HOW TO GROW THE BEST TOMATOES

Feed. It’s hard to overfeed a tomato. Give them a dose of good organic plant food once a week. Composted hen manure is possibly the best – but as a chook owner I am biased. Spray the bushes with a seaweed-based foliar spray as the weather cools down and they’re not taking up as much tucker from the roots.

Sunlight. Tomatoes love as much sun as you can give them. They thrive on hot patios or against concrete walls.

Water! Tomatoes will crop in droughts when most other veg die, but water well at least once a week. Mulch up to the lowest branches. This will not just help keep the soil moist and add nutrients but new roots will form on the stem under the mulch. Tomato stems put out roots wherever they are covered in mulch, and more roots means a more vigorous tomato.