Tomato 'Ailsa Craig'

Solanum lycopersicum

How to grow Tomato 'Ailsa Craig'

  • Full Sun

  • Medium

Give a high potassium feed weekly after fruit has started setting.

Position in a full sun location and remember to water moderately. Keep in mind when planting that Ailsa Craig is thought of as tender, so remember to wait until your soil is warm and the night time temperature is well above freezing before moving outside. Ailsa Craig needs a loamy soil with a ph of 5.0 to 6.0 (moderately acidic soil to weakly acidic soil).

Growing Ailsa Craig from seed

Start seeds indoors six weeks before last frost date.

Try to aim for a seed spacing of at least 2.60 feet (80.0 cm) and sow at a depth of around 0.78 inches (2.0 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 12°C / 54°F to ensure good germination.

By our calculations, you should look at sowing Ailsa Craig about 42 days before your last frost date.

Transplanting Ailsa Craig

Transplant out when around 15cm (6 inches) high.

Plant to first set of true leaves to promote strong root growth.

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Ailsa Craig is a tender plant.

Harvesting Ailsa Craig

This variety tends to be ready for harvesting by mid summer.

Tomato Ailsa Craig Etymology

According to U.C.DAVIS Plant Sciences, "Ailsa Craig is a variety of tomato that has been an experimental staple of tomato molecular biology and biotechnology. Originally Ailsa Craig, named for a small rocky island off the coast of England, was grown for greenhouse production of tomatoes in Great Britain. Apparently this crop is particularly important for English breakfasts. "

Ailsa Craig folklore & trivia

Developed by Alan Balch in Scotland from a cross of Fillbasket and Sunrise in the early 1900s and introduced in 1912 by Alexander and Brown of Perth, Scotland. It was developed to be a greenhouse tomato in cooler climates. There is also an English strain of Ailsa Craig that appears to be very similar.

Misspellings of Tomato 'Ailsa Craig'

Alisa Craig