Growing tomatoes takes patience and time, as they often need lots of nurturing and care. There are a few things to simplify your tomato care routine. Below we have a few suggestions for the best varieties, some simple watering ideas and solutions to what supports you can use when growing tomatoes in the greenhouse.
Best Tomato Varieties for Growing in the Greenhouse
- Sungold – early, prolific and sweet tasting and perfect for brightening up salads
- Gardener’s Delight – reliable and suitable for indoor and outdoor environments
- Black Opal – produces lots of fruit, dark chocolate coloured and tangy yet sweet
- Geronimo tomatoes – larger fruits, resilient and good flavour
Watering Tomatoes
Keeping your tomatoes well-watered is a mammoth task, you don’t want them to dry out but you also don’t want them to be drenched and sitting in water. If they dry out and then you soak them in water it causes the fruit to smell and the tomato skins to crack, which can mean diseases and fungal growth will ruin the fruits. Too much water will result in drowning the roots, depriving them of oxygen and slowing growth.
The best thing you can do is to recycle old plastic water bottles by cutting off their bases and sticking the neck down into the soil. Fill them from the base and this allows the water to get directly to the roots of the plant. It also keeps the soil surface dry, which reduces the risk of the greenhouse becoming too humid.
Supporting Tomatoes with Vine supports
When the tomato plant reaches about 18” you’ll need to support it. You can choose to use string and canes which is adjustable and moveable as the plant grows – or for a more permanent solution that you can utilise throughout the growing season, we have vine wires and supports that fit to the frame of your greenhouse.
Gable Supports at both ends– Attaching vine wires to either end of the greenhouse, between the gables, provides you with lots of space for your tomatoes to grow. The canes attach at an angle to the supports, allowing your tomatoes to hang vertically – this also prevents them from clustering.
Gable Supports at one end – You can choose to have several wires spaced out vertically across the gable, which will give you a number of anchor points to support your tomatoes, in sections up the plant as it grows.
Alternatively, we have created a number of solutions for customers who want to achieve something unique. If you have a bespoke project, get in touch by emailing customercare@alitex.co.uk.
