Tomato Moneymaker

Solanum lycopersicum 'Moneymaker' Heritage British cordon tomato

The workhorse of the British kitchen garden — reliable, generous, and forgiving. Moneymaker has been a UK gardening fixture since the 1960s for one reason above all: it delivers exactly what its name implies. Sown in late winter, fed and trained through summer, it rewards you with a staggered harvest of well-flavoured medium red tomatoes from July (greenhouse) or August (outdoor) right through to October.

The fruits weigh 70–100g each — large enough to slice for a sandwich, halve for the roasting tray, or break down for sauce and passata. The flavour is the classic traditional tomato profile: balanced sweetness with proper acidity, neither too sharp nor too mild. There are tomatoes with more dramatic flavour, larger fruits, or higher sugar content. What sets Moneymaker apart is its unflappable consistency — in a warm British summer it crops abundantly; in a cool British summer it still crops. A single plant typically yields 4–6kg over the season, spread across 8–10 trusses.

Moneymaker is open-pollinated, meaning seed saved from your best fruits will grow true to type the following year. It is one of the oldest established heritage tomato varieties in British horticulture — making a single packet the start of a self-renewing kitchen-garden tradition.

A note on growing

Sow indoors from late February to early April in individual cells or small pots of good-quality seed compost, one or two seeds per cell at approximately 5mm depth. Maintain a consistent temperature of 18–21°C — a heated propagator gives the most reliable results, but a warm windowsill works for most homes. Germination takes 7–14 days. Pot on into 9cm pots as soon as roots fill the cell, and grow on in bright, cool conditions to prevent leggy growth.

Plant out from late May or early June, once all risk of frost has passed and plants have been hardened off. Allow 45–60cm between plants in the greenhouse border, growbag, or warm outdoor bed. Stake each plant with a sturdy 1.8m cane at planting time. Moneymaker is an indeterminate (cordon) variety — remove sideshoots weekly to maintain a single leader, tie the stem to its cane as it grows, water consistently to prevent splitting, and feed fortnightly with a high-potash tomato feed once flowering starts. In late August, pinch out the top of the plant two leaves above the fourth or fifth truss to concentrate energy into ripening existing fruit.

Where it shines

In the greenhouse or polytunnel for earliest, heaviest cropping — greenhouse Moneymaker can be picking from July, weeks ahead of outdoor crops. In a sheltered outdoor border with full sun, where the staggered fruit-set provides a continuous picking window from August through to first frost. In containers or growbags on a sunny patio, where one or two plants can produce enough for a household's summer needs. As a sauce, passata, or roasted-tomato variety where its balanced flavour and breaking-down texture make it more versatile than the cherry or beefsteak alternatives.

Plant alongside

Tomatoes are one of the most companion-friendly crops you can grow. Pair Moneymaker with French Marigold — the roots secrete compounds that suppress soil nematodes and the strong scent confuses whitefly. Plant Calendula nearby to attract hoverflies, whose larvae devour aphids before they reach the tomato plants. And of course basil, the traditional kitchen-garden partner that shares the same warmth and sun requirements and is widely thought to improve tomato flavour. Avoid planting tomatoes near brassicas (cabbage, kale, broccoli) or fennel, both of which compete for nutrients.