Tomato Growers' Mix – Mixed Tomato Varieties (Set of 3 or 6)

A grower's selection of tomato plants chosen for a mix of flavours, fruit sizes and picking times through the season.

The varieties change with what is ready on the nursery, so the mix may hold cherry, salad or larger fruiting types. It is an easy way to spread the harvest across the summer without picking the varieties yourself, and a good introduction if you have not grown tomatoes before.

Because the mix is not fixed, treat each plant on its habit: a cordon wants a cane and its side shoots pinched out, a bush type wants neither. Plants stand between 60 and 180cm depending on the variety supplied. Grow them in full sun in a sheltered spot, a greenhouse, a grow bag, a container or the vegetable plot. 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 plants in 1 litre 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
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 60 to 180cm tall by 40 to 60cm across, variety dependent
• Growth Habit: Upright cordon or bushy, variety dependent
• 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: Stake and side-shoot the cordon types, leave the bush types alone. Feed weekly with high potash once fruiting starts
• Seasonal Interest: Summer and autumn
• Type: Tender annual fruiting vegetable, grow your own