Life

Tom tom club

It tends to be the reserve of men of a certain age but John Manley believes everybody should try their hand at growing tomatoes

I'M THE only one in our house that actually likes tomatoes. My wife passed on her total aversion to our daughter while my son only eats them if they're well disguised under melted cheese or the like. Yet all of them are more than happy to eat cooked and processed tomatoes - the younger two sharing their generation's addiction to the ubiquitous red sugary substance that's passed off as ketchup.

Despite the majority of the household's disdain for tomatoes, I still insist on growing them. It's like an annual mid-to-late-life ritual that you feel obliged to perform in order to demonstrate that you haven't lost the lust for life and the desire to grow things. Few edible crops inspire as much devotion and dedication as tomatoes.

We growers behave like overzealous parents, striving for perfection, defensive of our methods and sometimes quietly jealous of others' success.

If you've yet to join this special sect but think you might have what it takes then now's the time to take the plunge, as over the coming weeks the world will be awash with young tomato plants looking for a home.

Every year I grow anything from 10-20 tomato plants but I'll let you into a secret - I never raise them from seed, simply because there's always kind-hearted, generous fellow gardeners thrusting tomato plants at me.

And if for some reason this heavily lop-sided bartering process suddenly stops, there's always somebody selling plants at a reasonable price.

The main advantage of exchanging or buying plants is that it enables you to vary the varieties you grow, which with tomatoes spells surprising diversity.

All you need to raise a crop of tomatoes is a sunny, sheltered spot, though plants raised in a greenhouse or conservatory will yield most. Cordon varieties are best suited for indoors but will require some form of support, while the bushier, compacted varieties that don't need support are better for outdoors. Recommended outdoor varieties include 'Hundreds and Thousands' and 'Tumbler' both of which are ideal for hanging baskets. 'Losetto' is a proven performer for a pot and can be rampant under the right conditions, producing scores of cherry-sized fruits. Traditionalists will always gravitate towards popular, tried and tested varieties such as 'Gardeners' Delight', 'Ailsa Craig' and 'Alicante' but popular and reliable doesn't necessarily equal flavoursome. The aforementioned may be proven good croppers, but there are much tastier tomato varieties on the market, such as 'Sioux'.

Proving increasingly popular are the large-fruited, beefsteak tomato varieties.

Perfect for a breakfast fry-up or to slice and add to sandwiches, beefsteak and other large-fruited tomatoes encompass everything from heritage varieties and modern hybrids - in colours other than red.

The plum-coloured 'Black Russian' gets good write-ups elsewhere, while F1 variety 'Big Daddy' promises good appearance and great flavour.

In terms of a growing medium, lazy gardeners opt for a grow bag into which the plants can be directly planted and placed wherever you like.

Personally, I grow mine in the greenhouse, in a bed filled with a mix of seaweed, homemade compost and worm cast from my wormery.

The plants are supported with jute string suspended from above, tied at the plant's base and then wound around the main stem as it grows.

The thing to watch out for with tomatoes is sideshoots, which appear where the leaf stalks join the stem.

These should be cut or pinched out when they are around an inch long.

Water your plants at least twice a week and keep the soil moist. Irregular watering when the plants are fruiting will cause the fruits to split.