Tomato Plants

Tomato plants come in two basic types:

Cordon varieties (indeterminate) grow tall and usually need to be stopped above the fourth or fifth truss to encourage the fruit to ripen.

During its growth the side shoots need to be removed so that all of the plant’s energy goes into the main stem and upward growth.

Bush varieties (determinate) are in some ways easier to grow as they only reach about 18ins/2ft tall. They can be grown in a hanging basket or large pot, and the side shoots are left on to encourage outward growth.

Tumbling Tom (bush variety) growing in a large pot. This cherry variety is highly recommended because it is easy to grow and will produce a good supply of tomatoes before many other varieties have started fruiting.	Sungold (cordon variety) growing against the garden wall. This is a truss of tomatoes which ripen when they turn their  golden colour. A very sweet cherry.

I can recommend each of the following bush varieties for growing tomatoes outdoors – because I’ve grown them.

Tumbler – cherry – early (now difficult to find).
Red Alert – cherry – early
Garden Pearl – cherry – early
Tumbling Tom – cherry – early
Alaskan Fancy – medium – early
Siberian – medium – early
Balconi Red – cherry – early
Legend – large – mid-season
Oregon Spring – medium/large – early
Micro Tom – windowsill cherry
Vilma – windowsill cherry (good size fruit)
Maskotka – cherry – early

Here’s a quick look at Maskotka, a lovely tasting cherry bush variety that is one of my favourites. It is not the earliest bush variety – Red Alert takes some beating – but I highly recommend it.

Bush varieties are usually best grown in large pots and containers.
Tall (cordon) varieties are best grown in grow bags or directly into the border.

If you choose to buy tomato plants from the garden centre much of the hard work will have been done to get them to the small plant stage. Look for plants that have healthy looking dark green leaves with a stem that is not too thin compared to the other plants of the same size.
Buying young plants is a great way to get started with growing tomatoes but you may find that your choice of varieties will be limited when compared to the varieties available to grow from seed.