When To Sow Tomato Seed

My urge to start sowing tomato seed begins in January but knowing It's best to sow about eight to ten weeks before the last frost in my area (end of  May to be safe) means that I should wait until around the end of March.

Of course I can't wait that long and already the porch and kitchen are full of tomato seedlings and there are more germinating in the airing cupboard upstairs!

The difficulty with growing tomatoes from seed is that there is only a small window of opportunity - too early and the plants won't get enough light etc., too late and the season has come to an end because of cold temperatures before the fruit matures.

It takes around two months from seed to flower, and about the same from flower to fruit - a total of four months.

This growing time can be shortened with cherry varieties that mature early such as Red Alert and Tumbler. They not only mature early but they are more likely to ripen in a poor summer, in part, because smaller plants and tomatoes have less growing to do.

If you would like to sign up the the free Tomato Growing Newsletter for lots of tips and free advice.