Tomatoes Outdoors UK Follow These Steps To Increase Success

Outdoor tomatoes are the most popular UK summer veg to grow. I know they’re a fruit but you get what I mean.
They’re actually quite high effort and that’s why it’s surprising that so many first-time gardeners start off with growing them. There are easier things to try.
But do they reward that effort? Some years, yes, others no.
This also depends on where in the UK you are based.

The biggest piece of advice I’d give is to try growing some from seed, if you fail, buy or ask for some young plants in June. As you grow them you can frantically research tomatoes and go on forums and watch endless videos about their cultivation. After your first season you’ll be hooked.

Some varieties that are tried and tested and work most years in the UK
Cherry types:
Sungold F1 – Quite a prolific producer and a vigorous plant. I’ve had success with this on a number of years and it produces very sweet golden orange cherry tomatoes
Honeycomb F1 – Another great tasting orange cherry tomato. Dipak from Raw London Gardener grew these in his garden this year and wrote a rave review.
“Sun baby” – Produces a yellow tomato. I grew some from seed this year and due to a mix up I gave them away to a friend thinking they were more of the Romas I had in abundance. They grew very successfully and produced large bunches of cherries that ripened by early/mid August.
“Red Cherry” – Another packet of free seeds from a gardening magazine but these ave reliably given me a crop of cherries in most years outdoors. Easily and cheapy available
“Gardeners Delight” – A heritage UK variety tried and tested for many generations. Some say that the seed has become compromised over the years and isn’t as good but I’m still a fan. The size of the tomatos are variable and some are almost a salad tomato rather than a cherry.
“Primabella” – I’ve seen several reliable sources saying that this German tomato has good blight resistance. Unlike the “crimson” varieties it’s not an F1 so you can save the seeds and grow the same tomato the next year, saving you money on expensive seeds.
“Latah” – I believe pronounced like lay-tah. As in, “See ya latah, alligator”. A very early cherry tomato. Some have claimed to have had fruit by June on these outdoors!

Patio Varieties
Tumbling Tom – If you want a tomato that you can grow in a pot and not bother with any pruning then this is a good one. Early ripening and great for a first time grower or someone with a limited space.

Salad Types
Ailsa Craig – A Scottish heritage variety that tastes great and produces a decent sized crop.
Alicante – Another easily and cheaply available seed that produces a reliable crop of tasty toms.
Bloody Butcher – A very early variety that has potato like leaves. These are apparently great tasting too.
Stupice – Very similar to Bloody Butcher in that it’s an early potato leaved variety. I’m trying this next year.
Outdoor Girl – I’m trying this next year because of a few people I trust saying they’re great. They can withstand the tempestuous weather here and they’re apparently delicious. They have an RHS award of garden merit too.

Beefsteaks
You’re rolling the dice with these outside.
St Pierre – This has given me quite a few ripe tomatoes but a lot more green ones. They’ve been great for fried green tomatoes but they’re started to get blight before most are ripe. They make a great sauce too because of the dense flesh and few seeds.
I've still yet to find a tasty beefsteak I've regularly harvested from outdoor plants.

With thousands of varieties of tomatoes to choose from I hope this list narrows it down a bit. I personally think that the cherry types are the most versatile in that you can use them for anything. Sauces, salads and snacking, they’ll do it. And they have the advantage of ripening quickly in a short season.

BlightSpy – https://blightspy.huttonltd.com/#/for...
This gives a forecast for your area to give warnings about when blight favourable conditions are about. This can increase your chance of getting your crops through these periods. If you know when you have to be vigilant with pruning it helps.

Other Channels with great resources for UK outdoor tomatoes:
In the Garden With Eli and Kate – Several videos about growing tomatoes outdoors over two seasons in the central belt of Scotland. They’ve had success even in years affected by blight and in poor years (like this year). Their growing conditions are at about the limit of what tomatoes can take being several hundred miles north of me.
Ivan’s Gardening Allotment UK – Loads of demonstrations on tomato care, sowing and varieties suitable for outdoor growing. No nonsense and to the point videos. Much unlike my verbose, drawn out overly complicated explanations.
My Family Garden – Mothin grows a lot of tomatoes outdoors in his garden in Leeds. His Channel is a wealth of information for all fruit and veg gardening.