Planting a late crop of tomatoes.

We have been picking beautiful Tomatoes so far this Summer, and while the plants are still covered in fruit, they are coming to the end of their fruit producing life. There's no need to worry because there is still plenty of time and warm weather on its way to plant another crop!

Position

Planting position must be sunny and wind-protected. 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.

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...