Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) originated in South America and are in the same family, Solanaceae, as potato, chilli and eggplant. Originally, in the wilds of Peru, tomatoes formed clusters of small green fruit. The Aztecs called it ‘xitomatl’ and writings from that period mention it was eaten with peppers, corn and salt in what was likely to be the first salsa recipe! Over the last thousand years of human cultivation the tomato’s popularity with gardeners has resulted in intensive breeding that has given rise to thousands of delicious varieties. Wherever it was introduced, locally bred types emerged. During the 20^th century more than 4,000 different varieties were recorded, though sadly many have since been lost.

We are very fond of tomatoes and this year are planting a full range of old, proven and new varieties. We started planting out seedlings a few weeks ago along this bamboo trellis we constructed. we will stagger planting of our tomato seedlings and also plant a few varieties from seed. this is to ensure we have a long tomato season and we will not be without tomatoes from december to may! This sounds dubious, but if you stagger your tomato planting every 3-4 weeks you will get a continuous supply. Of course some tomatoes take longer to grow than others and it is always good to have a selection of cherry tomatoes on hand as well.

For home-grown tomato tragics like Linda early spring doesn't signal a time to ramp up the gym membership and line up a fake tan. Rather she is busy germinating heirloom tomatoes seeds. Whether you are joining her in growing from seed, or skipping that step with seedlings from the nursery, here are her top tips for growing a great feed of tomatoes this summer.

In the photo you can see the tomatoes growing up the trellis, woven in and out of the bamboo supports and in the mean time we have put some baskets up, planted with Tommy Toe cherry toms, basil and chives... its a bit of a bruscetta basket and makes a great gift for friends for Christmas.In the photo you can see the tomatoes growing up the trellis, woven in and out of the bamboo supports and in the mean time we have put some baskets up, planted with Tommy Toe cherry toms, basil and chives... its a bit of a bruscetta basket and makes a great gift for friends for Christmas.

I want to inspire you to grow tomatoes, but I'd be fibbing if I told you it was going to be easy. And it doesn't necessarily have to do with the skill of the gardener: weather and climatic variations can cause either huge successes or dismal failures. But it's definitely worth the effort! Here's what I've learned about how to succeed.

Position

Planting position must be sunny, wind-protected and frost-free. Soil must be well-drained and fertile with aged manure and organic matter dug in a few weeks before planting. A handful or two of lime added to the planting bed will help prevent blossom end rot. Tomatoes are herbaceous, frost-tenders plants so wait until threat of frost has well and truly past before planting. Stagger plantings over September, October, November and January to extend the harvesting season. If winter temperatures are cold, consider sowing seeds inside, on the windowsill, then plant them out when they reach about 15cm high.

Best-ever tomato soil

Manure and compost with a dash of lime does make a good tomato-growing medium, but for really amazing results, try this blend. Combine one part finely shredded comfrey leaves, one part eggshell crushed to a powder, and one part powdered milk to 10 parts compost. Stir the mixture well and add it to soil around tomatoes.

Growing guide

Tomatoes are vines that typically reach between one and three metres in height and width. They need to be supported with a trellis. Use 1.6m bamboo stakes in an extended tepee design. Tie horizontal bamboo to the vertical tepee at 20cm intervals with string and train the tomato stems in and out as they grow. Keep the soil moist. Water with seaweed solution fortnightly. Add pelletised manures through the growing stage. Remove any leaves that come in contact with the soil and mulch around each plant to a depth of 15cm. I also use a weekly comfrey tea fertiliser

Pests and Diseases

The warmer your climate the more difficult it is to prevent insect attack. Gardeners in cooler climates will not have the problems of fruit fly and fungus attack, but they pay for the easy life with a much shorter tomato season. Try these tips for minimising pests and disease:

·         Hang yellow sticky traps to lure thrips and aphids away from the fruit, as these insects can spread disease.

·         Mulch the tomato bed to stop splash and the spread of diseases.

*         At The first sign of tomato grub, see photo above, spray with Success or Dipel - this works within hours!

·         Control fruit flies with eco-friendly lures available from your local nursery.

·         Consider covering maturing fruit with paper bags to protect from tomato grubs.

·         Tomato fruit can suffer sunburn so offer shade protection on heatwave days, we put up muslin squares.

·         Remove lower leaves as soon as leaf spot or other diseases appear, so as to reduce the spread.

·         Smokers may spread tomato mosaic virus when they handle tomatoes.

·         Serious tomato growers will plant a crop of mustard greens (Brassica juncea) in the tomato bed during the winter season as a fumigant to prevent fungal problems in the soil.

Best tomatoes

Our favourite include:  Grosse Lisse, Roma, Oxheart, Tommy Toe, Rouge de Marmande, Plum Truss, Apollo, Black Russian and Sweet 100. I like Oxheart for pasta sauces and chutneys; Romas for drying; Tommy Toe for flavour and  Plum Truss was the winner last year for sheer supply and pest resistance. Select varieties to suit your climate; check seed catalogues for details.

Varieties we will grow this year/ supplier / weeks to harvest / kg yield
Beefsteak / Oasis seedling / 10-12 weeks / 7 kg
Tommy Toe/ Oasis seedling / 10-12 weeks / 8kg
Sweetbite/ Oasis seedling / 7-9 weeks / 8kg
Mortgage Lifter (we wish!) / Oasis seedling / 10-12 weeks / 6kg
Grosse Lisse/ Oasis seedling / 8-10 weeks/ 8kg
Black Russian/ Oasis seedling / 8-10 weeks / 8kg

Others we like...

Red Centre/ Oasis seedling / 10-12 weeks
Apollo/ Oasis seedling / 8 weeks
Mighty Red Toms/ Oasis seedling / 8-10 weeks
Italian Tomato 'Costoluto di Marmande' / Oasis seedling / 10-12 weeks
Grape Toms/ Oasis seedling / 8-10 weeks
Low Acid Yellow Toms/ Oasis seedling / 10-12 weeks
Window Box Roma/ Oasis seedling / 12-14 weeks

Tomato tips for this week
As they grow, we pinch of the first few flowers. We also remove the lower leaves as we like a clean stem for 15cm. We feed them wityh Harvest, Plant Health Spray or Seaweed. We have planted a row of salad greens on the shady side of the trellis rows and a row of basil on the sunny side (watch out as basil will grow up to 1m high and needs space to grow, especially if its near tomatoes and benefits from all that fertiliser.