Tomato 'Honeycomb' (Set of 3 or 6)

Tomato 'Honeycomb', grown on in Yorkshire and ready to plant for a crop from summer into early autumn.

The plants arrive with well rooted, established root balls, sturdy stems and healthy foliage, so they carry straight on growing once you pot them on or plant them out. Pick often once the trusses start to ripen and the plants keep producing.

Check the label that comes with your plants for whether this one is a cordon or a bush type, because the two are grown differently. A cordon is trained up a single cane or string with its side shoots pinched out; a bush type needs neither and is left to grow as it likes.

Grow it in full sun in a warm, sheltered spot, in a greenhouse, a grow bag, a large container or the vegetable plot. Plant out only once all risk of frost has passed, because tomatoes are killed outright by the first frost and set back badly by cold nights. Water evenly rather than in bursts, since erratic watering is what causes blossom end rot and split fruit, and feed weekly with a high-potash tomato feed once the first truss has set. Supplied as three or six established plants in 10.5cm pots. Tomato foliage is in the same family as potato and is a known risk to pets, so keep animals away from the plants.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Tomato
• Growth Habit: Cordon or bush, depending on the variety supplied. Check the plant label
• Perfect For: Greenhouses, grow bags, patio containers, vegetable plots, allotments
• Foliage: Green, aromatic compound leaves
• Flowering Time: Summer, small yellow flowers before each truss sets
• Planting Position: Full sun and sheltered. Grows well in patio containers and grow bags
• Soil Type: Fertile, well-drained, moisture-retentive soil or a quality peat-free compost
• Hardiness: Not hardy. Killed by the first frost, so it is a summer only crop and goes outside only once frost has passed
• Maintenance: Feed weekly with high potash once fruiting starts. Stake and side-shoot it only if the label says it is a cordon
• Seasonal Interest: Summer and autumn
• Type: Tender annual fruiting vegetable, grow your own