Tomato plants require daily attention during the summer, in order to produce a succession of ripe juicy fruit to be eaten raw or cooked by the family.

Supporting Tomatoes
Bush types require no supports.
The main stem of cordon types needs supporting to stop it falling over. Canes or strings can be used.

If canes are used as support, the main stem should be tied loosely to the cane as it grows. So there will be a string holding the stem to the cane every 30cm or so. Soft string should be used, so that it does not cut into the stem.

A well anchored, but slack, vertical string is an alternative method of support. The tomato stem is twisted round the string by the grower, so that the stalk is winding up the string.

Removing sideshoots

Bush types require no shoot removal, but cordon types do.

The side shoots are little shoots that grow between the stem of the plant and the main leaves. These shoots should be pinched out, or cut out.

Don’t confuse these with the shoots that don’t have leaves, as these are the shoots that produce flowers & fruit.

The bunch of yellow tomato flowers is called a truss. They will wither and drop off, leaving a little green tomatoes behind, and the truss is said to be set.

Stop cordon plants growing by pinching the top out, when two leaves are produced past the fourth (outside) or sixth (indoor) truss.

Tomato roots
Just above the compost, the stem has small bumps - these are root nodes waiting to grow. If another inch of compost is added a new ring of vigorous roots will form. Keep adding compost at stages until the pot is full to the top.

Watering tomatoes

Roots should be kept moist but not waterlogged.

• Tomatoes grown in the garden, not in a pot, will not need much watering.

• Pots and grow-bags need regular watering, to maintain a moist growing medium.

• Growpots should be watered in the outer part. If holes are made in the upper part of the growbag, water seeping out of these holes indicates too much water, so watering should cease for a day. In hot weather, well grown plants will require the outer trough to be filled with water each day .

If the soil around the roots dries out, because of irregular watering, splitting and blossom-end rot may result. Over-watering can impair flavour.

Feeding tomatoes

Feeding isn’t essential for soil-grown plants. Tomatoes grown in bags or pots require regular feeding. There are many formulated tomato feeds on the market and the manufacturer’s instructions on the container should be followed.
It is usual to start feeding tomatoes once the first flowers have appeared. They are then fed weekly by adding the feed to the water, and watering the roots.

Tomatoes in growpots are fed by pouring the water, containing the diluted food, into the center trough. This is one of the main advantages of the growpots, as food is applied in the center trough and watering is done in the outer trough, reducing leaching.