The Gardeners’s Delight cherry tomatoes have a nice sweet taste and you can see in the picture that they are smaller than the other types of tomatoes that I have grown outdoors and in the greenhouse.

Plate of Garden Tomatoes

The third variety which I am currently growing in the greenhouse is called Tigereta. This is a small to medium size tomato with distinctive stripes as you can see in the top right hand corner of the picture.

I have also harvested some Alicante tomatoes grown outdoors which have just ripened. Unfortunately I had a bit of an accident whilst I was away on holiday with my Roma plum tomatoes plants which were pushed by the wind and are not ripening very well as they collapsed on a bundle on the floor. And as I was trying to pull them back up the branches were breaking under the weight of tomatoes.

Anyway, I am currently harvesting tomatoes of all types on a daily basis so the crop level is not bad. I use them in salads and also tomato to accompany any pasta. If you are having a bit of a tomato and courgette glut then I’ve got the perfect recipe for you!

My simple Marmande tomato & courgette bake recipe:

Grease the insides of a large heat proof dish. Then slice a few marmande tomatoes and courgettes into even slices (so that they cook evenly). Place in a baking tray making sure that you alternate slices of tomatoes on top of slices of courgettes.

If you like garlic you can sprinkle some of top as well as some chopped basil or alternatively you may try some herbes de provence (thyme, rosemary, etc…).
Then drizzle the tomato and courgette slices with olive oil and place in the centre of a preheated oven on medium heat for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on your bake and then enjoy!

I have seen other recipes which involve adding grated cheese or breadcrumbs on top, so if you feel adventurous it may be worth a try too. If you don’t have any Marmande tomatoes, I guess Alicante or any other average size tomatoes will do.

Tomatoes that have ripened naturally in your garden taste so delicious. And when you’ve managed to grow-your-own successfully then they deserve a treat and there’s no better way than some home cooking.

My Greenhouse Tomatoes

By now your tomato plants are likely to be of an average height of 9 inches (depending on when you sowed or planted them and where they are growing and care for). The tomatoes grown in my greenhouse are actually taller than the other outdoor specimen which I planted not that long ago and both are bearing flowers. The size of the plant is not a concern since it will all come in good time with the warm summer which we shall hopefully continue to enjoy (although it is cold and raining heavily today!).

So what do I need to do now to make sure that I get a delicious crop of tomatoes? For me just a bit of maintenance is enough as follows :

1. Removing side shoots:

Early on I try to make sure that I remember to remove the side shoots as they appear on cordon tomatoes only. I tend to focus on the shoots that start from the bottom part of the tomato plant stem. I often forget some side shoots but in my personal experience it doesn’t do any harm and I still get a good crop.

2. Staking the plants:

One of the most important task to do as the plant grows quickly and needs supports otherwise the wind may break you tomato plant and you’re left with a weak plant. I simply use bamboo canes and twine to support my plants.

3. Tomato water and feed:

Feeding tomato plants once a week if you remember to do it is great. I prefer to use an organic high-potash fertilizer from the moment my tomato plants start developing flowers. Sometimes I also give them a seaweed fertilizer which is organic and quite a comprehensive feed (although a bit expensive but I don’t over use it).

What about tomato diseases?

I don’t spray my tomatoes against diseases since I prefer to grow organic vegetables and in the past years I have done well without any chemicals. However two years ago when we had the floods I recall that everybody in the UK had to fight the dreaded tomato blight disease. Even Monty Don who had decided that year on the Gardener’s world TV programme to grow most of his tomatoes outdoor had a poor result.
I also like to grow companion plants next to my tomato plants and you can see in the above picture a little marigold next to the plant. This is supposed to deter predators which are likely to damage my plants and in this particular case I believe it is the strong smell of the marigold which confuses the predators. And it also looks good!

Finally, let’s not forgetting the best tasks of all: harvesting! And the more you harvest, the more you get in my personal experience. Also, it prevents the pests such as mice which I have seen in my greenhouse from temptation.

Greenhouse Tomatoes

Right now I have a few pots of various varieties of tomatoes sheltered in my greenhouse. I have started to plant some of them in my greenhouse as you can see in the picture and I will keep the rest for outdoor growing.

The advantage of growing tomatoes in a greenhouse is that they are protected from the bad weather and wind with the additional benefit that they ripen quicker since the heat stays in.

In total this year I sowed 5 different varieties of tomatoes: Gardeners’ delight, Alicante, Marmande (which I have never grown before), Roma plum tomatoes, and a black cherry tomato.

At the far end of the greenhouse I have dug up the soil and built in a special boxed container for growing my tomatoes. I replace the compost every year and at present I am using the organic peat-free compost from New Horizon.

I have just planted 3 tomato plants in the container in my greenhouse of the following varieties:
Marmande : since they are bigger tomatoes I expect that they will take longer to ripen so they are probably best grown in a greenhouse. I have placed the plant in the far end corner of the greenhouse as it is most exposed to the sun.
Tigerella tomato : one of my favourite tomato varieties with medium size yellow striped fruits.
Gardeners delight : an old favourite which is easy to grow.

I may also have another tomato plant in a big pot which I will try to fit in a water tight container so that any drip of water is collected.

Since I have space for a few grow bags in my greenhouse, I am planning to grow a few sweet red peppers and plant a few of the chillies which I have grown from seeds. I may also include some cucumbers and one egg plants since I am not so keen on these vegetables.

Using grow bags in my greenhouse

Grow bags are easy to use. I would recommend planting no more than 3 peppers per bag for example so that they get enough space and nutrients to develop nicely.

Simply place the grow bag on the greenhouse floor next to a window panel. I aim to have 3 equidistant holes in the top of the bag and for that purpose I shall draw 3 crosses in the bag with a knife then dig out some of the compost from the bag with a trowel so that I can insert my tomato plant and top up again with a bit of compost.

I usually try to cut a hole as small as possible to prevent evaporation of water from the bag since it gets really hot in the greenhouse in summer. And I sometimes forget to water my tomatoes!

With so many tomato plants on the go I shall have a good crop to use as roasted, salad or tomato sauce, and also to share with my friends.

Another benefit of growing your own tomatoes is that you get a wide choice of varieties of tomatoes to grow from seeds. The choice is much wider than the tomatoes which you can find in supermarkets and the varieties are also adapted for growing in the UK.

How to get started

At this time of year you have a few options: you can either purchase a plug plant from a garden centre or order your plants online. Make sure that the plant is watered sufficiently and do not plant the tomato outdoors until all risk of frost has finished.

Potting tomato plants

Alternatively you could try growing tomatoes from seeds, which is my preferred option. All you need is a pot or tray of fine compost where you will place a few tomato seeds that need to be covered with a little compost. Place the tray on a sunny window sill and keep the soil moist (you may want to cover the tray with a plastic bag to keep the moisture in until the seeds have germinated). Within 2 weeks you should start to see some seedlings emerging from the compost.

Once the seedlings are big enough to handle i.e. once they have at least an additional pair of leaves to their original leaves (called true leaf) you can transplant them in their own individual pots to grow on in a sunny area. Once all risk of frost has passed and the weather is warmer you will be able to plant your tomatoes outside. If like me you have a greenhouse, you can move the plants earlier in the greenhouse and either grow them in big pots or grow bags. Grow bags are handy because they take little space and can be disposed of easily at the end of the season. I simply put 3 plants per grow bag of either tomatoes or peppers.

My favourite tomato varieties

I recommend Gardeners Delight which is easy to grow and ripens quickly. Also another favourite of mine is Tigeretta – a middle sized tomato with little yellow stripes, which is tasty and proved to be very disease resistant when we had the really wet summer two years ago and blight and rot was killing most plants.

I tend to use the Roma variety to make tomato sauce or for cooking. I have also grown Alicante tomatoes which are bigger than the above mentioned varieties and therefore take longer to ripen in my personal experience. I normally prefer to grow cherry tomatoes because they ripen quicker than big tomato varieties and produce vigourous bushes full of fruits. Additionally for cherry tomatoes I recommend Sun gold and Black Cherry (although some people find that the colour is a bit off- putting).

You can get some varieties which are specifically adapted to baskets so they are worth giving a go too. This year I will also try the Marmande variety (my friend has given me a few plants that he grew from seeds) which usually produces big beefsteak tomatoes.

Caring for your tomatoes

You will need to feed your tomato plants as soon as they have flowers. I recommend using an organic tomato feed which you can find easily online or even in DIY shops. This will ensure that you get a bounty of juicy and tasty tomatoes.

Some tomato plants need to have their side shoots removed for plentiful crops; it’s best to follow the instructions on your packet of seeds. As the plants grow, they will also need staking to alleviate the plant from the weight of the fruits and branches. I personally use bamboo canes and some garden twine. Also, I have always been advised by my peers that you should avoid getting the tomato leaves wet as tomato plants don’t like the damp and can get diseases.

Don’t worry if you get it wrong, you should still get some tomatoes as long as you give them a little care every so often. And harvesting couldn’t be more fun!

My top tip: marigolds are a perfect companion plant to tomatoes, i.e. they repel the pests which are likely to damage your tomato plant. I always grow marigold every year and I plant them along the path which is near the tomatoes so it does not only looks good but it’s beneficial to my vegetables too.