Tomato sowing guide

Sowing tomato seeds:

Sow the tomato seeds thinly into a seed tray or into small pots. Just cover the seeds slightly with potting compost.
Water well and place, at between 10-20 Celsius, on a windowsill, in a greenhouse or propagator.
Make sure there is no risk of frost when you sow the seeds outside, as tomatoes are not frost-hardy at all.

As a general rule sow the tomato seeds about 7 weeks before you want to transplant into the final position.
This can be as early as February if you grow the plants in a heated greenhouse. The seeds can be sown until about early May.
Keep the compost moist and make sure the pots and trays have holes in the bottom, so the excess water can find its way out.
Placing the seed tray into a plastic bag can aid germination by keeping the seeds moist and warm.

Sow February – early May.
Germination takes 8-11 days.

Transplanting:

As soon as seedlings are large enough to handle, prick out.
Transplant the seedlings into small individual pots; later on they might need to be re-potted if growing quickly and large.
If small plants are potted into a pot which is too big, then the plants will develop a large root system before producing more foliage.
For the seedlings, a 7-8cm pot is recommended.
Make sure the leaves do not overlap. The temperature should be 12-20 Celsius. 
Planting outside is recommended from late May, when the last risk of frost has passed in your area.
Rich soil and a sunny location are needed for growing tomatoes.

Cordon/indeterminate varieties:

The side shoots of the plants need to be removed from the start, to restrict the plant to one main stem. The plants need some support during the growing season. This can be a cane, or a row of canes with netting, if you have whole rows of plants.
Later in the season the lower leaves should be removed as they start yellowing, which helps the fruit to ripen and allows good air-flow. Some of our cordon varieties: our ever so popular heirloom black krim tomato, and the best selling F1 hybrid sungold cherry tomato

Bush/determinate varieties:

These plants do not need side shoot removal; just let them grow as they will.
Some might need a little support, as they will bear heavy crops of tasty tomatoes.

Some of our bush varieties: have a look at the world smallest tomato or making great chutney or just grownig for fun check out our Green Sausage Tomato