Gardeners' World: Monty Don shares three jobs for the weekend

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Planting tomatoes is one of the top choices for UK gardeners and growers and it’s easy to see why. Saving on shopping costs, helping the environment, and eating your own creation brings immense joy to garden-loving Brits.

But timing is key when it comes to yielding the tastiest tomatoes.

Like many grown foods, tomatoes are sensitive to temperature and conditions.

Being too hot or too cold can lead to a poor yield or can kill off your tomato plant altogether.

To make sure your harvest is successful, read on to discover exactly when you should take your tomato plants into the garden.

When should I plant tomatoes outside?

Tomatoes need frost-free conditions to grow successfully outside.

According to Gardeners World, you should move your tomatoes outside following the last frost of May.

It’s worth waiting a couple of weeks from the most recent frost to move them, in order to be confident of their survival.

Tomato plants should be sheltered but still have access to some sun throughout the day, making them great for filling space on the border of your plot or garden.

To grow successfully, they need lots of well-rotted soil compost mixed through the spot you’ve chosen if planting into the ground.

If you’re planting them in outdoor pots, 30cm pots work best.

Or, you can use growing bags and pop two or three plants medium-sized plants in per bag.

How often should I water tomato plants?

There is no hard or fast rule to watering your tomato plants and can be very weather dependent.

As with most homegrown foods, watering more when the weather is hot and dry is essential.

Naturally, if it’s raining you should hold off on watering for a couple of days after the rainfall has ended.

As a general rule, average-sized tomato plants need one to two inches of water per week.

To save time on watering, when planting you can add organic mulch to the soil.

Mulch reduces the evaporation of moisture from the soil, meaning your tomatoes will get more water and you don’t need to water them as often.

However, the best way to make sure your tomatoes are successful this year is to monitor the weather and condition of your plants every single day.

Source: Read Full Article