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Tomatoes

Annabel-Langbein-recipie-largetom2.jpg

My father Fred grew the best tomatoes. His secret ingredient was potash, derived from the frequent applications of seaweed and wood ash he piled on his vegetable garden. While nitrogen makes things grow lush and leafy, potash promotes flowering and fruiting and in the case of tomatoes gives them a particularly dense, rich flavour. Once you have eaten a ripe, sweet home-grown tomato there’s no going back. My summer garden just wouldn’t be complete without an interesting assortment of tomato plants. I like to experiment each year with different varieties. In recent years I have taken to planting heirloom varieties such as the prolific Box Car Willie, Brandywine Pink with its large fruit with a dense, meaty texture, and the piquant pale green Aunt Ruby’s German Green. Small cherry types are a great choice if you’re planting in pots or tubs, and they seem to require very little attention aside from plenty of water.

Top tips for tomatoes 

  1. Prepare garden by digging in compost and seeds.

  2. Grow tomatoes in a sunny spot out of the wind.

  3. Remember to change the location of your tomato bed each year, to avoid diseases left in the soil from last year.

  4. Plant the tomato plants up to the first true leaves.

  5. Stake when planting – this provides support and avoids damaging the roots later on.

  6. Water the soil (not the leaves) – a good, deep soaking 2-3 times a week is better than more regular light watering.

  7. Pinch out laterals (side branches that grow from where the leaves meet the main stems of the plant) – laterals suck goodness from the plant and limit fruit production.

  8. Three weeks after planting first tomatoes plant another round for continuous summer fruit.

  9. Fertilise to encourage plentiful fruiting.

 

Tomato types

Best for

Variety

Description

Salads 
Sandwiches

Beefsteak

Large, tasty and fleshy

Black Paste Plum tomato, dark skinned and firm
Oxheart Fleshy, flavoursome, with few seeds

Hors d'oeuvres

Salads

(cherry tomatoes)

Ladybug

Very sweet and a short harvest

Sweet 100 Small, prolific and sweet
Tiny Tim Delicious, sweet, long harvest time
Tomaccio Intense raisin flavour and sweet

Relish
Sauces
Pickles
Preserves

Amish Paste

Plum-shaped and sweet

Money Maker

Mid-sized, flavoursome and versatile

Russian Red

Cool-climate, reliable, good flavour

San Marzano

Prolific, bright red, plum tomato

Roasting

Campari

Vine type that ripen all at once

Low acidity

Roma (low acidity)

Oval, great for sauces

 

In the garden

Tomatoes are relatively easy to grow but need full sun and shelter from wind. Well-fed plants are primed to resist pests and diseases better, so start with a free-draining soil into which you have mixed lots of compost. As some diseases are carried in the soil, it’s best to plant tomatoes in a different place each year. Once the first flowers have set, apply more compost. Standard and bush varieties will require staking. Laterals – the shoots that grow off the main stem – can be removed to keep standard varieties open and to ensure the fruit is exposed to sun and air as it ripens. Late ripening tomato vines can be pulled and hung from their roots and dried; the fruit will keep ripening over the coming weeks. 

In the kitchen

Keeping pace with your tomato harvest can be challenging, so look for alternative preparation methods rather than always enjoying them fresh from the vine. Slow-roasted tomatoes have many uses: puree as a sauce for pasta, mix into couscous, use as a base for baked lamb, fish or chicken dishes, serve for breakfast on grilled bread with crispy bacon and a spoonful of pesto, or serve with corn fritters for an easy brunch. Roasted tomatoes also make a wonderful rich sauce which can be frozen and used in colder months to pack a fragrant summer punch.

These are some of my favourite recipes for tomatoes:

Harvest Tomato Sauce

Flash-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Tomato Soup Base

Avocados with Tomatoes & Balsamic Dressing

Cob Salad of Corn, Avocado & Tomato with Basil Oil

Deli Pasta

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Discover how to live a Free Range Life – enjoying the simple pleasures of exploring your creativity, connecting with nature and sharing food and laughter through the seasons.

Content by Annabel Langbein

Published by Annabel Langbein Media

 

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