Amateur Gardening – 20 July 2019

12 AMATEUR GARDENING 20 JULY 2019

with AG’s Lesley Upton

Growbags for tomatoes on test

AG reader Lesley Upton finds out how three growbags perform in a tomato trial

I

’VE always grown my

tomatoes in growbags,

whether they’re in the

greenhouse or taking

their chances with blight

outside. I have tried growing

them on my allotment, but

they never seem to do

as well as those in the

growbags at home.

This year I have decided

to try some different growing

media. As well as my

‘traditional’ 33-litre Westland

growbag, I will be growing

tomatoes outside in a 45-litre

Melcourt SylvaGrow peat-

free planter for organic

growing and a 30-litre bag of

Dalefoot Wool Compost for

tomatoes ‘no need to feed’.

I have placed one

‘Crimson Crush’ and one

‘Moneymaker’ tomato in

each bag. ‘Crimson Crush’ is

claimed to be 100% blight

resistant, while ‘Moneymaker’

is a traditional favourite. Both

were planted outside at the

end of May. Each was given a

little extra room by planting in

a pot with its base removed

inside the growbag. This

was filled with a mixture of

general-purpose compost

and homemade compost.

The tomatoes were then

watered in after planting.

I followed the

manufacturers’ instructions,

such as piercing holes in the

bags to allow for drainage.

The Westland and Melcourt

bag had room for up to three

tomato plants, while the

Dalefoot compost stated

two was the maximum.

A week after planting, all

three ‘Moneymaker’ tomato

plants had started to

produce flowers. A week

later the ‘Crimson Crush’

tomatoes were producing

flowers, and by the third week

of June all the tomatoes had

flowers (see photographs

of the tomato plants).

We’ll see how the

tomatoes fare over the

coming months. A lot

depends on the weather –

last year was brilliant for

my tomatoes – but each

set of plants will be subjected

to the same conditions.

I’ll be interested to see

how many tomatoes are

produced, when they’re

produced, how they taste

and whether the plants

suffer from any problems.

Westland growbag

Westland states that its

Growbag is ideal for

tomatoes, being rich in

potash for abundant

flowering and fruiting. It has

a pH of 5.5-6 and is filled

with a specially formulated

compost that is rich in potash

producing abundant flowers

and quality fruit and

vegetables. The nutrients

will last for approximately

four-five weeks, less where

plants are already growing

vigorously. Feed every

seven-14 days with plant

food five weeks after planting.

Melcourt SylvaGrow peat-free

planter for organic growing

Melcourt states that the

SylvaGrow Peat-Free Planter

for Organic Growing contains

a blend of fine bark (a by-

product of sustainably

managed British forests), coir

(from a single, known source),

green compost (a carefully

sourced, certified ingredient)

and balanced organic

nutrients sufficient for the first

three-four weeks of growth. It

is Soil Association approved.

It has extra depth for more

roots, and contains balanced

organic fertilisers and

seaweed meal for vigour and

disease resistance. Routine

liquid feeding should be

applied from around three-

four weeks. RHS endorsed.

Melcourt recommends

the use of fertilisers labelled

as organic and preferably

those approved by the

12 AMATEUR GARDENING20 JULY 2019

three ‘Moneymaker’ tomatothree ‘Moneymaker’ tomatothree ‘Moneymaker’ tomato product of sustainablyproduct of sustainably

‘Crimson Crush’ tomatoes

are claimed to be 100%

blight resistant

The Westland growbag with tomatoes
‘Crimson Crush’ (left) and ‘Moneymaker’
All photography TI Media, unless otherwise credited

Suttons