When To Sow Tomato Seeds - UK

Sowing tomato seeds at the right time of the season will give your seedlings the best growing conditions and the plants, enough time to produce ripe tomatoes.

It's so tempting to sow tomato seeds too early!

Most of us have done it and been surrounded by seedlings for most of the Spring - until plants can go outside 24/7.

The things is, sow too early and seedlings become leggy because the days are too short and there is not enough light.

Sow too late and plants won't have time to produce full size, then ripe tomatoes.

So when do we sow tomato seeds for best results?

Around two months before your last frost date, which in the UK is the middle to the end of March. The last frost date being from mid May to the end of May.

You can find out more about when to sow tomato seeds in the UK here.

Oasesbox Self Watering Planter for Tomatoes

One of the best self watering planters on the market is the Oasesbox.

Here is a graphic that explains what it does:

The benefits of a self watering planter

• Its reservoir waters and feeds plants 24/7
•  Avoids many of the problems associated with soil drying out
• Great for holiday watering

The benefits of the Oasesbox

• It has a large reservoir
• Its wide surface area helps roots absorb oxygen
• No capillary matting needed - as with other systems

There is no doubt that tomato plants grown in a self watering planter, especially the Oasesbox, provide a very good crop.

More details about the Oasesbox here.

Self Watering Planters

There are two self watering planters that are really worth considering:

1. The Oasesbox
2. The Quadgrow Planter

Each has its pros and cons but both are excellent for growing tomatoes and other fruit and vegetables that need the best care and attention.

Oasesbox Self Watering Planter

The benefit of a self watering planter is obvious - it doesn't need watering and feeding every day. Furthermore, because plants have access to water and nutrients 24/7, they are able to take in moisture and feed when they need it.

This keeps them from becoming stressed, especially in hot weather when soil runs dry and avoid nutrient deficiency problems such as Blossom End Rot.

Another great benefit of a self watering planter is that we can go on holiday knowing that our plants are taken care of. Considering all the effort that goes in to our plants, it is a price worth paying!

For more information about self watering planters, especially those suitable for growing tomatoes, please visit the link.

Containers for Tomatoes - Surface Area

In the UK we usually grow our tomatoes in containers.

There are many different shapes and sizes of container for tomato growing, each having its own pros and cons. For example, grow bags are great for tall varieties and have a large surface area for oxygen absorption by surface roots.
The disadvantage with such a large surface area and shallow depth of soil is that soil or compost dries out quickly.

A high sided pot is great for trailing tomatoes to tumble over the sides, keeping the tomatoes off the ground. However, it has a much smaller surface area than a grow bag so to optimize a tall pot, adding perlite or vermiculite can be useful in getting air down into the root area.

For more information about growing tomatoes in containers.

Tomato Sowing Quick Start Guide

If you are new to growing tomatoes, it's a good idea to know the best time to sow in your part of the world to get the best results.

There are a lot of different tomato varieties which need the right container or position.

For example, tall tomato plants do well in grow bags, tumbler type tomatoes are great for hanging baskets and tall sided pots/containers. Dwarf bush varieties do very well on the kitchen windowsill.

Seed starter kits are a good way to begin!

• When to sow
• Choosing the right variety for the location
• How to sow

For more information about getting started sowing and growing tomatoes, go here.

Various Media For Sowing Tomato Seeds

Usually, tomato seeds are sown in seed compost but there are a number of other ways to sow tomato seeds that may be more convenient and a lot less messy than using compost.

Rockwool, sponges and Jiffy Pellets are great for sowing tomato seeds.

There are a number of advantages by using each of these media.

• Less messy
• No pricking out
• Better moisture and air holding capacity than most seed compost
• Potted on without disturbing roots

Seedlings are potted on with the cube, sponge or pellet so there is no root disturbance and they can be potted into potting compost, rockwool or any suitable media for growing tomatoes.

More information about these sowing media here.

Technical Tomato Articles

At this time of the season, it's good to get back into the groove and learn a few new facts about growing tomatoes or remind ourselves of the stuff we have forgotten!

The truth is, tomato growing can be as easy or as complicated as we want to make it but there is always an advantage in knowledge - even if we decide to disregard it from time to time.

Here are a few technical articles that I have found useful in getting the best from my crop - perhaps it may do the same for you. Technical Tomato Articles.

Guttation - drops of water on leaf edges.