There is currently an abundance of tomatoes in our house at the moment thanks to a very fruitful tomato plant we’ve nurtured into life on our balcony (cough fire escape cough).

I’ve never grown anything successfully before so I’ve been picking and eating our colourful cherry tomatoes with immense pride and joy. These little beauties have also been featuring in a number of recipes I’ve posted recently, including Lobster, Sweetcorn and Tomato salad, and Chicken with Tomato, Bacon and Millet.

Following the success of our little tomato plant, Tom and I have been thinking about adding to the collection. I’d love to grow fresh herbs and chillies, both of which don’t take up too much room and can be used frequently.

Since I think we’ve done very well with our little urban garden, I wanted to share a few tips to those that might be thinking about planting their own tomatoes. It’s best done in May time so that they get the maximum amount of sunlight, particularly if you’re growing them outdoors rather than in a greenhouse (although if you have a greenhouse you probably don’t need gardening advice from me!)

5 Tips for Growing your own Tomatoes

1. Using grow bags is a really great idea- not only do they keep it all contained but it means the tomatoes can be easily moved and there’s no need for any potting or replanting.

2. Grow them somewhere where they will get as much sun as possible and with shelter from the wind. Something they can grow up and be tied too really helps. You can use canes, or bushes/trees if you don’t have conveniently placed railings.

3. Water the soil rather than the plant, and water it plenty. During this hot weather we tried to give our plants a good feeding every morning and night- just make sure not to drown them.

4. Make sure to pinch off any shoots that grow between the stem and the main branches- these take away nutrients and water from your tomatoes, and may not be strong enough to support any tomatoes they may grow. Remove any dead leaves and shoots from the plants as and when they crop up.

5. Don’t be afraid to fertilize- we used an organic tomato fertilizer on our tomatoes once a week to keep them strong and healthy!

It happens to be National Allotment Week this week (congrats and well done to anyone that has managed to get an allotment, particularly in London- the waiting lists are miles long in my area!) so I’ve teamed up with bettaliving.co.uk to share my tomato growing tips. Over on their website they’ve got a great post about the benefits of eating home grown food, which will make even the least green fingered amongst us to consider giving gardening a go. I’d love to hear what fruit, veg or herb plants you guys grow, and any tips for what grows well in the Autumn?

This is a sponsored post, however I really did love growing and eating the tomatoes on my fire escape!