How to grow tomato

Growing tomato for the first time

Difficulty: Medium · Sun: full sun · Ready in: about 80 days

1. Choose the spot

Pick a sunny spot (6+ hours of sun). It does best in loam, silt soil with a pH of 6.0–7.0. Avoid clay and peat soil, or improve it with compost.

2. Sow or plant

Sow outdoors in May. Start indoors or under cover in Feb, Mar, Apr. Space plants about 45 cm apart.

3. Look after it

• Water roughly every 2 days, more in hot or dry weather. Water the soil, not the leaves.
• Feed every 14 days once it is growing strongly.
• Keep weeds down, and add a daily note and photo to your BeAgric grow diary so you can spot problems early.

4. Watch for problems

Common problems: Early blight, Late blight, Leaf mould, Blossom end rot. Take a photo with Check a plant if leaves look spotted, yellow or wilted.

5. Organic tip

Feed weekly with comfrey or seaweed feed once the first flowers set. Water at the base, never the leaves, to reduce blight.

6. Harvest

Expect your first harvest about 80 days after planting. Record it in Harvests and list any spare on the marketplace.