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Soil preparation for planting tomatoes

Soil preparation for the tomatoes
Tomatoes prefer a well-drained soil or growing medium which encourages a deep and healthy root system. Organic matter is essential to develop and maintain good soil structure – well-made garden compost is ideal.

Soil preparation

Tomatoes prefer a well-drained soil or growing medium which encourages a deep and healthy root system. Organic matter is essential to develop and maintain good soil structure – well-made garden compost is ideal. The best way to find out the nutrient status of your soil is to have it analysed – The RHS offers a soil analysis service. Tomatoes prefer a soil pH in the range 6.0 – 6.5 i.e. slightly acid, but this is a bit too low for some crops such as lettuce and brassicas, so you might need to aim at between 6.5 and 7.0. However don’t apply lime immediately before planting tomatoes unless the pH is below 6.0.

You should aim to apply all of the Phosphorus and Magnesium needed for the whole season, part of the Potassium (also known as potash) but little or no Nitrogen, or else you will get lots of lush growth and your flowers won’t ‘set’ fruit. Don’t forget that your garden compost should contain a lot of nutrients. In the absence of a soil analysis, apply a high-potash fertilizer e.g. Chase Animal-Free Tomato Fertiliser according to the recommendations on the packet; fork in the fertilizer or compost to a depth of about 20cm.

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To graft or not to graft tomatoes?

To graft or not graft for tomato growing?

To graft or not graft?

My advice is that grafted plants are worthwhile if you are growing tomatoes in the same soil year after year (usually in a greenhouse). You are unlikely to see a benefit from the disease-resistant rootstock if you are growing in grow-bags or containers using fresh growing media. You may still benefit from the extra vigour resulting in an earlier first pick or an extended harvest period at the end of the season. If you buy grafted seedlings, make sure the graft is above the surface of the compost when you pot them up or plant them. If you don’t, the scion may produce adventitious roots and you will lose the benefit of the rootstock.

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Pests of tomatoes

Pests

Pests aren’t usually too much of a problem on outdoor crops, but in greenhouses commons pests include aphids, glasshouse whitefly and red spider mite (properly known as two-spotted spider mite). Commercial growers use biological control agents to manage these pests and these are available on our website: Natural pest control. Soft soap is useful for reducing the numbers of pests – use distilled, rain or soft tap water to dilute it.

There is a list of insecticidal soaps and oils here : Pesticides for Home Gardeners RHS Advisory Service February 2015.

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Pollination and setting of tomatoes

In commercial greenhouses growers use bumble bees to pollinate their crops. If your plants are outdoors, there should be enough wind and insect activity for pollination. In the greenhouse, it is a good idea to gently shake the strings or other supports around mid day, or tap the trusses which have flowers open. If the weather is very hot and dry, it may help to water the paths in order to increase the humidity and cool the greenhouse.

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Watering and feeding tomatoes

Water the plants in well to settle the soil around the roots (this is known as ‘ball watering’). Thereafter you need to adjust the watering according to the size of the plants and the weather. Giving plants a thorough water rather frequent light sprinklings will encourage deep rooting in the early stages, but once the fruit start to swell you want to maintain an even moisture in the soil as erratic watering can cause blossom-end rot and fruit splitting. However, you want to keep the plants on the dry side as this gives smaller, more highly-flavoured fruit. You can feed every watering with a dilute high potash feed, or once a week with a more concentrated dose – follow the instructions on the packet e.g. Neudorff 1L Organic Tomato Feed or make your own liquid feed from comfrey or nettles: instructions here.

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Growing tomatoes to planting stage

Growing to planting stage
Tomato plants need as much light as possible, so keep them in a conservatory or on a sunny windowsill (but don’t leave them behind the curtains). On warm, sunny days you can put them outside, but don’t forget to bring them inside at night. Ideal temperatures at this stage are 15°C at night and 20°C minimum during the day.

Growing to planting stage

Tomato plants need as much light as possible, so keep them in a conservatory or on a sunny windowsill (but don’t leave them behind the curtains). On warm, sunny days you can put them outside, but don’t forget to bring them inside at night. Ideal temperatures at this stage are 15°C at night and 20°C minimum during the day.

Your plants may need to stay in their pots for several weeks until the weather is suitable for planting. Space them so the leaves don’t overlap. They may need liquid feeding, especially if you have used seed compost to pot them up (it is usually lower in nutrients than potting compost). Use a proprietary high potash tomato feed made up according to the label recommendations. Typically they will need feeding from about 4th true leaf stage, but if the bottom leaves start to turn yellow or purple, this can be a sign that they are running out of nutrients (purplish tints can also be due to low temperature).

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Pricking-out tomatoes

Although you can successfully plant the seedlings directly into the soil, we recommend that you pot them on first.

You will need one pot for every seedling – at this stage allow about 10% extra. Pots with a diameter of 13cm (volume 1 litre) are a good size. You can use the same compost that you used for sowing, but you may need to liquid feed the plants if you are growing them for several weeks in the pots.

Fill the pots to the brim as the compost will settle once it is watered. Make a hole deep enough to take the roots without curling. Plant them so that the cotyledons are just above the surface of the compost. Do not firm them in – water them in gently. Check them every day and give them a light watering as required. Make sure the leaves are dry before evening, as the seedlings are more likely to ‘damp off’ (rot) if they go to bed with wet leaves.

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Greenhouse or outdoors for growing tomatoes?

Give your greenhouse a good wash down before planting to maximise light transmission and get rid of disease spores.

Late (potato) blight can damage or even kill outdoor tomatoes and spoil the fruits before you can harvest them, but it is less of a problem if you grow your plants in a greenhouse or polytunnel. If you have to grow outside, choose the sunniest spot you can find (e.g. in front of a south-facing wall). There are also a few varieties which are more blight-tolerant; we have selected six of the best for our Blight-tolerant Outdoor Tomato Collection.

Tomatoes will not stand a frost – keep your seedlings indoors or in a heated greenhouse until the risk of frost has passed – sometime in May for most areas, but check your local weather forecast.

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Rosemary and Beer Soda bread

Makes 1 loaf

Something delicious to eat with your summer soups and salads

Ingredients

225g wholemeal flour
225g plain flour
1½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons of bicarb of soda
45g butter
2 teaspoons of finely chopped rosemary
100 mls milk
225 mls beer

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees; lightly flour a baking sheet
  2. Thoroughly combine the dry ingredients ensuring no lumps of bicarb remain.
  3. Rub in the butter
  4. Add the liquids and the rosemary to make a soft dough. Note the quantities of liquid will be subject to change depending on your flours.
  5. Shape the dough into a round and place it on the baking sheet, cut a deep cross in the top and bake for 40 mins until risen and brown.
  6. Cool slightly and serve