IF you’re lucky enough to have a greenhouse, chances are it’s full of tangy tomatoes all summer. Not only a salad and sauce essential, tomatoes are also packed with lycopene, which is known to help fight cancer and heart disease. My retired smallholder parents grew thousands of glasshouse tomatoes each year, and this is where I cut my horticultural teeth. Now is the time to sow to ensure success with tomatoes, so how do you ensure bumper crops?
Although you can buy plants from garden centres, many of us sow toms because it offers the widest selection of varieties. Germination is strong and swift: sow eight-ten seeds on the surface of a 3½in (9cm) pot of well-watered seed compost, top with vermiculite and place in a well-lit propagator at 18-22°C (64-72°F). Multi-directional light is vital to deter leggy growth.
“Sow now to ensure success with tomatoes”
Prick out into individual pots once 2½in (6cm) tall, positioning these at ever increasing spacings in a 15°C (59°F) spot. As they
