I can’t remember when I first grew tomatoes. It was certainly a long time ago. Along with runner beans and beetroot, tomatoes are the most popular homegrown crop. Tomatoes have come a long way in the past few decades although, ironically, the big boost in tomatoes has come from the past with the popularity of Heirloom or Heritage varieties. Even plant breeders have got in on the act and lots of new and F1 tomatoes are based on the colours and flavours of the past.
This is a welcome change from how things were in the 1970 and 80s when most people grew the, then ubiquitous, ‘Money Maker’. It puzzles me that this boring tomato is still popular because it has little to commend it over shop-bought toms. I know that any tomato tastes better when grown at home and picked and eaten perfectly ripe and still warm, but why grow something that is the same as you can buy at Tesco or Asda. ‘Alicante’ and ‘Ailsa Craig’ were popular too and can still be grown today. I sometimes grow one or the other if I want a ‘six to the pound’ red, round tomato, which, I confess, is not that often. The other favourite was ‘Gardeners’s Delight’, which was about the only cherry tom available. Unfortunately, over the years, stocks of this, and other ‘cheap’ tomato seeds have not been well maintained and the results are often disappointing.
I always grow a mix of tomatoes each year, including both old, Heirloom types, which offer diversity and link with the past but are not always reliable and new F1 hybrids. These usually have some advantage, often ripening early, and although the seeds are expensive a packet of six seeds is usually all one needs. Although I adore, and regularly grow heirlooms including ‘Mortgage Lifter’, ‘Black Russian’ and ‘Amish Paste’, the variety I grow every year is the F1 ‘Sungold’. The oddly named ‘Tomatoberry Garden’ (above) is a favourite too and I like the strange, strawberry-shaped fruits.
To keep your tomatoes growing well, keep them fed, ideally at least once a week with diluted tomato fertiliser, and never let them dry out.
There is much debate about what leads to a well-flavoured tomato. I am sure that growing in soil rather than growing bags helps and feeding with a good organic fertiliser too. I am also convinced by those who say that if the plants are a bit stressed and not overfed the fruits taste better. But that is a risky strategy. If plants wilt they can develop ‘blossom-end rot’ – a sunken black base to the fruits. Reduced feeding and watering will also lead to reduced cropping.
Apart from feeding and watering, your plants need support. Continue to remove the sideshoots (from cordon or single-stemmed types). You will find one at where each leaf meets the stem. These are not to be confused with the flower clusters which grow out of the stem on their own and not from the base of the leaves. (above)
Every now and then things go awry and shoots will grow from the ends of the flower trusses or even from the leaves. Don’t panic if this happens – just pinch or cut them out. (above)
Jobs for the week
Border planting
Some perennials are showy in early summer but either leaves gaps in the border or look dowdy by late summer. It is now that we can add some later-flowering perennials to take colour into autumn. Everyone has favourites but among my top ten perennials that should be in every garden, at the very top of the list is Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’. I would go so far as to say that it should be in every garden. It is tough, reliable and flowers for many months. The early flowers are large, subsequent blooms are smaller, and the widely branching stems are strong and plants seldom need support.
Onions
Keep onions free form weeds. This is a critical time in the growth of onions as the bulbs start to swell.
Roses
Deadhead roses as the flowers fade. Cut back the stems to the upper, full sized leaf on the stems. Give the bushes their second dressing of granular fertiliser if rain is forecast.