Growing Tomatoes in Your Spanish Garden

Tomato - Tomate

Can there be anything more rewarding than picking and eating your own tasty tomatoes from early summer through to Christmas?
Those you grow in your garden will certainly taste beter than anything you bought in the UK and will taste better than those you normally buy in Spanish supermarkets.

Tomatoes Ready to Pick

You can grow your own tomato plants from seed, under plastic to keep them warmer, or you can buy plants when you are ready to plant them out.
Tomtatoes for eating are generally the climbing type that need a framework of canes to support them. If you have access to caņa that generally grows along the ramblas (dry river beds) it doesn't take long to provide this support.

It is also possible to grow bush type tomatoes which need less support.

End View of Support Canes

Construct the supporting framework of canes first, pushing the upright canes into the ground, then plant a tomato beside each cane.
This can either be done wigwam fasion or with the tomatoes and canes in two rows as shown in the diagrams.
We find it best to grow the tomatoes on a slight ridge, leaving a watering trench in between.

The two rows of canes lean towards each other and are tied together where they cross giving a strong structure.
There will also need to a longitudinal cane along the top and some sloping canes along the side to make the structure more rigid.

Side View of Support Canes

Don't be tempted to remove leaves to alow more sun to get to your ripening tomatoes. The plant needs the leaves to be able to grow but the tomato fruit do not need sun on them to ripen.

Side shoots to be removed from Non-Bush types

Unless you are growing a bush variety of tomato, it will be necessary to pinch out side shoots as they form. Each tomato plant should consist of a main stem, which will need to be tied to a supporting cane at intervals. The plant will naturally produce a side shoot in the angle where each leaf is attached to the stem - these side shoots should be removed (unless as stated above, you are growing a bush variety).
If these side shoots are not removed, they will grow into strong branches, producing more but smaller tomatoes.

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