LUCY CHAMBERLAIN’S FRUIT AND VEG

Supporting cordon tomatoes and using supplements

IHONESTLY don’t know a veg gardener who doesn’t grow tomatoes. There’s something so satisfying about picking ripe, home-grown toms to plop straight into a salad.

Marry them with home-grown basil, some mozzarella and a good glug of olive oil and you’ve created heaven on a plate! Right at the start of the month I was showing you how to plant your tomatoes.

Well, mine are settling in nicely and now need a bit of maintenance to keep them in shape. If you’ve got hanging basket, bush or patio types – rest easy. They don’t need training.

However, I’m growing ‘cordon’ or ‘indeterminate’ varieties where one stem is trained up a cane or some twine. Here’s how to look after them (see right).

It is important to remove any leaves that are shading ripening fruit from sunlight