Grow

How to grow tomatoes

From choosing a variety to picking the last green fruit, with every step sourced.

Jump to: Choosing | Sowing | Planting out | Support & side-shoots | Water & feed | Picking | Saving seed

Choosing what to grow

Tomatoes are one of the most popular crops to grow. You can start them from seed indoors or buy young plants, then grow them outdoors or in a greenhouse, in pots or in the ground. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Garden Organic says there are hundreds of varieties, and calls tomatoes a great crop for someone new to growing. Garden Organic: Tomatoes growing guide

Cordon (indeterminate) tomatoes are vigorous, very tall plants that need tall supports. Bush (determinate) tomatoes are naturally more compact, great for smaller spaces. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

UMN: bush (determinate) plants typically reach 24–30 inches, then stop growing, and all their fruit ripens within four to six weeks. Handy for a big batch at once. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens UMN: most tomato varieties are vining (indeterminate). They need cages, stakes or trellises, and keep flowering and ripening fruit until the weather gets too cold. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

Trailing types can even be grown in windowboxes and hanging baskets. The RHS calls these the easiest type to grow. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Small-fruited varieties tend to be the easiest to grow, the fastest to fruit and the most prolific. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

There are small round cherry tomatoes, long plum varieties, medium-sized salad tomatoes and huge, wrinkled beefsteaks. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Tomato colours range from traditional red to dark purple, pink, orange, yellow or green, and even striped. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) varieties include ‘Sungold’ (cherry), ‘Shirley’ (salad), ‘Tigerella’ (red with orange stripes) and ‘Gold Nugget’ (a compact bush cherry). RHS: How to grow tomatoes · checked 30 Oct 2026

For growing outdoors, Garden Organic suggests ‘Gardener’s Delight’ (small) and ‘Tigerella’ (medium). Garden Organic: How to grow card, Tomato, Outdoor (PDF) · checked 30 Oct 2026 For growing indoors, Garden Organic suggests ‘Yellow Pear’ (small), and ‘Alicante’ and ‘Ailsa Craig’ (medium). Garden Organic: How to grow card, Tomato, Indoor (PDF) · checked 30 Oct 2026

Kew’s Kitchen Garden has grown ‘Outdoor Girl’, which ripens in cooler temperatures, and ‘Black Russian’, originally from Russia, a dark red-black beefsteak. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Tasty tomatoes (25 October 2019) · checked 30 Oct 2026

Grafted plants are generally more vigorous, giving earlier and larger crops and more disease resistance, but they cost more. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

UMN: when buying plants, choose sturdy ones up to a foot tall, with stems at least as thick as a pencil. Don’t buy plants with spotted leaves. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens UMN: a resistant variety won’t get the disease; a tolerant one will, but it spreads more slowly and is less serious. Seed catalogues use codes to show which is which. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

Sowing

RHS sowing times: late February to mid-March for a greenhouse crop, or late March to early April for plants that will grow outside. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Garden Organic: sow tomato seed 0.1cm deep in pots. Garden Organic: Tomatoes growing guide

Tomato seeds need about 18°C (64°F) to germinate: use a heated propagator, or a warm windowsill with a clear plastic bag over the top. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Garden Organic gives a germination time of 8–11 days. Garden Organic: Tomatoes growing guide

Seedlings usually appear within a fortnight. Then uncover them and give them as much light as possible, so they don’t grow thin and leggy. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Once seedlings have a couple of true leaves, move them into their own pots. Hold each one by a leaf, not by the delicate stem. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

Sowing dates, depths and temperatures differ between sources. More on when sources disagree.

Planting out

Tomatoes are tender, so get them used to outdoor conditions (hardening off) before planting out. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Plant tomatoes into their final position in early summer, once temperatures are reliably above 16°C (60°F). RHS: How to grow tomatoes

UMN: plant outdoors after all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

Plant tomatoes deeply, with the first leaves just above the soil: the buried part of the stem grows extra roots. RHS: How to grow tomatoes UMN: for a sturdier plant, dig a trench three to four inches deep, lay the plant in it and bury the stem up to just below the lowest remaining leaves. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

RHS spacing in the ground: 45–60cm (18–24in) apart, depending on how big the plants will grow. Check the seed packet for exact spacings. RHS: How to grow tomatoes In containers, the RHS suggests one plant in a 30–45cm (12–18in) pot, or two in a standard growing bag. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

Tomatoes grow particularly well in a greenhouse, usually giving an earlier and larger crop. Outdoors, these tender plants need a warm, sunny, sheltered site. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

The RHS says not to grow tomatoes in the same bed in consecutive years, to stop diseases building up in the soil. RHS: How to grow tomatoes UMN: choose a spot where tomatoes and their close relatives (such as peppers, eggplants and tomatillos) haven’t grown for the past three or four years. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

Garden Organic and UMN give different spacings. See the side-by-side table.

Supports, side-shoots and trusses

Tomatoes don’t cling to supports by themselves, so they must be tied in, or wound round a string, by hand as they grow. RHS: How to grow tomatoes UMN: put in stakes, cages, spirals or trellises at planting time. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

On cordon tomatoes, pinch out the side-shoots that sprout from the joint between each leaf and the main stem. Check each time you water. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Bush tomatoes are more compact, and their side-shoots should be left to grow. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

A truss is a cluster of flowers or fruit growing from the same point on a stem. The word is used a lot for tomatoes. RHS: How to grow tomatoes When cordons reach the top of their support, or have set seven trusses indoors or four outdoors, remove the growing tip two leaves above the top truss. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

Garden Organic: remove any yellowing leaves, and any leaves that shade the lower trusses of fruit. Garden Organic: Tomatoes growing guide

In a greenhouse, open the vents so pollinating insects can reach the flowers. You can also gently tap or shake open flowers to help move the pollen. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

Watering and feeding

Water regularly to keep the soil or compost evenly moist. Up-and-down moisture levels can cause splitting or blossom end rot. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Plants in containers dry out quickly and may need watering every day in hot weather. Curling leaves can be a sign of a thirsty plant. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

RHS top tip: sink a 15cm (6in) pot into the ground beside each plant and water into it, so the water goes straight down to the roots. RHS: How to grow tomatoes UMN: one inch of rain or watering a week is ideal. Avoid overhead sprinklers, because wet leaves are more prone to disease. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

Feed plants in containers every 10–14 days with a high potassium liquid feed once the first fruits start to swell. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Mulch plants in the ground or a greenhouse border with garden compost or well-rotted manure, leaving a gap round the base of the stem. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

Picking

Tomatoes start to ripen from midsummer, depending on the variety, the weather and fruit size. Cherry tomatoes ripen faster than bigger fruits. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Greenhouse plants usually start cropping earlier than outdoor ones and carry on for longer, well into autumn. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

Check plants every few days and pick tomatoes one at a time, stalk attached, as soon as they’re ripe and fully coloured. RHS: How to grow tomatoes

At the end of the season, ripen unripe tomatoes somewhere warm and dark, or in a drawer with a banana. RHS: How to grow tomatoes Garden Organic: ripen green tomatoes indoors in a sunny spot or in a dark place next to a ripe banana. Green tomatoes also make great chutney. Garden Organic: Tomatoes growing guide

At the end of the season, Garden Organic suggests ripening green tomatoes indoors, or protecting plants from frost with horticultural fleece. Garden Organic: How to grow card, Tomato, Outdoor (PDF) UMN: when frost threatens at the end of summer, pick all the fruit and bring it indoors. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

UMN: tomatoes picked truly green will probably never ripen to a good flavour, but ones starting to turn white or pink should. Some gardeners look for a white star or streak on the bottom. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens UMN: ripen unripe fruit at room temperature, one layer deep and not touching. Warmth matters more than light. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

UMN: tomatoes are one of the easiest foods to can (bottle) at home. University of Minnesota Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens

Saving seed

Garden Organic says tomatoes are one of the easiest crops to save seed from: most won’t cross-pollinate. Garden Organic: Tomatoes growing guide

Next: the tomato calendar →