I love the vibrant colours, smell and taste of fresh homegrown tomatoes – worth every bit of effort put into growing them. But do they need starting off as early as February, requiring extra heat and light and a constant red alert for drops in temperature? Or can you wait until April, still opting for growing from seed, giving a greater choice of varieties than the first potted seedlings on sale?
Scouring garden centres last April, I found cherry, salad and beefsteak seeds, including promising new varieties and old favourites. I sowed them the next day and then judged them on their harvest, especially taste. For a direct comparison of whether to sow earlier or later, in terms of picking times and fruit weight per plant, I also resowed five varieties I had already sowed in February.
All seedlings were grown in the ground in my polytunnel for protection. February seedlings were planted out in early April, eight weeks after sowing; April seedlings were planted out in early May, just five weeks after sowing, by which point the early-starters were already 75cm up their canes and setting fruit.
Last summer’s middling weather made ripening a week or two later across the board, although February harvests were still two to four weeks ahead. These stopped cropping earlier, however, so the picking season just shifted. Overall, the beefsteaks took longest to ripen, while I was still eating latesown, inside-ripened ‘Tigerella’ salad tomatoes in December.
How they compare
I trialled five of my favourite tomatoes to find out whether a February or April sowing was best
Cherry ‘Sungold’ F1
Tastiest, earliest cherry Easy-to-train plants with masses of sweet fruits for continual picking. A little prone to splitting.
Harvest time/weight per plant Feb sown: 21 Jun-13 Sep/2.04kg Apr sown: 20 Jul-5 Oct/2.03kg
Early or late sowing?
With only 10g between the two, timing was insignificant. Both were earliest crops overall.
Cherry ‘Cocktail Crush’ F1
Best from early sowing Easy to train with small, slightly tangy fruits held on compact trusses.
Harvest time/weight per plant Feb sown: 10 Jul-16 Oct/2.44kg Apr sown: 31 Jul-29 Oct/1.63kg Early or late sowing?
Well known for its early fruit set, the February sowing was more successful.
Salad ‘Tigerella’
Best from late sowing Classic old variety with vibrant stripy fruit. Not as sweet as cherries, but a top choice every year.
Harvest time/weight per plant Feb sown: 12 Jul-16 Oct/2.46kg Apr sown: 2 Aug-29 Oct/3.88kg
Early or late sowing?
Late sowing produced a bigger, bumper crop over a similarly long picking season.
Salad ‘Alicante’
Grow early or late Bright red, sweet fruits that are uniform in size. I grow this to ensure plenty of fruit for preserves.
Harvest time/weight per plant Feb sown: 20 Jul-21 Oct/3kg Apr sown: 31 Jul-16 Oct/2.96kg
Early or late sowing?
Sowing timings made little difference to the picking season or yield.
Beefsteak ‘Super Marmande’
Best from early sowing Halfway between a cordon and a bush, it sets plenty of large tomatoes with sweet, juicy flesh.
Harvest time/weight per plant Feb sown: 16 Jul-16 Oct/4.21kg Apr sown: 20 Aug-29 Oct/2.5kg
Early or late sowing?
Early sowing came top with a long picking season and huge, tasty fruit.
How they compare
I trialled five of my favourite tomatoes to find out whether a February or April sowing was best
Cherry ‘Sungold’ F1
Tastiest, earliest cherry Easy-to-train plants with masses of sweet fruits for continual picking. A little prone to splitting.
Harvest time/weight per plant Feb sown: 21 Jun-13 Sep/2.04kg Apr sown: 20 Jul-5 Oct/2.03kg
Early or late sowing?With only 10g between the two, timing was insignificant. Both were earliest crops overall.
Cherry ‘Cocktail Crush’ F1
Best from early sowing Easy to train with small, slightly tangy fruits held on compact trusses.
Harvest time/weight per plant Feb sown: 10 Jul-16 Oct/2.44kg Apr sown: 31 Jul-29 Oct/1.63kg Early or late sowing?