Today, they are still ideal for growing plants in the greenhouse, but are also perfect in a sunny spot outdoors. Young, well-rooted tomato plants grown from seed indoors should be ready to plant into their final position in early summer, once all danger of frost is past. Generally used for larger vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers, growing-bags can also be used for a quick-maturing salad crop or for a ready supply of cut-and-come-again herbs and salad leaves. The fruits vary in appearance too – you can choose from various shades of green or yellow, striped or plain, long or spherical, and large leaves can be green, mottled or silvery. The glass structure can be warmed up using electric fan heaters, but you can also do a few other things to keep the temperature stable.

You can also choose from small, medium or full-length fruits, with many different varieties of each type. The cover contains a white inner mesh which blocks out less sunlight than the green mesh found on most PE covers. We will take you through sowing the melons seeds, growing the fruit themselves and when to harvest them so you can impress your friends with your horticultural skills.There are currently more than 40 AGM tomatoes to choose from – for a selection, see Recommended varieties, below. Where to use growing-bags As well as for use in greenhouse cultivation, growing-bags are ideal in the smallest of spaces.

Sow fast-growing tender plants such as courgettes, squashes and pumpkins, cucumbers, French beans, melons and sweetcorn so they are ready for planting in their final positions under glass in late spring or outside in early summer. Simply roll the cover back into place and secure with the sewn-on hook and loop closures when you’re done. Grafted cucumber plants have recently become more readily available – these are very vigorous plants and should produce a larger crop over a longer season.

They usually contain enough nutrients for one season of growing, making them more practical than growers having to sterilize their soil after each growing season. You also won’t need to worry quite as much about overwatering, as the excess water will quickly drain through the bags. Maintain structures in a clean state, particularly the glass, as we want as much light as possible to enter.

There are fruits of different sizes, flavours, textures and colours, to suit all tastes – far more choice than you get in the supermarket.This can make the pots top heavy, so position in a sheltered site, ideally against a sunny wall or in a greenhouse. Tomatoes start to ripen from mid-summer onwards, depending on the variety, weather conditions and fruit size.