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.

When To Sow Tomato Seeds

Knowing the best time to sow tomato seeds in your area is one of the crucial ingredients for success when it come to growing your own tomatoes.

Sow too early and the plants suffer from conditions that are too cold with days are too short and light levels too low. Sow late and there may not be enough time for the tomatoes to mature and ripen before the autumn weather turns too cold to grow tomatoes.

For growing outside, the best time to sow is about eight to ten weeks before planting out. Decide when your last frost may be, then give it another week or two just in case. 

My last frost date is around the middle of May so I aim to plant out the end of May or beginning of June.

For those with a short season, choose early varieties like Stupice, Siberian, Latah and Red Alert.

These tomato plants can cope with short summers and will do well even if the weather is poor.

More about when to sow tomato seeds can be found at this link.