Search - Articles

of course - a really cold snap will set in at the end of February for two or three weeks and finish us all off. I daren't check the weather forecast.Nonetheless I'm starting to grow tomatoes from seed this week. They always take such a long tome to get going

Sarah Raven plants four varieties of tomato in a bed in the Berryfields greenhouse, explaining how to stake and pinch out sideshoots from plants.Sarah goes on to demonstrate how to plant tomatoes in grow bags, using ring culture pots to ensure

-sized tomatoes.I had vowed never to bother with them again, but last spring I was tempted to sow seeds of a brand new variety sent to me to trial, and set for introduction in the 2008 seed catalogues. A new variety would be worth growing, surely?In short... no

worthwhile. A short row of raspberries just 1.2m long has produced several pickings, used to add tasty home-grown vitamins to my morning bowl of cereal. Blackberries are now taking over, and I'd thoroughly recommend thornless varieties to give regular

Fluctuating growth rates cause tomatoes to suddenly expand. This might happen after a period of drought followed by generous watering, or low temperatures followed by a sudden sunny spell. The split might then become infected, causing the tomatoes

Sun-loving tomatoes can suffer outdoors during spells of cold weather, with ideal temperatures from 18-24˚C and no lower than 13˚C. If it is too cold there might be poor pollination, curling of leaves and the fruits might be scarred, with holes.Tomato

to other plants. Carry out repeated, preventative spraying the moment the first batch of tomatoes starts to set. Use fungicide containing copper. They don't provide 100 per cent protection, but an attack will be slowed down and you should get ripe tomatoes

The fungus that causes this problem spreads rapidly in the warm, humid conditions of a greenhouse. It usually becomes apparent on the lowest tomato leaves from early or midsummer, which develop yellow blotches on the upper leaf surface. The leaves

can encourage the problem. Compost sold specifically for tomatoes, such as grow bags, contains sufficient calcium for a good crop of fruits. Never apply fertiliser to dry soil, always give plants plenty of water first. tomatoes, peppers

Chris Beardshaw demonstrates a method for training greenhouse tomatoes, intended to increase fruiting yield.summerMore on growing tomatoesRead Kate Bradbury's blog on the dos and don'ts of growing tomatoesGrow tomatoes from seedGrow tomatoes outsideGrow