How to Grow Tomato Seeds

There is nothing better on a warm summers evening than strolling around your garden and picking fresh tomatoes straight off the vine to eat. Or preparing a fresh tomato salad for your BBQ with a mixture of yellow, red, orange and even black tomatoes. Not only does it look very impressive but you can also pride yourself in the fact that you have grown your own.

Tomato seeds are an incredibly popular seed to grow as they are quick, easy and the rewards are great and you can plant your tomato seeds practically anywhere – all you need is a container and some good soil.

One of the best places to plant your tomatoes is on the windowsill. Choose a cherry variety such as ‘Gardeners Delight’, plant up a small plant pot with some good quality soil and pop your seeds in. You then have to just sit back and wait.

Make sure you water your tomato plants regularly, once a day when it is really dry or they are in fruit. And feed your tomato seeds with a good quality tomato feed every other week when the fruit starts to appear and you will have fresh tomatoes in your kitchen throughout the summer.

Check Out: How to Save Your Own Set of Seeds

You will be surprised how keen children are in eating tomatoes straight off of the vine too, Planting a small tomato plant in the kitchen provides the kids with a healthy snack when they come home from school, or if they have planted the seeds themselves why not let them take the plant in to school for show and tell and let them share the tomatoes with their friends after.

When growing seeds outside the principal is very much the same.

Tomato seeds can be sown as early as late January or early February if the frost has gone. If it hasn’t why not start your seeds inside in a warm room or in the greenhouse and then transplant the seedlings when the weather gets a bit warmer.

Again, all you need is some good quality soil, a strong watering can and some tomato feed. And if you don’t want to plant your tomato plants directly in the soil, or don’t have any soil to plant your tomato plants in, use any container outside. Growbags specifically designed for tomatoes are ideal but a cheap growbag will do just as well. If you don’t want a growbag on show on your patio then consider using a growbag holder which can be made of plastic, wood or wicker to disguise your bag. Or why not go a big more adventurous and use an old wheelbarrow to make a real statement with your tomato plants or use a hanging basket – it keeps the tomatoes away from potential crawling pests and it makes for a beautiful feature in your garden.

Check Out: Starting Seeds Indoors

If you are going to grow the standard climbing tomato plants then you will need to support your plants with canes as your plants increase in height and then make sure you tie up the main stems bearing fruit to ensure they don’t snap with the weight of the fruit.

For even better results pinch out the off shooting growth between the main stem and the branches of the tomato plants so that all the goodness from the plants goes straight into the fruit itself. And if you think this is too much trouble, choose a bush variety of tomato which doesn’t need such maintenance.

Whether you opt for traditional tomato seeds such as the ‘Ailsa Craig’, or go for something a bit more adventurous like the ‘Tigerella’ tomato which produces a tomato with green and orange tiger stripes or the ‘Ildi’ for yellow plum tomatoes – or what about massive ‘Marmande’ Beef Tomatoes, try growing tomato seeds this season. It’s great fun and so easy to get great results.