Growing tomatoes at home: a beginner's guide

Home-grown tomatoes taste nothing like shop-bought ones. They need a little planning, mostly around timing.

When to sow in North India

• Main crop: sow seeds in a tray in late August or September. Transplant in October. Harvest from December to March.
• Spring crop: sow in December–January in a protected spot, transplant in February, harvest April–May before the heat.

Tomatoes stop setting fruit when nights stay above about 24°C, so a May–June crop rarely does well in the plains.

Pot and soil

Use a 14-inch pot or a 15-litre grow bag per plant. Fill it with our potting mix (1 part vermicompost, 2 parts soil, 1 part cocopeat). Bury the stem up to the first leaves when transplanting; it will root along the buried part.

Stake early

Put a 4–5 ft bamboo stake in at planting, before roots spread. Tie the stem loosely every 20 cm as it grows.

Feeding

Mix 150–200 g of vermicompost into the soil around each plant every 30–45 days once flowers appear. Water deeply and evenly; uneven watering causes cracked fruit.

Two common problems

• Flowers dropping: usually heat or cold stress. Tap the flower clusters gently at midday to help pollination.
• Curled, crinkled leaves: often leaf curl virus spread by whiteflies. Remove affected plants early and check leaf undersides. A weekly neem oil spray helps keep whiteflies down.