How to Grow Tomatoes

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Where to Grow Tomatoes

Tomatoes need a very sunny spot with rich and fertile soil that has either been well manured or had compost dug into it. Chicken manure pellets are also a very welcome addition to the soil along with Growmore as these are greedy plants! Plants are ready to plant out when the soil is warm, frost chances are zero and the first flowers appear on the plants.

Tips for Growing Tomatoes

Outdoor tomatoes are ready for planting out when they have been hardened off and the first flowers are appearing. If there is a chance of late frosts hold off until you are sure there is zero chance. Always a good idea to cover the plants over night till they are well established. To avoid many problems tomatoes like no other crop must be watered and fed constantly otherwise you will get blossom end rot, splitting of their skins and weak plants more susceptible to diseases like blight.

Tomato Sucker Removal

Vine tomatoes will need support, and their side shoots and suckers pinching out and once 4 or 5 trusses have formed pinch out the tips to aid fruit growth. Most important when watering don't allow the stems or foliage of the plant to be splashed with water, as this will increase risk of blight

Category: Recipes

Fagiolini in Umido

This is a great dish to use some of the abundant Green Beans that should be available in the summer months Fagiolini in Umido is an Italian dside dish simply means Green Beans cooked in Tomato.

Classic Rhubarb Crumble

Classic Rhubarb Crumble
Growing up this was my favourite dessert & seeing as only my dad and I liked it I always had a massive portion!

Baked Salmon & Asparagus with Jersey Royal's

Tasty and so easy to make, great dinner party dish or a cracking family treat, and a healthy dish too especially if like me you have an Asparagus Bed or two!.

Category: The Growing Season

Jobs to do in April

Spring should be here but watch out for frosts!

Sow seed outdoors
Vegetable growing really takes off this month. Chit and plant out second early potatoes in the first half of the month, maincrop potatoes in the second half. It's also time to sow seed outdoors in well-prepared soil.

The Growing Season

The Growing Season varies in different parts of the United Kingdom, but in Hatfield Peverel we are blessed with a milder climate and enjoy a longer season than many parts of the country.

In this section of the web site I have tried to separate the season out into monthly sections to help and guide you through the most popular tasks and crops regularly grown on the allotment site, but if you would like a feature made of a particular vegetable or task, please get in touch and I will do my best to add it to the web site for you.

Jobs to do in May

May is usually one of the busiest months

The soil is warm and the plants growing well. But watch out for a sneaky late frost.

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