A summer veggie garden is not complete without tomatoes and with careful planning and an early start to sowing, it is possible to have tomatoes all season long.

Tomatoes are either bushy (determinate) or vining (indeterminate. The type of tomatoes affects the amount of space you need, the kind of staking required and whether or not succession planting is necessary.

What’s the difference:

Vine tomatoes (Indeterminate) never stop producing fruit throughout summer as long as they are healthy. But they keep growing (for metres) unless you prune and stake them. They grow best trained on a 2m high trellis. Pinch out the growing tips if plants become too rampant.

Bush tomatoes (determinate) generally grow up to about 1.2m and then stop. For a continuous supply of  bush tomatoes plant a second crop in November. To keep fruit off the ground and open to the sun, stake the main stem and keep on staking the bush as new stems develop.

Tips for an early start

For a longer season, sow seed in trays or 10cm pots from end August or early September. Keep them warm and sheltered from the cold, this gives vine varieties a longer harvesting season and the chance to sow a second crop of bush tomatoes in November and possibly a third in January.

Aid germination by covering the pots or trays with plastic wrap to create a moist microclimate. Once the seeds have germinated, remove the plastic wrap and put the pots or trays in transparent plastic bag, blown up and tied closed, to form a mini greenhouse.

Once the seedlings have their first true leaves, harden them outdoors into a warm, sheltered and sunny area and bring them back in at night. Plant out after the last frost, towards the end of September.

Spoilt for choice

There are hundreds of different types of tomatoes. And there is a tomato (or more) for every taste. Not sure where to start? Here is a guide:

For salads and snacking: Cherry tomatoes are quickest to harvest and prolific producers. Red Cherry Sweetie, Yellow Pear, Rainbow Cherry Mix and Bumble Bee Mix are all vining varieties. Window Box Red is a dwarf bush variety. True to their name cherry tomatoes are extra sweet and juicy. Add whole or halved to salads. Are also delicious when roasted.

All-purpose tomatoes for salads, sandwiches, and cooking: the oblong Roma type tomatoes are no fuss cutting tomatoes with a firm flesh and less seeds. Plants are vigorous and disease resistant.

‘San Marzano’ is an Italian heirloom plum tomato that is considered by many chefs to be the best of its kind in the world. The bright red fruit has an intense flavour and the skin peels off easily. It is a bush tomato growing up to 1.2m and produces fruit within 60 to 70 days. Roma VF is the traditional jam tomato with firm sweet fruit that has a long shelf life.  It is traditionally used to make tomato paste (for pizza) and for canning. It is also a bush tomato that benefits from staking.

Best for roasting, stuffing, saucing and slicing: You can’t go wrong with the oxheart and beefsteak heirloom tomatoes as well as the smaller fruit of Moneymaker (vine) and Heinz 1370 (bush).

The traditional favourite is Oxheart, a heritage variety from the 1920’s. It has enormous fruit (280 – 340 g) that is heart-shaped and pinkish red. The flesh is very meaty with a mild sweet flavour and moderate acidity which is appreciated by people with sensitive digestion or acid reflux.

It is a vine tomato that needs trellising and support for the heavy fruit. It takes 80 days to its first harvest which makes this an ideal tomato to start early by sowing seeds indoors four to eight weeks before the last frost date.

For sundried tomatoes the go to variety is the Italian heirloom Principe Borghese that is best when sundried. It has meaty fruit and a low water content, which dries more evenly and quickly.

In dry areas branches of the fruit are hung up until the fruit is leathery. The dried tomatoes are stored in olive oil until needed. Plants grow up to 1.2m and should be staked.  The first fruit is ready for harvesting within 80 to 100 days. Other tomatoes that dry well are San Marzano and Roma tomatoes that also have a thicker flesh.

Another way to dry tomatoes is to remove the stem and core, slice fairly thickly, season and put on a raised tray or grid, cut side up, in a hot, sunny and dry place. Turn daily and cover with cheesecloth or a light mesh to protect from insects and birds. Drying takes four to10days and the tomatoes should feel leathery but still pliable. The sundried tomatoes can be frozen, stored in olive oil or in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Growing tips

• Full sun (or plenty of morning sun) and fertile soil enriched with compost and that drains well. In heavier soil mound up the soil and grow the tomatoes on the ridge.
• Regular and consistent watering around the base of the plant. Avoid wetting the leaves to prevent fungus disease.
• As it gets warmer watch out for aphids, whitefly, red spider and American bollworm. Spray when you see an infestation. Pest control options include Ludwig’s Insect Spray Plus, which is an organically certified insect spray. Do not use systemic insecticides.
• Fertilise with a potassium rich fertilise when the fruit starts to form. Fruit that ripens on the bush has the best flavour.

Content by: www.kirchhoffs.co.za and www.rawliving.co.za and www.gropak.co.za

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