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Home Beekeeping
Find out more about keeping bees in your garden for honey
grow your own
15:40, 4th Jan 2012
Storing Apples
Find out how to store apples
fruits
12:23, 28th Jul 2011
Pear and Lemon Jam
Instructions for making pear and lemon jam
preserving
14:59, 27th Jul 2011
Making Apricot Jam
Instructions for making your own apricot jam
preserving
15:44, 26th Jul 2011
Grow and Make Harissa Paste
A recipe for harissa paste with ingredients you can grow yourself
grow your own
11:57, 30th Jun 2011
Grow Your Own Chilli Peppers
Find out how to grow your own chilli peppers
grow your own
16:06, 17th Jun 2011
Dry Chilli Peppers
Find out how to dry fresh chilli peppers
preserving
16:05, 17th Jun 2011
Make Lavender Biscuits
Find out how to make delicious fragrant lavender biscuits
foraging
12:22, 16th Jun 2011
Growing Outdoor Tomato Varieties
Tomato plants which will survive outdoors in the UK
Growing Outdoor Tomato Varieties
fruits | grow your ownThe British climate is not ideally suited to the growing of tomatoes except in a greenhouse or a polytunnel. There are however some varieties of tomato plant which will produce good crops of delicious tomatoes despite the cool and often damp climate.
Note that tomatoes grown outdoors tend to be tastier and have thinner skins than those grown under glass.
Before listing some of the best varieties of outdoor tomatoes it is worth considering the growing site. Tomatoes like as much sunshine as possible and as much shelter as possible from the wind (often a difficult combination to find!). Meet those requirements and you are in for a bumper crop this summer. Tomatoes planted against a south facing wall or fence will fare the best.
While cordon tomatoes are typically grown in the greenhouse (due to lack of ground space), bush tomatoes are better suited to outdoor growing. Outdoor tomatoes can be grown directly in the ground (humus-rich well drained slightly acidic soil), or in pots or growing bags.
Outdoor tomato seeds should be planted under glass (or indoors) in early April, hardened off toward the end of May, and planted out in early June after any risk of frost has passed. The first tomatoes should be ready for picking by the middle of August and the plants will continue cropping if weather permits until late into September.
Outdoor Tomato Bush Varieties
There are now many varieties of outdoor tomato bush plants. Red Alert (pictured above) produces the most delicious small tomatoes early, while French Cross produces very large tomatoes, and Sleaford Abundance a heavy crop overall. Sigmabush copes well even when the sun does not shine, and Sub-Arctic Plenty produces early tomatoes even in the cooler northern reaches of the UK. There are suitable tomato plants for virtually any size or type of garden or even for hanging baskets or house plant pots.
Buy Outdoor Tomato Seeds and Plants
Click here to purchase outdoor tomato plants and seeds.
Article Published: 10:56, 25th May 2010
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