'Big Zak' Tomato. The World's Biggest Tomato!

The big tomato ‘Big Zak’ variety, seems to be a favorite of many who wish to grow huge tomatoes from seed. The seeds are only available from Totally Tomatoes who deliver only in the US but for those wishing to try growing this monster tomato in the UK or anywhere else in the world you can try exhibition-seeds.co.uk

The best way to start them off is in a mini propogator with a heating mat placed underneath. For best results use seed cubes for the germination process and plant three times as many seeds as you would like to grow as not all the seed will be “pure” Big Zak which becomes more apparent as they grow.

During the initial growth process you should replant each seedling three times ensuring you plant them as deep as possible in order to prevent the plants from becoming too tall and to strengthen their root system. After 7 to 9 weeks the seedlings should be ready to be planted outdoors and by this time you will be able to tell the true ‘Big Zak’ tomato plants as their growth should be far stronger and they will continue to grow very quickly.

When planting outdoors dig a hole deep enough to plant in so that only the top quarter of the plant is still showing above ground, again this will stop the plant from becoming too “leggy” and the root system will be much stronger. Before planting put some good compost at the bottom of each hole and gently break the bottom of the peat of each plant before planting to encourage roots to spread. This is also a good time to set your stakes as you won’t damage root systems by inserting them later when needed.

To protect the young plants from the sun and the wind, a black fabric wind break should be erected for the first three weeks. To prune, allow no ore than 5 main stalks. When fruit starts to form, usually in clusters of three, pick them only leaving 1 fruit from each cluster and support your tomato plant using fabric, old pantyhose are perfect for this job. Fertilize weekly using a fish/seaweed based fertilizer. VHUT5VNH4R2M

‘Big Zak’ tomatoes will generally take around 80 days to reach maturity although fluctuations should be expected due to climate and location.