[Adamn Greathead]

It’s one of those things when you go out into the garden and pick one of the deep red fruits, packed with juicy goodness, that you realise: you are indulging in one of life’s great sensual pleasures.

It goes without saying that tomatoes are the most versatile and easiest fruit in the kitchen. They have a wealth of benefits: they can be put to use in a number of culinary ways; they deny the fact that rearing fruit is exclusively for the platter and not for their decorative and seducing contribution to the garden and, most of all, they are a doddle to grow- even kids can grow ‘em! However, I stick to a disciplined routine when it comes to growing my tomatoes:

Jan-Feb: Sow seed in trays ½ “ deep in any good multipurpose compost and place in a bright position, in a propagator, with a fairly constant temperature of about 15-20oC.

Feb-Mar: After a much awaited two weeks my tomato seeds have all germinated (That’s if it’s a good year. One year I had a whopping two seeds germinate!). I then leave them another week to develop their first set of true leaves- at this stage they are pricked out into a home made mixture of 2 parts multipurpose compost, 2 parts sieved garden soil, 1 part vermiculite or perlite (the latter providing a cosier environment for the new emerging roots) and I mix in a slow-release feed (the pelleted form) to aid in the growth of new shoots. I raise these transplants in a heated greenhouse at about 10-15oC so that the plants do not stretch- many a time has an innocent grower bumped up the heat only to find out the light levels are too low and their ‘Big boys’ soon become their ‘tumblers’.

Late Mar-May: Depending on whether the plants are destined to a life outdoors, facing a constant struggle against our oh so reliable summer, or a life in the unheated greenhouse, they are prepared for planting out. For outdoor varieties such as ‘Inca’ and ‘Gardener’s delight’ this involves hardening the plants off in a cold frame for a minimum of a week.

PLANTING OUT
When it comes to their big day, the plants are fully prepared with a good soaking before they are planted out in the open ground. To add a load of manure at this crucial stage would have very little effect other than scorching the delicate new roots demonically, which the plants have worked so meticulously over the past month, or two to create. It is far better to plan in advance where you will put the tomatoes and, somewhere between autumn and early spring, incorporate a barrow-load of well-rotted manure. This will not only introduce a wealth of nutrients and trace elements into the soil but will also have the added benefit of enriching the humus content of the soil and its water holding capacity. Seeing as tomatoes develop roots from their stems so readily I follow the basic trend of positioning the young plants so that their lowest set of leaves stand about an 1” proud of their medium. This encourages full fruit production as well as anchoring the plant and increasing the surface area through which valuable water and nutrients will be absorbed. To see your plants healthily through the growing season a daily dose of feed such as ‘Tomatorite’ will more than suffice.

HARVESTING AND COOKING
When the highly celebrated event of picking my much-awaited tomatoes finally arrives I have on rule, which I cling to religiously: “If it’s green leave it longer, red not orange and the flavour’s stronger.” It is all too common that people pick their tomatoes when they are orange, leaving them to ripen in the home and what a shame this is! If a moderately tasting tomato is what you want pop into any good supermarket and they’ll have stacks of ‘em. Whereas if you want to know the best time to pick a tomato is, wait until it is rosy red and eat it straight away and I guarantee you will not be left undecided whether or not to knock tomatoes off your shopping list!

The final and, to me, the most rewarding step is using your home fresh produce in the kitchen. Our tomatoes go into pesto, sauces, soups and, best of all, unwashed, unspoilt into an organically raised plate of salad. The basic sauce, which I make uses10-12 medium, sized fruits, 3 cloves of garlic (dependent on your love of garlic- you either love it or you hate it!), a handful of basil leaves and a dribbling of olive oil. All of which are quite simply ‘plonked’ into a preheated oven 200oC for a duration of 40-45 mins. This, and a helping of pasta, makes the perfect autumnal meal. When light levels are dropping and the high temperatures of summer, that we are so quickly acclimatised to, are slipping away and us not being able to do anything about it, such a meal brings shear luxury.

Maybe now you are thinking that tomato growing is not such a challenging subject after all, believe me, you’d be right. Oh and before I close, scribble those tomatoes of your shopping list and replace them with a packet of tomato seeds for next year!

[Bugs]

You certainly have a passion for tomatoes , when we make salads at home the tomatoes are always the last thing to be picked , as fresh tomatoes always add that extra special zing to the meal , everyone notices the differance .
Mrs Bugs makes a mouth watering chutney with the unripe ones at the end of the season
Bugs

[Red Tomatoes]

Hi

Anyone planning to grow any unusual tomatoes this year?????

Barbara