Joie de la Nature at Bellanger

Grow your Own - Tomato Cerise

Join us as we celebrate la Joie de la Nature this summer. Our terrace pays homage to all things home-grown with abundant edible planting, plus a refreshing limited-edition cocktail list profiling garden flavours in collaboration with Seed Folk. Inspiring our ‘Tomato’ cocktail, which pairs the sweet and herbaceous flavour of tomatoes with monkey 47 gin, white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, sugar for a refreshing summer sipper.

A classic Italian cherry tomato bursting with sweetness. ‘Cerise’ produces glossy, dark-red fruits with exceptional flavour. High-yielding and best grown with support.

What you’ll need

• Seeds, soil/ Seed Folk compost mix
• 8cm starter pots
• 16-litre pot or a garden bed

Step 1 – sow the seeds (February – April)

• Sow indoors from late Feb to mid-April. Use 8cm starter pots filled with Seed Folk compost or similar peat-free compost.
• Pop 1 seed per pot, about 1cm deep.
• Water gently, cover with cling film or a clear lid, and place in a warm spot (like an airing cupboard or on top of a radiator).
• Germination takes 7–14 days. Once you see seedlings, remove the cover and move them to your sunniest windowsill.

Step 2 – watch them grow

• Add a cane or stake and loosely tie the main stem to it.
• Repeat for extra seedlings if you have space and compost — more plants = more tomatoes!
• Water lightly every few days to keep the compost moist (never soggy).
• Once plants have four leaves and roots are poking through the bottom, it’s time to pot up.
• Fill a 16-litre pot with compost. Bury your strongest plant up to just above the first leaf set (remove lower leaves).
• Add a cane or stake and loosely tie the main stem to it.
• Repeat for extra seedlings if you have space and compost — more plants = more tomatoes!

Step 3 – moving out

• Once your plants are 8–10cm tall and the weather is warm (around 16°C), start hardening them off.
• Place outdoors during the day and bring in at night for 7 days.
• Plant into a sunny, sheltered garden bed or keep in pots. If in beds, space them 50–60cm apart.
• Bury deeply again, removing the lower leaves and planting just above where the lowest set of leaves were.

Step 4 – keep them growing

• Water regularly, especially if growing in pots.
• Prune side shoots (those that grow between main stem and leaf) to keep energy focused on fruit.
• Once flowers appear, feed every 2–3 weeks with Seed Folk fertiliser. If using your own soil, use a high-potassium liquid feed weekly.

Step 5 – harvest time

• Tomatoes ripen from July. Pick them when deep red and slightly soft.
• For best flavour, harvest in the afternoon after a good sunbathe.
• Keep picking to encourage more fruit.

Join us this summer to explore our cocktail menu and begin your grow your own journey!