stem at the desired height (just above a leaf node) with clean pruning shears. The plant will continue to grow back, so you’ll need to top it again every week.

What is the best soil to grow tomatoes in?

Tomato plants need a good amount of water and nutrients, so we recommend a soil mix of three parts compost and one part topsoil.

When can tomato plants go outside?

You can grow tomatoes in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill, but if you’d rather move your plants outside then wait until June, when the chance of a surprise late frost has passed.

How many tomatoes does a plant produce?

This varies wildly by variety and growing conditions, but on average a larger tomato plant can produce up to 30 tomatoes a season, while a small or cherry tomato plant can produce up to 100 tomatoes per season.

What are the best varieties of tomatoes?

  • Which tomatoes have the best flavour? Our most highly regarded tomato is the ‘Supersweet’ Cherry, which lives up to its name with unbeatably sweet fruit, great in salads or cooking. Tigerella are larger tomatoes that have a wonderfully fresh, tangy flavour.
  • What are the easiest tomatoes to grow? We’d recommend Tumbling Tom for beginners as it doesn’t need staking or pruning and grows best in a pot or hanging basket.

What does a tomato plant look like?

There are two main types of tomato plant - bush and vine. Bush tomatoes have a more compact, shrub-like form, with green leaves and fruit growing on the stems. They can even trail over the edge of a pot. Vine tomatoes grow like climbers, generally need support in the form of strings or canes and require pruning.

How do tomatoes grow?

Once a tomato seed has grown from seedling to mature plant, it produces flowers in the spring. These are pollinated by the wind or through pollen shaken loose by buzzing bees - tomato plants are self fertile, so one plant can pollinate itself. The flowers then develop into delicious tomato fruits over the next couple of months, maturing from around July to October.

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