Tomato 'Crokini' – Grafted Cocktail Tomato (Set of 3 or 6)

Tomato 'Crokini' is a grafted cocktail tomato, vigorous and disease resistant, cropping heavily from July to October.

The fruit is bite-sized and sweet, carried in generous trusses, and it is at its best eaten straight from the plant or halved into a salad. Grafting onto a vigorous rootstock is what gives these plants their strength: better resistance to soil-borne disease and a heavier crop than a plant grown on its own roots.

Crokini is an indeterminate cordon, so it needs a sturdy cane or string, the side shoots pinched out as they appear, and room to reach 150 to 200cm. Grow it in full sun in a greenhouse, or outdoors in a warm sheltered spot, in a container, a grow bag or a raised bed. The flowers are self-pollinating, so no second plant is needed. Plant it 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 with a high-potash tomato feed once the first truss has set. Supplied as three or six established grafted plants in 1 litre root balls. 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
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 150 to 200cm when trained up a support
• Growth Habit: Indeterminate cordon. Needs staking and side-shooting
• Perfect For: Greenhouses, patio containers, grow bags, raised beds, vegetable gardens
• Foliage: Mid-green, cut tomato leaves
• Flowering Time: Summer, small yellow flowers before each truss sets
• Planting Position: Full sun, at least six hours of direct sun. 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: Tie the single stem to a sturdy cane or string and pinch out the side shoots as they appear. Feed weekly with high potash once fruiting starts
• Seasonal Interest: Summer and autumn
• Type: Tender annual fruiting vegetable, grow your own