Easiest tomatoes to grow in UK for beginner.

Brian_Pamo

Hi all

At the start of lockdown I bought some tomato seeds and compost etc and set off 24 tomato plants in my shed. Surprisingly they have now grown to 6” but I don’t know what to do next... Having watched a few YouTube videos I have seen that there are over 7,000 tomato varieties. Unfortunately I threw the packet away so don’t know what type my plants are now. So, wherever happens with these plants I’d like to have anther go but on terms that they require little intervention from
me. As a beginner that will give me a bonus to do it again in the future. So, if I tell you guys how I want to go about my method maybe you guys can suggest which tomato I need to grow. 

So, I will start them from seeds in my shed. Then when they get to a few inches I want to plant them outside in grow bags against my fence. I don’t mind installing trellis first. Basically, my family LOVE tomatoes and would eat any type. As a beginner I just want to start with tomatoes that will grow outside in the UK and don’t need loads of effort. If it’s possible maybe a type that will forgive me not regularly tending to them very regularly. 

Any suggestions guys?
I should add that I want them to grow up my garden fence (so one side will
be completely shielded from the wind). 
Thanks in advance. 

-taff

You might as well keep going with the ones you have now because you're a bit late to be sowing them now especially for outdoor growing. There's the chance they may get blight but there are only a few blight resistant varieties anyway. As long as we have a summer like last year they should be fine. You could buy plug plants, and for that you want Gardener's Delight or Shirley.

If you're growing them in the ground, they can go outside now if you like, or let them double in size, there's not much that'll munch on them except quite rare things you probably won't see. Feed them when they start fruiting , make sure they don't go dry.

What's your earth like?

Farway

Maybe one of the tried & tested ones?

Moneymaker or Outdoor Girl but some more modern ones may be better, just hat I've not tried them

Honestly there are so many to choose from, some are more hype than fact.

I know you say you want to go up the fence, but for ease a bush type would be much less maintenance, sow, grow, plant, pick*

* you may need to water.

Davesnave

If they are up against a good, tall fence, then constructing a rain cover may be the way to go if you get into this. Tomatoes are subject to blight outdoors, yet mine inside the door of a polytunnel, just out of the rain are usually fine.

I agree with going for bush types. Even outdoors in the 'good old days,' my Gardeners' Delight used to go 8'. Mind you, I'd not touch those with someone else's bamboo cane now, as I don't think the seed is what it was and the taste of recent plants has been carp.

I'm trying a new bush type called Gold Nugget, which I hope will be OK.....'cos I've sold rather a lot of them to garden centre-starved lockdowners!

Farway

Gold Nugget looks good, so many to try.

I'm trying Koralik this year, supposed to be blight resistant but we've all head that before, just means they die a day later than the rest

twopenny

I live in the South West and found the easiest are Gardeners Delight for a big crop os small cherry tomatoes that keep on giving. Because they are small fruits there isn't so much weight .on the plants. I don't even pinch out the side shoots but just let them go so if you just want to practise that way is ok.

If you live in the north it may be different.

You can get small yellow ones that make good soup with a touch of ginger, some onion and a bay leaf.

Since a trip to Italy I've started growing San Marzano a big tomato so less on the plant but makes wonderful tomato sauce for pasta.

If you can grown in the ground so much better as grow bags dry out easily and it takes a bit of practise to get the plants just right.

I wouldn't worry too much about blight. I've been growing outdoors for 40yrs and it's only happened once. And that was to everyone in the area.

Brian_Pamo

In my local hardware store they sell:
moneymaker, Alicante, Golden Sunrise and Roma. 

I respect all your opinions and I’d be grateful if someone could suggest a really easy variety to grow. Obviously I will Water etc but as a beginner I’d just love some ‘results’ from little effort

thanks in advance all. 

twopenny

Moneymaker and Alicante are usually the ones people start off with or grow regularly because they are so reliable.

Simple round tomatoes witha good flavour. Fairly foolproof

Davesnave

Experience of growing many varieties suggests none is always bad, but some varieties will take a hit in particular sets of circumstances. For example, when I grew them last, my Gardeners' Delight were miffy in that year, but who knows, maybe the genetic make.-up of that batch was suspect.

Much easier to evaluate are the characteristics of the fruit. For example, Rosella proved more prone to splitting through irregularities in watering, so that one wasn't grown again.