Troubleshooting for tomatoes

Ruth suggests ways of beating pests and diseases

- Ruth Hayes

WHO doesn’t love growing tomatoes? There are countless varieties with large and small fruits coloured red, yellow, purple, even tiger striped, and they can be grown in a greenhouse, in the garden – and there are even trailing varieties for baskets.

Tomatoes are prone to several pests and diseases and need a consistent feeding and watering regime, so keep an eye on your plants to get the best results.

The most common pests on greenhouse tomatoes are glasshouse spider mites that cause blotched leaves and spin webbing over plants, whitefly, and tomato moth caterpillars. The little mites and flies can be beaten with biological controls, such as parasitic wasps and flies and predatory mites.

They are widely available online (see dragonfli.co.uk 01376 563322 and greengardener.co.uk 01493 750061) and can be ordered from many garden centres as well. They come in cards that you hang on the plants.

Glasshouse spider mites thrive in dry conditions, so deter them by keeping tomato compost well watered and by standing a bowl of water close to plants to increase humidity around the leaves.