Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
⚠ Safety
The fruit is food; the leaves and stems are not — they contain solanine, like potato foliage.
At a glance
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Water need
- High
- Mature height
- 2 m
- Maintenance
- High
- Hardiness
- USDA 3–10
- Layers
- herb
Functional roles
Propagation
How to make more of this plant for free — the permaculture way.
When: Sow under cover March to April
Cultivars
Buy the cultivar, not just the species. “Ready” means its size and pollination are sourced; anything else needs confirming with the supplier first.
- SungoldReady
A cordon, so it wants a tall string or cane, weekly side-shooting and tying in. Sweetest under cover, and earlier there too.
- Uses
- eating
- Mature spread
- 0.4–0.5 m
- Pollination
- self-fertile
Pollination: Royal Horticultural Society
- Gold NuggetReady
A bush type: no side-shooting, no tall supports, and happy in a pot. The low-attention choice when nobody is here midweek.
- Uses
- eating
- Mature spread
- 0.4–0.5 m
- Pollination
- self-fertile
Pollination: Royal Horticultural Society
- ShirleyReady
A dependable greenhouse salad tomato with large trusses and useful disease resistance.
- Uses
- eating
- Mature spread
- 0.4–0.5 m
- Pollination
- self-fertile
Pollination: Royal Horticultural Society
In the kitchen garden
- Sow (months)
- 3, 4
- Harvest (months)
- 7, 8, 9
- Spacing
- 0.45 m
- Family
- solanaceae
- Frost
- Tender — needs cover
Grows outdoors in a warm sheltered spot, but earlier and heavier under cover — and blight is rare under glass.
Cordon types climb and need side-shooting; bush types sprawl and need almost nothing.
Where to get it
Read more
Seed data pending expert review. Identification photo and description are sourced from Wikipedia/Wikimedia; always confirm a plant in person before eating any part of it.