Yesterday Linda shared her outdoor tomato know-how. Today is indoor tips. The plants grown inside would, but for the spectre of blight, also be outdoors. A talented home cook Linda doesn’t want to miss out on Sungella, a good flavoured variety which freezes well especially as a base for tomato sauce which works its magic at bringing the taste of summer back from the frozen depths in winter.
So now Sungella (sown from seed) is confined to the safety of the conservatory along with a plant purchased variety, First in Field whilst Ferline and Legend do their blight resisting best outdoors.
TL: When do you sow your indoor seeds?
Linda: A couple of weeks early than the outdoor ones, so around the beginning of March. I only sow 2-3 for indoor planting.
TL: Do you look after your indoor plants differently?
Linda: Sowing is the same but when the plants reach about 4” in height I supplement the light available to them by using horticultural grow lights at night. I have one solo light under which I can fit one plant and a larger light which will illuminate 3 plants. To start with I put the lamps on for 2 hours and then gradually decrease as day length increases, down to an hour. I stop altogether around the 2nd week of May.
I also bottom heat one plant by placing it on a heated mat which is actually an old wine pad, the kind used to place homemade wine demi-johns on.
TL: What do you grow the tomatoes in?
Linda: I pot them on to 5” pots when roots are showing through the bottom of the 3” ones. The final pot size will be 10”- 12” filled with John Innes 3. I prefer it to multi-purpose compost as when they are cropping the plants become quite heavy and I think the John Innes offers better support.
I do take the plants outside in their pots but bring in at night when it’s cooler and windy etc.
TL: And what do you regarding feed and watering?
Linda: I water every day. The pots are sat in saucers and I let the water run through to saucer. After 10 minutes I pour away any water that’s left in the saucer. It’s important the pots don’t sit in water as plant roots need oxygen. I start feeding when the first tomatoes begin to form and I feed once a week. For feed I use ½ strength urine.
At this point Linda and I digress to discussing the principles behind feeding with urine. Last year a long car journey had been enlivened by listening to a Radio 2 debate, sparked by the news National Trust gardeners were reviving this organic method. One point which was much debated but no conclusion reached was the preferred choice of plants for the urine of the male gardener over that of the female gardener! Linda’s view: plants show no preference but did add that as a result of her vegetarian diet there’d be less nitrogen and higher potassium content - better for fruit and flower production.
TL: What other aspects of your routine are different for the indoor tomatoes?
Linda: I stop the indoor plants at 3 trusses. In fact I’ve already stopped these plants for this year. I’ll continue to pinch out the side shoots and you have to watch the top for regrowth. Last year I picked my first indoor tomatoes on the 19th June.
Talking to Linda about the tomato growing process really made me think about the amount of light her plants receive. And the earlier, indoor ones receiving extra light. Her plants are not tall but they’re chunky. You’ll feel you’d need to yell ‘Timber’ if they toppled over. Whereas some of mine maybe reaching for the stars but a huff and a puff and they’d be gone.
So my ‘light bulb’ moment has been about the amount of light my plants receive early on in the growing process.
Thank you again to Linda for taking the time to share her knowledge with Tomato Lover. Really useful and Illuminating stuff !
