Do you need a green house to grow tomatoes?

[bloom]

Help and Hello!

I am new to growing my own stuff and my gran and her next door neighbour, grew tomatoes but they were always in a green house, do you have to grow them in a green house, or can you grow them with out a greenhouse, if so what varieties are the best?

B

PS sorry if this is a silly questions - newbie!

[parrot1974]

Not a silly question, but yes you can grow tomatoes outside. Best to start them off inside and use a cherry tomato variety.

[janeyo]

Hi I have sub-arctic (so named I think as they are able to be a bit chillier) outside and also some marmande. They are in a warm sunny spot though against a wall. I do have them in the greenhouse too so it will be interesting to see which give me the better results.
My mum has those tumber ones outside her back door.

janeyo

[Capsid]

I'm growing a variety called sub-arctic plenty outside. The name is a pretty big clue that it is a non-greenhouse variety

[Pootle]

There are lots of lovely outdoor varieties you can try - this year we have Inca and Marmande going outside, I've previously had great success with cherry tomatoes both in pots and in hanging baskets outside. Providing you pick the right variety for your situation/soil conditions etc I think the flavour is better than the greenhouse ones...Good Luck!

[supergrass]

Sooner or later you will want a greenhouse i know its a big outlay but you could start of with a mini one and this is the time to buy.

Max.

[Winged one]

My dad only ever grew toms in his polytunnel so I figured they were indoors only.

I have grown tumbling tom in a hanging basket outdoors for a number of years and always done fairly ok with them.

Last year, I also had quite a few "compost surprise" around the garden (we emptied the commpost bin over the flower beds in spring, and got a surprise a little while later!!). Not all of them ripened before I had to pull the plants (builders arrived in Sept), but did get a good few red ones and lots of green tomato chutney too!!

This year, I have my trusty hanging basket as usual and lots more besides. Subartic, super roma, harlequin, san marzano, rio grande, gardeners delight and moneymaker. All are outdoors - most on the plot (including all the super roma as it's for cooking) but a few in the garden too. So far, all are doing ok, and the basket already has it's first green ball. I can report back on the others later in the season - but all have said they were suitable for outdoors on the pack.

[bloom]

ha, will check them out, cheers guys

B

[Flummery]

Tomatoes have been grown outdoors here for yonks - my dad used to grow Outdoor Girl and Sigmabush - don't think you can still get the latter, don't know about the former. I've got Sub-arctic Plenty, Sungold, Golden Sunrise, Tiger Tom and Black Krim doing well outdoors. I do have some plants in the greenhouse too - belt and braces! At my previous allotment I grew Red Alert - a small bush type, with fruits a bit bigger than cherry - if you were posh you'd call them cocktail tomatoes! The flavour was magnificent. Now I've got a lottie again I will equip myself with some seeds for next year and grow them again. Because they are grow a bit 'harder' outside, the flavour can be better - stronger and less pampered and watery. Give it a go!

[smallblueplanet]

You can grow lots of different tomato varieties outdoors - the weather will have the final say on how successful they are. Last year all our outdoor toms got blight cos of the wet weather, but the year before that here's what they looked like...



There is a compromise with 'cold tolerant' variety in that they're chosen for temp tolerance over taste. Black tomatoes are supposedly fairly hardy, stupice are a good taste too. But I'll try any variety outside to see how it grows, just keep an eye out for blight.

[bloom]

wow i never expected such a fab responce, this is brilliant. Can wait to get planting and let you know my results

Thanks from the newbie

B

[hamsterqueen]

I have always grown my tomatoes outdoors, some in grow bags, but mostly straight into veg bed. The veg bed ones grow really well and are far more forgiving if you forget to water them.

Check on the labels of plants whether or not they are green house varieties.

[Alison]

I grew Red Alert outside last year and had a great crop - they fruited just as quick as the inside ones even in a really rubbish summer.