How to grow Tomato (Marmande)

Solanum lycopersicum

🥕 Vegetable 🌱 Grown each year

A French beefsteak tomato with big, ribbed, fleshy fruits full of flavour — perfect sliced or for sauces. Grows well outdoors.

At a glance: Sow mid February to mid March, harvest from early July.

When to sow, plant and harvest

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Sow indoors

Plant

Flowers

Harvest

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

Growing Tomato (Marmande): what it needs

Light: Full sun · 6+ hours a day
Watering: Water regularly in dry weather
Soil: Fertile, well-drained soil
Spacing: 50 cm
In pots: Only in large containers
Feeding: A general feed before sowing or planting
Harvest: About 120 days from sowing
Hardiness: USDA zones 3–11
Difficulty: Easy

Step by step

Mid February – mid March · 8 weeks before the last spring frost
Sow Seeds Indoors
Sow in modules or small pots of seed compost under cover. Sow 0.5 cm deep and keep at 20°C.
6–12 days after “Sow Seeds Indoors” · Late February – early March
Check Germination
Seedlings should appear in 6–12 days. If sown outdoors, thin to 50 cm apart when big enough to handle.
14–21 days after “Check Germination” · Early March – mid March
Pot On Seedlings
Move seedlings into 9 cm pots (or keep in modules) when they have their first true leaves.
Mid April · 3 days before the last spring frost
Harden Off
Stand plants outside by day for 7–10 days before planting out.
Late April – late May · 7 days after the last spring frost
Plant Out
Plant out 50 cm apart and water in well.
7–21 days after “Plant Out” · Late April – mid May
Add Support
Tie the main stem to a cane or string as it grows.
7–14 days after “Add Support” · Early May – mid May
Remove Side Shoots
Pinch out the shoots that grow between the main stem and leaf branches every week. When the plant has 5–6 trusses (or reaches the greenhouse roof), pinch out the top.
30–45 days after “Remove Side Shoots” · Early June – mid June
Start Feeding
Feed every 7–10 days with tomato feed once the first flowers appear.
75–96 days after “Plant Out” · Early July – late July
Start Harvesting
Pick when fully red but still firm.
60–90 days after “Start Harvesting” · Early September – early October
Finish and Clear
Pick any green fruit before the first frost, then clear plants.