TOMATOES, STRAIGHT OR GRAFTED

BEFORE BUYING PLEASE CHECK IF YOU ARE READY FOR THEM AGAINST THE DATES BELOW

Tomatoes are grown in 4 batches as follows

1ST BATCH - 1st-2nd week April for heated greenhouse, probably heated in the daytime as well as at night if especially cold.

2ND BATCH - 3rd-4th week April, still needing night time heat and maybe day heat

3RD BATCH - 1st-2nd week May for a cold greenhouse but with a heater just in case!

and finally 4TH BATCH - 3rd-4th week in May for cold greenhouses without any form of heating this last batch is the one for outdoor plantings as well

GRAFTED TOMATOES

Each year we produce a selection of grafted tomato plants for sale in the first batch only.

This old idea of grafting a very disease resistant "rootstock" to the named variety results in a very strong plant with a large and vigorous root system. The main reason though was to overcome disease problems when growing tomatoes in the same soil year on year.

The arrival of growbags with their fresh compost each year and chemical soil sterilisation soon made grafting tomatoes almost unheard of.

Grafting is expensive, the rootstock often costing more than the variety plus the time involved, which is why they are twice the price

However, whilst rootstock seed remains available we will continue to graft as many customers prefer the vigour and performance of grafted tomatoes as well as their ability to ripen the late season fruit as summer turns to autumn.