Tomatoes – grow your own

Scientific name (Latin): Solanum lycopersicum

Family: Potato plants (Solanaceae)

Striped, purple, black or green? When growing tomatoes at home, the choice is yours. There are over 7,500 tomato varieties to choose from, so skip the boring store-bought tomatoes that have been shipped all over the world and go for something you love.

The taste of homegrown tomatoes is unbeatable, and they're easy to grow. Give them good soil, nutrients, support, sun and water, and they'll reward you with loads of fruit. Here are some tips to maximize your harvest.

Today, the tomato is our most popular vegetable, and its history is fascinating. The tomato originates from South America, specifically Peru, and only came to Europe in the 17th century. Today, it is hailed as both healthy and tasty, but in the beginning, the tomato was considered deadly poisonous in some places. There was even a performance in England where a “foolish” man devoured a bowl of tomatoes, in front of a terrified audience, with a coffin next to him. The fact that he survived each time helped little, eating tomatoes did not become common until much later, but then it caught on widely, the French even began to call the tomato the fruit of love.

Tomatoes are divided into tall varieties, bush tomatoes and hanging tomatoes. The latter two are best suited if you want to grow on a balcony or indoors, but can also be grown outdoors. Tall tomatoes need support from a trellis or spiral support, there are both greenhouse varieties and varieties suitable for growing in the open air. Tomatoes for outdoor cultivation are a little more hardy than others and are practical if you do not have a greenhouse. 

Tomatoes are also grouped into plum tomatoes, beef tomatoes, cocktail and cherry tomatoes, pear tomatoes, grape tomatoes and classic round tomatoes. It is really only the shape and size that determines which group a tomato ends up in. Small tomatoes are often fun to pick and eat straight from the plant, while larger tomatoes are very good on the grill.

Sow the seeds in seed trays, small pots or in a seedling box. Make sure the seeds do not dry out, a mini greenhouse or transparent plastic with holes on top helps. Place the plants in bright light. If you are pre-cultivating before the sunlight returns in spring, you should have plant lighting, otherwise it is often good to grow them in the window. If the plants do not get enough light, they will become long and lanky. 

Once the seeds have germinated and the seedlings have grown, the plants can be placed in a cooler place. It is not necessary to close them, you can also just make sure that they do not burn in the warm spring sun in the window. 

When should the tomato seeds be sown? Sow the seeds indoors between February and April and then plant out when the weather permits. If you are sowing bush tomatoes for indoor cultivation, you can sow all year round as long as you have plant lighting.

Repot the plants into larger pots as the tomatoes grow and the root systems fill the smaller pots. The first repotting should be done when you can see large tomato leaves in addition to the so-called heart leaves (the first, slightly weaker pair of leaves). 

Plant the stem so deep that the bottom pair of leaves ends up just above the soil surface, then new roots will grow from the stem and the tomato plants will become stronger. 

After a few weeks, the nutrients in the soil will start to decrease, and then it is time to regularly provide nutrients, for example with a good tomato fertilizer, bokashi water or gold water - you can easily make your own fertilizer water.

When the frosts are over and the temperature outside is above ten degrees Celsius 24 hours a day, it is time to plant the tomatoes in a well-drained, nutrient-rich soil, such as a special soil for tomatoes. Outdoor tomatoes do well outdoors, while greenhouse varieties should be planted in a greenhouse or growing tunnel. Read the seed bag if you are unsure. 

• Plant tomatoes in a pot or bucket 
  Tomatoes need a lot of soil, so opt for large pots (15–20 liters) or a practical tomato pot that provides support as the tomato grows. The pot should have drainage holes so that excess water can drain away, and you can put some pebbles or pebbles in the bottom for better drainage. 
• Plant tomatoes in a greenhouse 
  If you have the pleasure of owning a greenhouse or growing tunnel, you can plant exactly the tomato varieties you want - even the tall varieties, but make sure they have good support, secure the tomato along the support with tomato pegs or string. 
• Plant tomatoes outdoors and in planters 
  If you want to plant tomatoes outdoors in the open field or in pallet frames, it is good to choose outdoor varieties, they withstand wind and rain better, but still thrive best if you plant them in a sunny, sheltered spot. Plant the plants deep, with a distance of 50–60 centimeters.

Water and fertilize regularly during the summer. This is especially important in planters and pots, where the amount of soil is less and nutrients run out quickly. If you have trouble keeping track of fertilization, it helps to mix biochar into the soil, which releases nutrients over a long period of time, a little at a time. It is also possible to use long-acting fertilizers.

Tall tomatoes should be pinched. This simply means removing small side shoots at the angles of the branches so they don't steal energy from the main branches that produce tomatoes. Bush tomatoes and hanging tomatoes usually don't need to be pinched in this way.

Towards the end of the season, if the tomatoes have not had time to ripen, you can top the plant and also pinch off some leaves from the bottom up to the lowest tomato cluster, this will cause the plant to put more energy into ripening the tomatoes.

Tomatoes thrive in combination with, for example, lettuce and basil; use the space around the stem for this.

Didn't have time to sow the seeds? No problem. You can also buy ready-made tomato plants in April, they give just as good results.

Tomatoes can sometimes be attacked by diseases and mold. To prevent this as best as possible, you should keep a good distance between the plants and air the greenhouse often. 

Fungal infections such as powdery mildew appear as spots on the leaves, it is common towards the end of the season when rain and humidity increase. Remove infected leaves as soon as you see them. Do not grow potatoes and tomatoes near each other, preferably not even in the same plot, as potato mold can spread with the wind to the tomatoes. 

Pest attacks, aphids and whiteflies are often less when growing outdoors, where predators can eat them. In greenhouses you can use purchased predatory pests, you can also open the greenhouse occasionally to give predators access. 

Read more about pest control

Picking your own tomatoes is wonderful. Harvest your tomatoes before the frosts arrive in the fall. To speed up ripening, you can top the tall tomatoes towards the end of the season and remove branches from the bottom up to the lowest tomato cluster. If the tomatoes haven't had time to ripen before the frosts arrive, you can let them ripen on a plate indoors. It's also delicious to make jam from green tomatoes.

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