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I am thinking of growing tomatoes, I've not tried this before.

(39 Posts)
jeanie99 Fri 16-Jan-26 22:41:58

I do garden but have never grown tomatoes.
I am wanting advice on which seeds to purchase for a very tasty tomatoes which you don't need a degree to grow.
I am thinking of growing in large pots which I have and thought I could use canes to support a cover to keep the tomatoes warm.
Is it best to grow in a sunny spot?
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thank you.

Grammaretto Sat 17-Jan-26 17:18:09

Thanks for pointing out my pants typo 😂gMattie

I agree about moneymaker being easy but seeing as so much time and water is required, it's more interesting to get several different varieties. There may be some which do well outdoors in your area and if you invest in a fruit cage you can keep the greedy birds out.
Nothing better than sun kissed home grown tomatoes

Flutterby345 Sat 17-Jan-26 18:32:00

Not Moneymaker! Tasteless, it's the one I grew the only year I did it. Prolific but I could not give them away once people had tasted them. Everyone said I should have grown Sungold or Gardeners Delight. It's true what they are saying about watering.

jeanie99 Sat 17-Jan-26 20:00:23

Thank you so much everyone for the masses of information.
I am copying and pasting all the comments which will be helpful, fingers crossed,

madeleine45 Sat 17-Jan-26 21:26:13

I still like Gardeners Delight, lovely flavour and all tomatoes smell beautiful to me. Used to listen to Gardeners Question Time (well still do!) and there was always disputes between the panellists as to which tomatoes were best, but do remember that the big growers want to get lots of fruit at the same time, while we want to be able to pick ours over a good length of time, so go for favourite tastes. The cherry types are easy to grow and you can eat them like sweets. You could arrange with a friend to look after each others plants over holidays . Enjoy having a go and eating your own produce.

Grannydaisy1 Sat 17-Jan-26 22:13:42

I can recommend Outdoor Girl if you live in a colder area. They are very hardy and really flavoursome. They also seem easy to grow.

V3ra Sun 18-Jan-26 13:11:33

Several times now I have bought a hanging basket or two from my local garden centre, ready-planted with a cherry tomato eg Tumbling Tom or Cherry Falls.
I sit them on the patio table in the sun, water them well and feed them regularly.
It's lovely to be able to take a sandwich outside for lunch and pick some warm tomatoes to go with it 😋
They produce masses of fruits.
When we went away for two weeks last year I took the baskets round to my son's house to be looked after in his garden.

I know jeanie99 is planning to grow her tomatoes from seed, but this idea might be of interest to someone else 🍅

David49 Tue 20-Jan-26 04:14:54

Whatever variety you grow they taste a lot better than the stendard supermarket offering, we had a couple of beefcake plants this year, cut in half and served on toast made a lucious breakfast, plum varieties are nice too.
Not so keen on the cherry varieties we always seem to have a surplus and end up being used last.

mum2three Tue 20-Jan-26 04:41:43

I've had a lot of success growing tomatoes indoors on a sunny windowsill. They need frequent watering and feeding but it's worth it for the pleasure of picking warm, sun-ripened tomatoes.

karmalady Tue 20-Jan-26 06:16:22

Once upon a time I grew 19 tomatoes in pots, 4 different varieties, on a sunny patio in somerset. All types were good. I always find that the small tomatoes are quickest to ripen and can be picked first

I moved, still in s somerset and my growing space is big. Last year just 4 plants did me well, they were all blight resistant. Cocktail crush, consuelo and crimson crush. One per big pot and each in a halo. Smaller packets available from simplyseed. Blight can occur in summer as well as in autumn

The easiest way to water into a pot is to use a drip water bottle but it is easier to grow them in the ground.

I am only going to grow three this year and in the ground. One cocktail crush and 2 crimson crush

foxie48 Tue 20-Jan-26 07:17:11

It's so easy to freeze cherry tomatoes. Just wash and pop in a bag, freeze and they can be used in cooked recipes instead of fresh ones eg tray bakes.

storystar Mon 09-Feb-26 06:06:16

Honestly, sunlight is the big one. If you’ve got a sunny patio, greenhouse, or even just a bright windowsill, you’re off to a good start.

Esmay Mon 09-Feb-26 06:31:52

I once grew some incredible tomatoes from squeezing out some pips from one in a salad and on a balcony pot as well .
Since then my tomato growing has been a failure.
This year I'll have another go .

RosesandLilac Mon 09-Feb-26 07:04:49

They need copious amounts of water, I grow mine in pots standing in trays of water to which I add liquid fertiliser as needed.