There is still time to delight in your very own, homegrown tomatoes this summer, but you will have to move fast. To give you a helping hand, we caught up with master gardener and serial author Holly Farrell, whose latest book The Tomato Grower launched this spring. 

Why grow tomatoes? 

There are so many reasons to grow our own – cut costs, reduce food miles, be more sustainable, re-connect with nature, for physical and mental health – the list goes on and on. For chefs though, the biggest benefit is flavour. 

As soon as you pick a tomato or any other fruit or vegetable, the sugars inside will start converting into starch. Therefore, the shorter the distance between the plot and the plate, the sweeter and tastier the tomato or produce will be.

When to grow

If you’re growing from seed, you want to start them off in seed trays or small pots in March before planting out after the risk of frost has passed in May. There is still time for this summer though, just skip the germination and buy some young plants from the garden centre this month. Get them in pots or the ground and you will be in tomato paradise by July. 

If you have space in some beds or even a vegetable patch, you will get bigger yields, but tomatoes grow well in pots, grow bags, hanging baskets and even on windowsills. Just make sure they’re in a sunny spot.   

Watering

If they are in pots, you need to be even more vigilant, but the best strategy is to check each day. The soil shouldn’t be wet but moist. I stick my finger in the soil to test as sometimes it looks dry on top but is wet underneath and
vice versa.      

Multi-sensory

As well as the flavour, people underestimate the multi-sensory power of the tomato. For a start, a healthy tomato plant loaded with fruit is a thing of beauty. Then there is the smell of the tomato foliage, which brings on huge waves of nostalgia and bliss for so many.  

Whether a pub, restaurant, school or care home, you could have mini tomato plants on tables that diners can pick and eat from. They could be trailing up walls and in the beds of your outdoor areas and garden. Or you could utilise them in hanging baskets with tomatoes cascading down.

Varieties

Some of my favourites for beginners would be:

Gardener’s Delight – an incredibly reliable variety providing a prolific amount of great tasting, sweet red cherry tomatoes.

Sungold Cherries – providing generous harvest throughout the season, these yellow cherry tomatoes are juicy and sweet. 

Principe Borghese – these are my go-to tomatoes for drying and when making sundried tomatoes. 

Britain’s Breakfast – a delicious red plum tomato with great texture and flavour. Similar to a San Marzano.

Marmande – an heirloom French beefsteak tomato variety with a large, bulbous shape, colour and glorious taste.

If we have a good summer, you could be harvesting tomatoes from June through to September or even October so there is plenty of time to be creative.

Find out more

The Tomato Grower’s Handbook by Holly Farrell was published by Bloomsbury on the 26th February 2026.