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Enjoyed working my way through this article from Mark Diacono of River Cottage. Yes – do/knew that…or No – don’t/didn’t and that’s useful….
But as we know from last year’s tomato leaf pruning exercise , I don’t know when to leave alone, so I’m not going to just let Mark speak for himself but am going to add in my tomato pipsworth as well.
Always grow 3-4 varieties at least. Completely agree. And if like me you’re tomato compulsive, I’d say up to 5 or 6 for different colours and sizes. Having a bowl full of blacks, stripes, yellows, oranges, creams as well as red is its own reward and that’s before you’ve so even as much as shaken a salt cellar at them.
Good Varieties are essential: Gardeners Delight, San Marzano (plum) and Costoluto Fiorentino (large). GD and CF crop up again and again as favourites. I’d also want to add Sungold.
If growing outdoors (‘chancing it‘ was the exact phrase used – which in the week of fading plants did nothing for my nerves!) then grow varieties which ripen more quickly. Cherry varieties were recommended as was Black Krim. Useful to know, as after growing Carbon and Black Cherry last year I’d associated blacks and purples with long maturity periods.
Sow in Jiffy 7’s. Hear, Hear. I did last year, didn’t this and now wish I had.
Pot on when true leaves come through and plant out when plants hit 20cm tall.
Water soil not plant. Tomato leaves and stems hate getting wet. Exactly – and why I have been carefully avoiding doing just that but do they care about my watering solicitousness!? Plus a tip on using water piping to water down deep. Cut off water bottles will also work .
Feed from flowering. If I was in the black chair, the topic of feeding is where Magnus would intone ..and you passed on… When, what and especially when to first start feeding are still my arm gripper moments.
And then after 19 guidance points a piece of advice I should take to heart – which is that even if you don’t feed, pinch out etc you’ll still get a good crop, not as large but still fine.
Here’s looking at you Lemons !
