Tomatoes

I have always enjoyed growing vegetables. Nothing pleases me more than gathering the harvest of tomatoes, courgettes, beans and the like.

This year I was given some heritage seed to try by a friend who is a member of the Organic Gardeners’ Society, a tomato called 'Purple Calabash' (Lycoperiscon esculentum), and a few beans, which I think were called 'Lazy Housewife'.

Unfortunately the latter were ravaged by the rabbits, which have done so much damage this year – the four beans were about two feet high when the rabbit cut them down to about six inches. I kept them in and eventually they re-sprouted from the base and are now coming into flower. With the protection of fine plastic mesh I hope to be able to sample them and perhaps save some seed.

I kept one 'Purple Calabash' tomato plant which produced odd-looking fruit, like small flattened pumpkins. When cut they were full of juice and lots of very fine pips – not very attractive to eat raw. but with their strong tomato smell suitable for chutney. I am not tempted to try them again.

I much prefer my own variety grown from seed I had saved. I think it is a natural cross between 'Gardener’s Delight' and 'Sungold'. The tomatoes have good flavour, crop heavily and keep for months. My friends will testify that I still have had edible tomatoes in February!

This year I have also been growing Pic-a-tom in large pots. I picked the first ones on the 12th of July and they have continued producing ever since and now have a fresh flush of flowers – they have a sweet flavour but are rather soft in texture. They do quite well in a sheltered sunny spot outdoors, as my grand-daughter proved last year.

My Pic-a-toms are growing in the cold greenhouse with the door ajar most of the time. As they are growing in pots they are fed every few days with home-made fertiliser – liquid run-off from a compost bin and nettles. This mixture is kept in a bin outside so it frequently is diluted

with rain water.

Doreen Moody