Scotland, with its tendency for strong winds and unpredictable weather changes, makes for one of the more difficult climates for growing tomatoes outdoors but fear not, between our tomato-growing guru Eli Appleby-Donald, and lots of suggestions from our readers, let’s talk tomatoes!
“When I first started gardening, which was only in 2012, my big excitement was to grow tomatoes. I genuinely have no idea why I took this sudden notion to grow them, but I have never regretted it since.
“I came to tomato growing though, not as someone with previous knowledge, family guidance, or even, I’m ashamed to say, much in the way of research. I just bought some seeds that I liked the picture of, and I grew them in my greenhouse. Saying this seems madness considering the successes I have had over the years - it almost feels unfair that I have been so lucky after really putting in minimal effort, but I guess luck was on my side.
“As they say, that was then, and this is now. Now being a time where I approach things in a very different manner because now, I understand how to pick varieties that give those of us growing in a climate like Scotland, a much better chance at a good harvest - even if you don’t have a greenhouse.
“I guess then we should talk about the greenhouse, because it is the proverbial elephant in the room. Do you need a greenhouse to grow tomatoes in your Scottish garden? Truth be told, no it is not necessary. It certainly makes life easier, but it isn’t essential.
“The benefit of a greenhouse is that it extends your season by giving you extra time at the very start of spring where the temperatures are a little warmer in the greenhouse on a sunny day, as well as offering a degree of protection from frost. And again, at the end of the season you can usually carry on growing for a little longer as the days start to cool down. It’s this idea however, of a season or a growing season, that we need to think about.
“We are used to hearing about the seasons or the growing season, but in fact, our growing seasons are very personal. Even in a small country like Scotland, we have a lot of variation in temperature and frost dates, which means each of our gardens are very unique in terms of what we might consider the growing season.
“The same can be said for plants, each variety of plant has specific needs, some of which will determine its growing season. Tomatoes, for instance, are a warm weather crop. They need a sunny sheltered spot in the garden, and they prefer temperatures of between 15-24ºC, with the higher end of that range the temperature preferred for a mature fruiting plant. A smaller plant will survive at temperatures no lower than 10ºC, but ideally, to thrive, the plant needs 15ºC and above.
“Now that you know this, think about your garden and the day and night temperatures there throughout the year. When do you begin to see the spring days heat up, when do you see that consistency of above 10ºC, including overnight?
“Now consider the other end of the tomato growing season, autumn. When does the temperature in your garden stop being consistently 15ºC, including overnight?
“If you can answer those questions, then you know what growing season your garden has to grow tomatoes. Simply count the days from the start of your season until the end, and that tells you how long your season is.
“You can now use this knowledge to find out which tomatoes will do best in your garden, because all tomato varieties have a season of their own, sometimes referred to as days to maturity. What this means is that the particular variety you are looking at needs a certain number of days from small plant to harvest - if that matches your garden season, then you have a winner.
“Generally speaking, plants which give smaller fruits such as cherry tomatoes have a shorter season than say a variety giving beefsteak tomatoes, but there are some exceptions to this, high yielding plants for instance, generally have a longer season to allow the plant to develop those yields.
“Some of the more popular varieties we already grow in Scotland are:
‘Gardener’s Delight’ which requires around 67 days to maturity,
‘Sungold’ requires around 65 days to maturity, or,
‘Tumbling Tom’ around 75 days to maturity.
“Armed with this knowledge, you can choose varieties that you think will fare better in your garden or even adapt this to find your greenhouse season, and decide which varieties might be better suited to your greenhouse rather than your garden.”
Eli Appleby-Donald, eliandkate.com
“I grow all sorts, but I always include some ‘Sungold’ as I just love them. I grow them in hanging baskets or grow some in the greenhouse. For others, especially ‘Roma’, I grow in galvanised buckets as I find this helps with monitoring watering. The smell of nipping out takes me straight back to the big greenhouses in my grandad’s market garden!”
M.T. Penman, Facebook
"I use tomato ‘Orkado’ and plant them with French marigolds as a companion plant to help keep the dreaded greenfly at bay. Works well for me!”
Roy Balfour, Twitter
“I use the tomato ‘Black Cherry’ variety. I love to grow veg that you wouldn’t normally see in the supermarket, so I go for tomatoes that aren’t bright red! This deep, dark, dusky red tomato is a vigorous grower and really tasty.”
Papaver Gardening, Facebook
“I recommend the ‘Outdoor Girl’ heritage variety for growing outdoors. It suits our Scottish climate, sets fruit earlier, and ripens earlier than other varieties. It produces small to medium fruits which are delicious and sweet.”
Denise, Instagram @lets_grow_home
“I sow mine a lot earlier than the packet says, in February, and keep them under cover until the chance of frost has passed. I choose smaller types like cherry tomatoes or ‘Tumbling Tom Red’ as they ripen more quickly." Karen Stewart-Russell, Instagram @rakeexpectations
“I’m trying to germinate ‘Indigo Rose’ and Ukrainian Black tomatoes this year. I normally start this time of year by popping them into pots in plastic bags in the bathroom until germination, then plant them into individual cells. When older and hardened off, they go into the greenhouse into 7 litre pots, supported by bamboo canes. I water early morning or late afternoon and I feed weekly with homemade comfrey liquid. I have never grown these varieties before but I chose them because of their hardiness.”
Michelle Buss, Facebook
“I only grow cherry tomatoes now in an unheated greenhouse in Perthshire, as I found the medium tomatoes didn’t ripen until far too long in the season, and I wanted to eat my tomatoes in summer. My favourite is ‘Sungold’, they are sweet and ripen well. I feed them once a week, if I can remember! I sow them in the third week in March and they usually fully ripen here in the second week of August. 'Sweet Aperetif’ is another variety I grow for the same reasons, and ‘Apero’ is another one which does well for me.”
Audrey McColl, Facebook
“This year I have sown over 40 varieties. They do best in the polytunnel or greenhouses here in south west Scotland. Particular favourites that we have found and grow every year include: Yellow, Red and Chocolate Pear, ‘Marmande’, ‘Angelle’, and ‘Costoluto di Fiorento’.”
Oratia Glake, Facebook @theplantfarmwithorn
“I grew ‘Grushovka’ last year in my polycrub from seed. It ripened well and was a great tasting, slightly pink tomato growing to about four feet tall.”
Lesley Morgan, Facebook