THE TIME FOR VINES
Sow tomatoes from seed this weekend for tasty treats in July
OF ALL tender food crops, tomatoes are by far the most popular. The best varieties, eaten when luscious and sun-warmed, make for a delicious experience. not even a top chef could improve on that unique, sweet- sharp, musky flavour.
Their sizes range from monster beefsteak types to tiddly fruits no bigger than cherries. Flavour varies, too, from sugar- sweet and sharp-sweet to subtle and even bland.
There are different growing methods. In a greenhouse, you can train cordon varieties into vines, supported on canes or strings. For outdoors, so-called ‘determinate’ types develop as loose-structured bushes.
You can grow dwarf tomatoes for display with flowering plants.
These are highly decorative and will blend readily with summer petunias or trailing verbenas.
dwarf tomatoes such as Tumbling Tom or Cherry Falls are pretty and tasty. They’re the best choice for patio containers, troughs or hanging baskets and will make a beautiful show.
But yields are usually higher if you grow them on their own in a warm, sunny spot.
If you want to grow tomatoes, this is a good time to start.
seed sown this weekend should crop from July onwards. Alternatively, you can order plugs or young plants from mailorder suppliers, or buy plants later from garden centres.
whatever you choose, remember that they must always be kept warm.
Cold sets them back and frost kills them instantly.
SPOILT FOR CHOICE
WITH 10,000 varieties available, choosing is tricky. The rHs ( rhs.org.uk) lists those with the
Award of Garden Merit. But new varieties appear annually, so AGMs are soon superseded.
personal taste matters hugely. My family enjoys the sweetest types with those musky undertones. I also want high-yield, long-lived plants with vigour.
For huge, fleshy fruits this year, I’ve sown Tomande F1. They’ll be great for stuffing and baking.
Among cherry types, I chose sungold F1. These orange-red fruits retain just enough acidity to offset an intense sweetness.
If you prefer truly red tomatoes, suncherry premium F1 is really sweet and tangy.
Catching my eye at Mr Fothergills ( mr- fothergills.
co. uk) was cordon- growing sunchocola cherry tomato with chestnut-maroon fruits.
paying £3.69 for a packet of five — yes, five — suncherry seeds seems outrageously expensive. But F1 varieties are more uniform than open-pollinated varieties, such as Gardeners’ delight or Ailsa Craig. openpollinated seed — especially from heritage tomatoes — can be variable.
If you find growing from seed fiddly, buy young plants. online suppliers such as Marshalls ( marshallsgarden.com) are taking orders for spring delivery.
PAMPER THEM
SEED sown now in greenhouses can be expensive due to heating costs. For more affordable cropping, make sure to sow between now and the early days of April.
You’ll need a propagator — or a warm windowsill — an unheated greenhouse will not be safe for young, tender plants until April. Even then, a fleece cover is essential for overnight protection for the new stems.