A taste of summer

Easy to grow, rich in variety and tastier than anything in the shops, tomatoes deserve a place in any gardener’s plans

Tomato growing has always been a gardening challenge with great rewards. Picking that first fruit fully ripened on the bush is a highlight of the season and summer salads would not be complete without some homegrown tomatoes.

At this time of year they are available in the supermarkets but you’ll have to look very hard to find a ripe one with some flavour. We did find a small red cherry tomato on the vine to go with our lettuce leaves and spring onions – both fresh from the greenhouse, where they were sown last autumn to make use of the borders over the winter months – but the tasty purchases are few and far between right now.

Early March is soon enough to sow your tomato seeds. I germinate mine at home on a warm windowsill and grow them on for a few weeks before they go in to the cold greenhouse. If there’s a threat of frost or plummeting temperatures I’ll put the electric heater on to keep them protected overnight.

Sow them thinly in seed compost in shallow trays and keep them warm to encourage germination.

They are generally very easy to grow so germination shouldn’t be difficult. Prick them out into individual small pots once they have made strong seed leaves and only handle them by the leaves, not the stems.

As my windowsill space is limited I keep them in small pots for as long as possible but in time they will need a bigger pot and transferred to the greenhouse.

When the first trusses show, they are ready for their permanent position and at this point there are several options to consider.

Do you use large pots, ring culture, grow bags, straw bales (very popular years ago) or border soil?

I have tried all methods and while grow bags certainly make life simple, it is fertile border soil that has given my tomatoes the greatest flavour.

This used to be the traditional method and commercial growers would sterilise the soil every winter with steam injection or chemically with chloropicrin. My border soil has been composted and dug every year, resulting in three years of great crops, but as I have no means of sterilising the soil, my crop suffered from verticillium wilt in 2016.

This year I am taking no chances. The whole border was dug out to 1ft deep and replaced with healthy fertile garden

Tomatoes grow on a single stemmed cordon that needs a strong support especially when full of ripening fruit

Pictures: John Stoa. Clockwise from main image: a beefheart tomato is a handful in itself; a healthy seedling; the ring culture method; rich red tomatoes ripening on the vine and the distinctive yellow pear shape of the Idli variety.