Gardening

What would your desert island food be? For me I’d have to have two, the potato and the tomato. Two very different foods but surprisingly both have a great deal in common. The main thing is that they are actually from the same plant genus, Solanum. If you examine the flowers it becomes quite obvious that they are related also a potato fruit that forms after the flower is very tomato like although not fit for consumption as they are poisonous. Both are native to South America, arrived in Europe in the 16th century.

To grow tomatoes really successfully, (now, I mean crop successfully, because they will grow quite happily outside) in Ireland you need to grow them under the cover of a polytunnel or greenhouse. If you are going to attempt tomato growing outside you must locate them in the sunniest most sheltered spot you have available.

Don’t be tempted to plant outside too early, there is nothing to be gained in doing so infact quite the opposite can be true. Mid May at the very earliest.

Growing in a container or grow bag is advisable for outdoor growing, assuming you will grow tomatoes there every year, as you won’t have to worry about the crop rotating that would be advisable every three years otherwise. Crop rotation gives the soil a rest from the same crop and its nutrient demands and also help discourage soil borne diseases.

Choose a suitable outdoor variety. The choice of tomato varieties is head spinning, I know a man that grows over a hundred different varieties every year, something of an obsession