Varieties that are joined at the tip

Tomato, potato and aubergine (egg plant) are members of the same family which means that they can literally be joined together in growth. This is a creative aspect of gardening that involves grafting the growing tip of a young tomato or aubergine plant onto the stem of a potato. The plants involved are grown in pots.

This is an activity that’s been around for a long time, and it does re-emerge occasionally in the form of ready-grafted plants you can buy, but there’s more fun in trying it yourself with favourite varieties. For example, I’ve grown ‘Gardeners’ Delight’ tomato on ‘Foremost’ potato. You pick the tomatoes throughout summer and anticipate a decent potato crop below soil level.

If potatoes are on the homegrown menu, I really can’t imagine cooking them without a sprig of mint in the pan. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is commonly used but there are other species worth trying, apple mint (M. suaveolens) for example. These plants have a well-deserved reputation for becoming invasive so it’s wise to restrict their roots by growing them in a container.

Delicious summer tomatoes are the stars of salads, but they need a good supporting cast. In this garden, it comes in the form of chives, spring onions and assorted varieties of radish and leaf lettuce, some of which are quite spicy.

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) develop purple flowers, pictured, that attract bees and butterflies.

When they fade, I prune everything to ground level and regrowth begins almost immediately. It is easily propagated by dividing up the bulbs in a large clump.

Spring onion, radish and lettuce seed can be sown in shallow drills outdoors eventually – when the cold, wet soil conditions improve. Meanwhile, I’m sowing a few in module trays and the greenhouse border.