When to sow and plant tomatoes?

Cultivated since the 18th century, the tomato is native to South and Central America. One of the most popular vegetables, it is also considered a fruit. This fragrant annual plant can be recognised by its yellow flowers, red fruit and green leaves covered in granular hairs. Tomatoes can be grown both outdoors and in greenhouses. Find out all about planting tomatoes, caring for them and harvesting them in this article.

The different varieties of tomato

Before starting any tomato planting, it is important to define the variety that best suits your tastes and the conditions in which they will be grown. Tomatoes differ not only in shape, size and colour, but also in variety, and there are currently several thousand varieties in cultivation. The best known of these are:

the cherry tomato;
the "beef heart" tomato;
the Andean tomato;
the Green Zebra tomato;
the black Crimean tomato;

Each of them has its own characteristics, although some may be similar, and are grown over specific periods. So don't hesitate to find out from other Permapotes what tomatoes grow well in your area by creating a topic in the forum, for example, or searching for the info directly on your favourite search engine.

When and how to sow your tomatoes

Tomato planting usually heralds the start of a great season in the garden. As well as finding the right place to grow tomatoes, it's essential to do it at the right time. The best thing to do: think about sowing, which will allow you to make great savings while discovering many varieties other than the plants sold in garden centres.

Sowing your tomatoes is generally done from February to April, in the warmth and sunshine. Of course, this depends on your region. Those who enjoy a Mediterranean climate will practically be able to carry out their sowing a month earlier than people in northern France or Belgium. To find out the right time for your climate, I refer you to our tool that will tell you when to sow your favourite vegetables according to your climate.

To sow, you can use small tubs in which to place your seeds. Favour farmers' varieties and not F1 hybrids so that you can reproduce your seeds later. If you grow several varieties of tomato, take care to mark them with a label, it's easier to find your way around!

Don't forget that tomatoes fear frost, and that a poor light/heat ratio is likely to cause your seedlings to bolt. As for me, I place the seedling trays behind a south-facing window until mid-April. After that, I take them out gradually to avoid a sudden change in temperature. Make sure you water them often enough to give them time to harden off a little. Once the last frosts are no longer to be feared, i.e. from March to May, you can proceed with transplanting the plants.

How to transplant / plant your tomatoes

The height of a tomato plant varies between 50 centimetres and 2, 3 or even 5 metres. The fruit can take on different shapes or sizes. It all depends on the variety you choose. As soon as your tomato plants have grown sufficiently in their seedling tray, you can re-pot them in a larger pot to prevent the roots from vegetating. Once they've grown to around 15 centimetres, and the time is right, you can move on to planting proper.

It's a good idea to water your plants a few hours before planting. This will allow them to free themselves more easily, and in a single block, from the bucket, while promoting recovery.
Remove the two leaves at the bottom of the plant, or even a few more at the bottom of the plant if your plant is relatively tall. The deeper you plant, the more vigorous you will make the plant.
Create a hole 20 cm deep.
Place the plant in the hole and ensure that the stem is covered with soil for at least 10 cm so that it can re-root and draw freshness from deep down.
Form a small crown-shaped depression around each plant and then water.

This last point ensures better irrigation of the plant. There's no point in trying to pack the soil around the plant, as this could crush the roots and stunt growth. Your plants should be 60 cm apart and rows 80 cm apart.

Although tomatoes are quite voracious, they prefer low-nitrogen organic inputs such as dried blood, roasted horn or chopped nettle leaves. You should also consider staking the plants to give them better support and to prevent strong winds or heavy rain from breaking the stems. The tie should be fairly loose so that the stem can grow well.

The choice of planting location

The tomato is known as a summer vegetable, as it needs heat to ripen its fruit. As such, the plant needs to be fairly well exposed to the sun. Ideally, they should be placed in a greenhouse, to reduce the spread of diseases such as mildew. However, not everyone is lucky enough to have one at home, so a sunny, well-mulched plot may also be suitable.

With regard to soil composition, it is advisable to plant tomatoes in humus-rich soil. Soil that is too rich in nitrogen could in fact reduce the flavour of the fruit as well as the plant's productivity, favouring the development of its leaves instead of fruit growth. Apart from soils that are too clayey, all types of soil are suitable for planting tomatoes. However, if the crop is an early one, light soils are best. Heavy soils are more suitable for producing late tomatoes.

How to care for your tomatoes

After planting, maintenance is the most important phase, as the growth and yield of your tomatoes depend on it. So:

It is advisable to water tomatoes well. Less regular but more consistent watering is generally recommended to encourage deep root growth. Once a week is a good compromise, but it will all depend on the weather conditions, which may force you to space out the watering or do it more frequently.
To reduce watering as well as weeds, you can mulch regularly with straw and a thin layer of fresh grass clippings. This will also help fertilise the soil in the long term.
Trimming the gourmands of your tomatoes on a regular basis will also hasten production and increase fruit size. Some people are for, others against this practice. For my part, I sometimes prune the suckers to prevent the plants from taking up too much space in my greenhouse.
Your tomatoes can also be prone to diseases such as mildew. By watering your plants with nettle purin, you can strengthen their defences and at the same time protect them from these diseases.

When do you start harvesting your tomatoes?

As soon as the summer season arrives, your tomatoes are ready to be picked. Obviously, you need to check that the fruits are red (unless you opt for varieties such as the zebra tomato or the black Crimean ^_^). Tomatoes are generally harvested 4 months after planting, and can be harvested gradually. However, when the cold approaches, you can pick the unripe fruit, wrap it in paper and store it in a box or crate. They don't have to be kept in the fridge. Tomatoes can be stored very well at room temperature.

Bonus: some tips on growing tomatoes

In addition to this various care, certain conditions allow tomatoes to flourish better. These include the flower-tomato neighbourhood. The proximity of flowers, particularly that of marigold, helps attract pollinating insects (which are essential) and scares off nematodes and other pests.

For optimum fruit quality, the amount of water supplied to the plant must be carefully measured. It is essential that the leaves remain dry. If you don't have a drip system, you can use a glass bottle, neck down, which you fill evenly. Thick mulch will reduce the frequency of watering.

The cold is one of the things tomatoes hate most. In regions where it prevails, precautions are taken right from the start of cultivation. To protect them, you can use frames, plastic mini-tunnels or cloches. Depending on the situation, you can use covers or even a greenhouse.

To speed up fruit production, you can carry out de-budding. This operation involves removing the gourmands. The process is fairly simple, as all you have to do is, passing through the rows each week, gently cut the secondary shoots that start from the central stem. This is done by pinching them between the thumb and forefinger.