With the seasons changing and the warmer weather upon us, gardening superstar Monty Don has shared his tomato-growing expertise with all you veggie patch lovers.
As a master of expert gardening techniques and all the latest garden trends throughout the year, Monty Don's advice is always something we listen to with open minds and gardening gloves at the ready.
Whether you're an allotment aficionado or looking for easy vegetable gardening tips for beginners, Monty Don's tomato-growing advice is brilliant for getting the most out of your plants this season.
Your plants and summer salads will thank you for listening to his expert advice...
Monty Don's tomato-growing advice
Growing your own produce can be a rather daunting thought, especially when it comes to this time of year when tasks seem to become more important and time-sensitive – from knowing when to start chitting potatoes to the timing of pruning blueberries, it can be a minefield. This is why we were so happy to see Monty Don's May blog post with all the useful tips and tricks we need to help our garden thrive.
Starting his post, Monty says, "In Britain, May is often the most beautiful month because not only does the whole natural world burgeon and blossom but there is a thrilling sense of hope and expansion like a slow and beautiful explosion of life."
"In practical terms, the soil is warming up and so anything planted in May will grow quickly and well. However, in colder areas care should be taken to protect tender plants from late frosts. These rarely kill plants but they can and do nip off tender new growth and hold up future flowering," he continues.
Yes! The weather is finally ready to allow more fragile plants their place in the sun to grow and provide us with a fruitful harvest going into the summer. And what better place to start than tomatoes?
Monty says now is the time to plant out your tomatoes in a greenhouse, if you want to house them outdoors he recommends waiting until the end of the month. He explains, "This is because tomatoes hate too much temperature fluctuation and May nights can be chilly - especially if the days are warm."
If you're looking for essential small garden tips due to your lack of space why not buy a mini greenhouse, they're the perfect size and have the same warming effect for your plants. We recommend this 4-tier portable grow house from Amazon for just £28.04.
When it comes to planting tomatoes, the gardening guru suggests planting them deeply right up to the bottom leaf as the buried section of the stem will develop extra roots. Monty goes on to say: "As the young plants grow they form shoots between the leaves and the stem and these are known as side-shoots."
These side-shoots, he explains, grow with extra vigour and although they bear trusses of fruit they end up taking energy from the entire plant which reduces the overall plant. These side shoots can also make a cordon plant straggly, so he recommends removing them as soon as they appear on your plants. For even better crops, why not follow Monty's seed-sowing advice too?
"The best way to do this is in the morning when the plant is turgid, simply breaking them off with finger and thumb. However in the evening they will be limper and may tear the plant so should be cut off with a knife," Monty explains.
After that your tomato plants will be set up for every success and you'll have ruby red fruit in no time. Once again, Monty has offered up a serving of some of the best seasonal advice all in an accessible, easily digestible format and we couldn't be more thankful. Time to plant our tomato plants then.
Once you've finished prepping your tomatoes for the summer ahead why not give Monty's lawn care advice a go and give your grass a good old scratch? We promise it's not as strange as it sounds.
