Growing tomatoes under glass

Gardeners looking to get started on growing their own fruit and vegetables may wish to consider beginning with tomatoes.

Growing tomatoes from seed is easy and now is a good time to sow for a good summer crop.

The UKs climate means that tomato seeds will germinate more successfully under glass in a greenhouse or polytunnel.

Seeds should be sown first in a 7.5 cm pot and lightly covered with potting compost.

When the roots start to show through the holes in the bottom of the pot, the seedlings should be transplanted into a larger pot – a 12.5 cm pot will suffice.

As the plants grow, they should be secured to a cane to help them climb and should be transplanted again into outside soil after around seven weeks or when the flowers appear.

The compost in the plant pots should be kept moist and fed weekly with tomato feed to help them grow.

Other plants that can be grown in a greenhouse include peppers, chillies and aubergines.