My grandad grew tomatoes, but hated to eat them. He used to say that there was something really therapeutic when you grow your own, and seeing little seeds that you’ve sown sprout into life and produce so many fruits. And that was enough for him.

And while my granddad is still my inspiration decades since we lost him, I on the other hand LOVE eating tomatoes. I can sit in my greenhouse and snack away until there’s nothing left to harvest. Nothing beats a sun-warmed ripe tomato. Or even the smell of the tomato plant when you’re picking out the unnecessary leaves.

So what are the top tips to successfully grow your own tomatoes?

Growing tomatoes is EASY! I promise. Even if you don’t have your own greenhouse, tomatoes will thrive and survive in most situations in the UK. All they need is some love and attention to get them started.

Sow your seeds

You will want to sow your seeds indoors no earlier than late-February. Any sooner than that and they’ll be weedy and slow to shoot. This is from experience. I’ve often been over enthusiastic after a long winter and peppered my house with seed pots in January. This just makes for a long few months of watering tiny seedlings that refuse to flourish. They’ll do just as well if you wait for spring to be on the horizon.

Be sure to use a good potting compost and keep your seeds warm, light, and damp.

Thin out your seedlings

When your little plants start to shoot, it’s time to be ruthless. Sacrifice the weaker seedlings for the good of the stronger ones and you’ll have a much better crop.

Harden them off!

When your plants are at least 10cm tall you’ll want to think about moving them repotting them or moving them outside. If you’ve got a greenhouse you can start hardening them off by putting them outside during the day, but bringing them back in at night. Do this to get them used to the change in temperature without shocking them. After a few days you can get them into your greenhouse.

Once the risk of frost has gone in May (usually by May 14^th) you can start to pot your tomatoes straight outside.

Pot them up!

I always prefer a grow bag for my tomatoes. Use ones in biodegradable packaging such as these from my local garden centre. I choose slightly deeper ones that mean my tomatoes don’t dry up if I’m away for a day or two. But any good quality compost will do. You can even plant them straight into your garden, but you will want to dig in some nutritious compost around the plants otherwise they may flounder.

You can literally plant your tomatoes anywhere. They love sun, but they also like water. So if you’re popping them in a pot that will be in the full sun be sure to water them well (but not so much they are soggy and sitting in water!)

In the past I’ve successfully grown tomatoes in trough like containers, window boxes, and for bush varieties even in hanging baskets!

But remember, most tomatoes grow very tall. So they will need support, ideally against a wall, and bamboo canes to hold them up. In my greenhouse I’ve opted to string wire between my hanging rail and a small garden cane. This gives full rigidity for the tomato plants and means I’m not constantly having to prop up a wobbly cane.

At the studio we’ve planted them against one of our massive Oast House walls. It does get a mix of sun and shade, but they seem to like the protection from the wind.

Pick out and feed

Once your tomatoes have established in their final position they will really start to shoot up. You ideally want to aim for a strong thick centre stem with three larger branches emanating from that. To achieve this you need to go back to being brutal and ‘picking out’ the growth that occurs between two major stems.

This can seem very counter-productive early on, but it really does encourage stronger growth, and inevitably more fruit!

Once the flowers start to appear, you can get excited. And this is when you need to feed your tomatoes. You’ll have to be patient for flowers on some varieties. I’m growing beef tomatoes this year for the first time and it took AGES for the flowers to form. But when they did I can see why. They are much much bigger than normal tomato flowers, and obviously they need to be to start growing something as huge as a beef tomato.

Tomatoes use up the nutrients in a regular grow bag within 4-6 weeks. After this they really benefit from a little bit of feeding. You’ll find Tomorite in just about every garden centre or large shop – even Poundland. Adding this diluted to your watering once every 3-4 weeks will encourage much more virulent growth.

What variety should I grow?

There are millions of possibilities to choose from when it comes to selecting your variety of tomato. And it all comes down to preference! Most tomatoes are very easy to grow. But as a beginner, I’d suggest sticking to the Money Maker all rounder tomato until you’re confident enough to try something different.

Like I said, this year I’ve got beef tomatoes, but I’m also growing cherry tomatoes, and your regular salad tomatoes. But next year I have grand plans to set about producing heritage tomatoes – because of the colours! And after all, we eat with our eyes!

So you’ve successfully grown your own tomatoes, now what!

If you’ve been really successful and found that there are just too many tomatoes to put on your lunch salad or in your sandwiches, there are a thousand ways to preserve and keep your harvest well past the summer.

My favourite ways to store tomatoes if I have a glut is…

Tomato and Basil Pasata

This can be either stored and preserved in jars, or frozen in batches.

• Dice one small white onion and fry in a good slug of quality olive oil in a large frying pan until soft.

• Add four finely chopped cloves of garlic. Gently cook until soft.

• Add a kilo of tomatoes, chopped, and a large spoonful of sugar.

• Simmer until all of the tomatoes are soft.

• Season with a lot of sea salt and black pepper.

• Add a handful of fresh basil and blend in a food processor until silky smooth.

Tomato Soup

• Finely chop a small white onion and soften in a little olive oil in a large sauce pan.

• Add a clove of garlic.

• Add a kilo of tomatoes, 100ml of water, and a good quality vegetable stock cube.

• Simmer until the tomatoes are soft.

• Add a tablespoonful of balsamic vinegar and half a teaspoon of brown sugar.

• Blitz in a food processor and season with salt and pepper to taste.

And if you find that you’re coming to the end of the summer and your tomatoes just haven’t ripened…have you ever had fried green tomatoes? A splash of oil, lots of garlic, and they are a delicious accompaniment to any autumn dish.

Any more Grow Your Own tips?

For more ideas and inspiration check out this article from The Guardian on how to use your tomatoes creatively in the kitchen.

So far in my new vegetable garden tomatoes are thriving – but so are my cucumbers! One thing that didn’t fare so well, was my attempt at growing aubergines. So any tips on how I could make these successful next year would be gratefully received!