BOB FLOWERDEW
Tough love brings juicy rewards with early toms, says Bob
“Earlier fruits come if the plant is grown hard”
LITTLE tastes quite as good as your first tomatoes. Later ones may be bigger, sweeter or more aromatic, but those first fruits are just so rewarding. So how do you ensure the earliest tomatoes possible?
First of all, they need to be under cover – a greenhouse is ideal, but it’s surprising how well you can succeed with a sunny windowsill or bay window.
Obviously, it makes sense to grow a quick variety: this will be small fruited, as beefsteak and plum varieties generally take longer (and are more suited to outdoor culture, anyway). Many are excellent – I prefer ‘Sungold’, ‘Sakura’, and that old favourite ‘Gardener’s Delight’, which is a tad slower but has superb flavour. However, if your conditions are poor or you’re desperate for first fruits, grow ‘Sub-Arctic Plenty’. This was developed by the US Air Force for its northerly bases and can be grown under cover even in winter.
Next, you need to sow early. Now is fine, but you may find it easier to germinate seeds if you have a heated propagator, which will also be handy to keep the seedlings in for their first weeks. As these get bigger, keep them somewhere warm and light, and consider giving them an LED light as this will make them sturdier and squatter.
Do not water freely or feed very much, as earlier fruits come if the plant is grown hard. Nip out the side shoots to concentrate growth into the tips and eventually the flower truss. Also, when that first flower truss appears, nip out the plant’s top (and root this for another new plant) as this shock will cause earlier swelling and ripening of the set fruits.
Finally, allow a lower side shoot to grow on and become the new leader for when you move the plant to its final position.