Thinking about tomatoes this early in the year? Absolutely!
Choosing the right variety plays a key role in producing a great harvest. With a little bit of planning you can start your plants early – and look forward to a bumper tomato season.
Sowing tomatoes – how to pick the best variety for your garden
Which tomato variety is best for you?
Before you get going it’s good to think about the growing conditions in your garden, or on your balcony, and what you’re wanting from your tomatoes.
Do you want a high-yielding variety? Or a very aromatic one? Or are you looking for resilient plants for growing outdoors?
A few questions that will help you make the right choice:
✔ Are you growing your tomatoes outdoors or in a greenhouse?
✔ Do you prefer little snacking tomatoes – or big beefsteak ones?
✔ Is it important for them to be disease resistant?
✔ How much space do you have available?
Outdoor growing – vigorous varieties are key
If you want to grow tomatoes outdoors, without the protection of a greenhouse, you should look for varieties with good resistance to blight. Blight, a fungal disease, can destroy your whole crop, and chemical sprays aren’t an option when you’re gardening in a nature-friendly way.
This makes tough, resilient varieties the best choice:
- Wild tomatoes have a high level of disease resistance. They may be small, but they’re absolutely bursting with flavour. What’s more they’re incredibly easy to look after and can grow close to the ground.
- Cocktail tomatoes are also more resilient than the large-fruited varieties, producing an abundance of small, sweet fruits.
- Early-ripening varieties escape the worst of the fungal spore season, because they are harvested before the humid weather brings disease into play.
Tip: Don’t plant your tomatoes near a potato crop! Both crops are vulnerable to the same fungal diseases and an infection can spread quickly.
Tomatoes for balconies and small gardens – bush tomatoes are perfect
Not everyone has a large plot available – but you can also grow tomatoes very successfully on a balcony or in a small garden. Here bush tomatoes (determinate varieties) are the perfect choice.
Advantages of bush tomatoes:
✔ Compact growth, perfect for tubs and raised beds
✔ Very little or no pinching-out is needed
✔ Early and often abundant crops
✔ Resistant to extreme weather conditions
Bush tomatoes naturally remain smaller than cordon tomatoes and don’t need much support. They can grow quite happily in large plant tubs, window boxes or raised beds. We especially recommend varieties such as ‘Pendulina Yellow’, ‘Ida Gold’ and ‘Outdoor Girl’, which were specially developed for container growing.
Not everyone has a large plot available – but you can also grow tomatoes very successfully on a balcony or in a small garden. Here bush tomatoes (determinate varieties) are the perfect choice.
Advantages of bush tomatoes:
✔ Compact growth, perfect for tubs and raised beds
✔ Very little or no pinching-out is needed
✔ Early and often abundant crops
✔ Resistant to extreme weather conditions
Bush tomatoes naturally remain smaller than cordon tomatoes and don’t need much support. They can grow quite happily in large plant tubs, window boxes or raised beds. We especially recommend varieties such as ‘Pendulina Yellow’, ‘Ida Gold’ and ‘Outdoor Girl’, which were specially developed for container growing.
Tip: Make sure your balcony tomatoes are in a sunny spot – ideally they need at least six hours of sun each day. Regular watering and nutrient-rich compost will ensure a bumper harvest.
Tomatoes in a greenhouse – more choice, but more work, too
If you’ve got a greenhouse or polytunnel the choice available to you is much, much bigger. Here you can also grow more delicate but super-tasty tomato varieties including large beefsteak tomatoes and unusual historic varieties.
The protected climate offers advantages:
✔ Warmer temperatures = faster growth
✔ Protected from rain = lower risk of fungal diseases
✔ Longer growing season = earlier and later harvests possible
It’s important to ensure that your growing space is well ventilated, though – if the air becomes too humid this can encourage fungal infections.
Summary: The perfect tomato for you
There’s a tomato variety out there for everyone, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned gardener. If the space available is limited, you can go for compact bush tomatoes, or trailing varieties for a balcony. If you’re looking for robust outdoor plants, wild or cocktail tomatoes make an excellent choice. And in a greenhouse your choice is pretty much unlimited.
Now’s the perfect time to order your tomato seeds! This means you’ll be able to start sowing straight away in spring – and start looking forward to a plentiful harvest.
