I thought as a different voice, I’d also find one from the past.
Mr Cuthbert is the author of a series of over twenty Growing Guides, designed to be a ‘handy little reference library‘, ‘written in simple language, devoid of all technicalities‘ for ‘ the ordinary amateur‘ so although penned in Goff’s Oak (Hertfordshire) over fifty years ago, I still feel very much the audience he may have torn himself away from his own garden to write for.
So I thought we’d read it together over the coming months – and see what’s the same, what’s changed and what we can learn that will stand us in good growing stead for next year.
Extract from the book:
Introduction
‘Why’, the reader may ask, ‘should I waste my time growing tomatoes when I can buy all I need in the shops?’
This argument can of course, be applied to most fruit and vegetables – and in each case my answer would be the same. There is no comparison between a crisp lettuce freshly cut in your own garden and the limp, lifeless, slightly shop-worn market article; or between your own strawberries gathered early on a summer’s morning and the much-travelled baskets of fruit, often bruised and robbed of their flavour. And particularly is this true of tomatoes. The home-grown tomato, fresh picked with the warm glow of the sun still upon it, is immeasurably superior to what I may call ‘ market produce’, and even a modest number of plants will prove a most profitable asset in any garden and a welcome standby in the kitchen.
The tomato is believed to have originated in Central America and this one fact will indicate that it is a sun-lover. Whether you grow them in the open or in a greenhouse, this point must constantly be borne in mind. If they are grown under glass, the structure must give full access to the maximum amount of sunlight; if they are grown outside, then choose a sheltered, sunny site. On no account must they be planted in the shade of trees or buildings, nor in an exposed position where they can be affected by cold winds.
Many gardeners are under the wholly erroneous impression that tomatoes are tricky things to grow or that a heated greenhouse is essential for their cultivation. Certainly, they require care and patience if the best results are to be obtained, but this is equally true of most other vegetables and, for that matter flowers too. Nor is it by any means necessary to grow them under glass. The obvious advantage of a greenhouse is that it makes it possible for the tomato-grower to ‘start’ his plants earlier and to maintain them in fruit over a much longer period, but literally millions of plants are successfully grown in the open each year and I often think that the outdoor tomato is superior in flavour and quality to the indoor variety.
My thoughts: Interesting to read his take on shop-bought produce being limp, lifeless, robbed of flavour etc. If that’s the case, which era would you have to return to, before being able to slice into a flavoursome shop-bought tomato ? – or are those days (and its tomatoes) mythical rather than halcyon?
The other surprise: his fervent support for the superiority of the outdoor grown tomato. I thought he might be all for the sense of a greenhouse.
I think Mr. Cuthbert is going to be worthy of a 9d investment and whatever that might be in new money! Cuthbert time continues next Tuesday.
