Last month we looked at some of the best-performing outdoor tomatoes in our growing trial on my chilly, hillside veg plot in West Yorkshire. Thanks to a particularly hot and dry summer, none of the varieties on test were affected by fungal blight and most of them grew strongly, with some varieties producing tasty tomatoes all summer long, and well into autumn.
Cherry tomatoes, such as 'Apero' and 'Golden Crown', did particularly well, as did the bush tomato 'Koralik'. And some of the medium-sized tomatoes, such as snazzy 'Green Zebra', were top performers, too.
Armed with these insights on the best varieties to grow outside, it's time to get growing for the year ahead - and around now is the ideal time to sow tomato seeds.
Although I'm explaining in this article how to grow tomatoes outdoors using organic methods, the advice I give will largely apply to plants grown under cover, too.
Big crops... made easy
Growing a bumper tomato harvest is simpler than it looks - just follow these simple steps
Sowing and growing on
Give your tomato plants a strong start
First things first, gather your seeds and write the variety name and the date on a plant label - essential if you're growing more than one type to prevent mix-ups later. I use sustainable wooden labels.
Sow tomato seeds 3cm apart into trays, or individually in modular trays, filled with peat-free compost to just below the top (this prevents compost and water spilling over the sides when watering). Cover seeds with a fine layer of compost and sit the tray in a larger tray with some water in it, so this can soak up into the compost from below; using a watering can is fine but it can wash seeds around.
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Esta historia es de la edición April 2023 de Gardeners World.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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Taking on a new allotment needn't be hard work. By simply following a few easy tips you can have bumper crops in no time, just like Alessandro Vitale
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July is an island floating between the joy of June and the slightly fatigued month of August. It's a grown-up month: the year has shrugged off its adolescent exuberances, the weather is (hopefully) warm enough for ice cream to be one of your five a day, the sea should be swimmable without (too much) danger of hypothermia and thoughts will be of holiday shenanigans and family barbecues. School's out this month, the next tranche of glorious summer colour is washing across our borders and it's my birthday. Lots of reasons to give three rousing cheers for July!
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