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Sowing to harvesting time - 12 - 15 weeks depending on variety.
Tomatoes have always been a popular crop for the amateur and professional gardener. Once regarded almost solely as a greenhouse crop, with the development of new, hardier varieties you can now grow some varieties outdoors. However it is important to remember that the crop is native to a fairly hot dry climate. High summer temperatures suit them perfectly, but since that weather cannot be expected every year in  a temperate climate, some care must be taken to produce a good crop. They do not like damp, cloudy, cool conditions and they hate frost. 1. Sow seeds in a propagator or seed tray from late winter to early spring. Space the seeds 2cm apart. 2. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them off into 8cm+ pots filled with compost. 3. When the plants are 12-15cm high, transplant them to permanent beds and tie to stakes. 4. If growing single stem varieties, remove axil shoots with a clean knife to control the plants growth. 5. Feed with liquid tomato feed as soon as the fruit begins to swell and repeat every two weeks until harvesting. 6. If growing bush varieties, put dry straw on the ground under each plant to protect from damp soil and slugs.  Most gardeners save growing time by starting tomato plants under glass, in a cold frame or on the windowsill ensuring frost free conditions. There is no doubt that the best way to grow toms is in a greenhouse.   Soil  Tomatoes will grow in any reasonably rich soil, or any poor soil providing the basic nutrients are added during the growing period. Growing soil should be replaced after every crop to prevent disease. Purpose made grow bags are ideal.
Pollination: Greenhouse tomatoes may need help with pollination. The pollen needs exactly the right atmospheric humidity to adhere to the female parts of the flowers and to grow down towards the ovule. The remedy is to spray the plants and surroundings in the early morning. Sideshooting and Stopping: As soon as the flower trusses start to form the plant will begin to produce shoots in the joints between the stem and the leaf. By nature the tomato is a bushy plant, but allowing these shoots to grow will result in a mass of bushy foliage and small fruits. Remove sideshoots by "pinching out" using your thumb and forefinger. Repeat this every two days. towards the end of the season, when the plants is bearing six or seven trusses of fruit break off the growing tip cleanly just above the second leaf above the top truss. The plant can then concentrate all of its resources into growing fruit. De-leafing: Removing the lower leaves of the plant will encourage it to channel its resources into fruit production and improve ventilation close to the soil. Feeding and Watering: Tomatoes need plenty of moisture but not a saturated soil. Twice daily watering is a must in hot weather. Greenhouse grown crops will benefit from a good misting by spraying the whole greenhouse including floor, staging etc. Harvesting: The bottom trusses ripen first. pick the tomatoes before they are quite ripe. Severe the stalk at the "knuckle" just above the calyx. They can complete their ripening on a windowsill within a few days. Removing the crop before its ripe helps the plant to concentrate on the next lot of fruit.