Growing tomatoes in the UK has been a pastime for many locals. Tomatoes have many health benefits, being a common ingredient in the kitchen at home and in restaurants. As a superfood, tomatoes are packed with nutrients, offering health benefits for the body. These include offering the best of skincare, improving your cardiovascular health, and aiding in weight loss.
These tomatoes are also known to be the fourth most popular vegetable in the market today, after potatoes, onions, and lettuce. The UK is a country that has a lot of arable land for growing tomatoes. Home to landmarks such as the Durdle Door Lulworth in Dorset, Duncansby Stacks Caithness in Scotland, The Needles in the Isle of Wight, Llechwedd Slate Caverns Snowdonia in Wales, Seven Sisters South Downs National Park in East Sussex, and more, The UK offers good locations perfect for growing tomatoes.
Let’s find out how it is best to grow these tomatoes in this country
Your Definitive Guide To Growing Tomatoes In the UK
Growing tomatoes in the UK should be fun and easy, just like cultivating other plants on our website. Have you browsed through our blog page? If not, look to see resources on growing various plants you can use for the kitchen and your well-being.
Not every country has similar temperatures and climate, making these lands different even if you have the same crop.
Here in the UK, planting tomatoes usually begin during May, and the weather must permit it. With the earliest varieties, direct seeding should carried through. Still, there must be the earlier varieties, and the plants must be “hardened off” before they are transplanted. One of the best ways to do this is to expose these crops to external conditions step-by-step, and they can start with about two hours of shade, increasing the time’s length each day and exposing them to the sun. These plants, remember, won’t be able to sunburn and can gradually strengthen up before they are planted.
Then, you must also be able to consider the garden spaces for these tomatoes. Take note that these are very productive in full sun. Tomatoes can grow best at temperatures of 95 degrees on warmer days and nights. The pH of the soil must be from 5.5 to 7.5.
The planting bed must not be very wet but should be moist. You can water early in the day, allowing the leaves to dry out prematurely and reduce the risks from plant disease. This includes the blossom-end rot caused by insufficient water when developing these fruits, coupled with inadequate calcium. When it comes to organic gardening, you can have these tomatoes in your healthy diets.
Take note of the tomato pests, including cutworms, gophers, Colorado potato beetles, stink bugs, aphids, and more. By May, you must use a garlic spray and continue throughout the autumn to manage these leafhoppers.
These tomatoes must also be gathered when they are complete in size and when these fruits have separated from the vine quite easily. You may check every three days to keep the plants in production, and by July, your first tomatoes will be ready.
What Vegetables Grow Well In the UK?
Companion planting is one of the best ways to grow your fruits and vegetables well, and in the UK, some vegetables could grow well with these tomatoes. Let’s look at each of them in line with the recipes you could make from these products.
Spinach recipes
- Easy Sautéed Spinach
- The Best Sauteed Spinach
- Garlic Sauteed Spinach
- Easy Creamed Spinach
- Spaghetti with Garlic & Spinach
Carrots recipes
- Perfect Roasted Carrots
- Sauteed Carrots
- Honey Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots
- Glazed Carrots
- Easy Sauteed Carrots
Pea recipes
- Parmesan Peas
- Green Pea Mash
- Italian Peas
- Green Peas with Butter
- Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon
Lettuce recipes
- Stir-Fried Garlic Lettuce
- Simple Lettuce Salad
- Lettuce Salad With Tomato And Cucumber
- Stir-Fried Lettuce
- Lettuce and Beef Stir Fry in Osyter Sauce
Beets recipes
- Roasted Beets with Balsamic Glaze
- Roasted Beets
- Balsamic Roasted Beets Recipe
- Roasted Beets with Citrus
- Pickled Beets
Green beans recipes
- Buttery Garlic Green Beans
- Quick and Easy Green Beans
- Garlic Green Beans with Parmesan
- French String Beans with Shallots
- Heavenly Sauteed String Beans with Garlic
What Months Are Suitable To Grow Tomatoes In the UK
What a great way to have your own tomato plantation, isn’t it? Now, we will move forward with the months when it is suitable to grow tomatoes in the UK. Keep on reading.
These should be the month of September, March, and May.
When it comes to tomatoes, gardening during the autumn season can be challenging, more so than in spring. The gardener is looking toward getting mature crops and having these harvested before the beginning of the winter frosts around September in the northern parts of the island.
However, sowing seeds indoors is best during March, while transplanting seedlings in the garden is best during May.
Do Tomatoes Come Back Annually?
This is a fascinating question to answer when you are growing tomatoes in the UK. Tomatoes are common home garden vegetables that are easy to grow and categorised as annuals by the UK Royal Horticultural Society. Growing these tomatoes as perennials enable them to produce tomatoes all year and can get to the size of small trees.
How Tall Should These Tomatoes Grow?
Specialists are saying that they can get to the desired height of five feet, and these are enough, but there are tomatoes that you can have at 20 feet tall. Now you know about growing tomatoes in the UK so, take note that these plants will not be putting out new growth at their topmost portion, as the tomato focuses on this new growth right on the lower part.
We hope you have learned a lot from our post today. Are you looking to plant your tomatoes in the perfect polytunnel? Head over to www.krostrade.com to see our product collection of these polytunnels, plus so much more.