Yes, every Labour weekend I get excited because it’s tomato planting time. For most of us the danger of frost has passed, soil and air temperatures are warmer and there are more sunshine hours. Tomatoes like it hot, and it’s a sure sign summer is on the way!

MY TOP TOMATO TIPS

• My number one tip – bury your plants deep, at least up to the first set of leaves. Remove any leaves and stems that might get buried.  Tomatoes will form roots right along the stem and more roots means more tomatoes! But don’t do this to grafted toms.
• Stake your tomatoes really well, and use big stakes – as in 2 metres out of the ground. Get stonky wooden ones, use a wire frame or your fence. Have some bamboo stakes handy for extra support.  If you can’t be bothered there are plenty of dwarf/bush tomatoes that don’t need staking.
• Use soft ties, and tie the stem to the stakes in a figure 8 so they don’t rub.
• Pinch off any leaves touching the soil, and pinch out the laterals.
• Make sure you plant your tomatoes in a sunny well-drained spot with at least 6 hours of sun a day.
• Tomatoes are happy in big pots – in fact they tend to ripen sooner as the soil is warmer. And you can put them in the perfect spot without a lot of digging!
• Give them a good deep watering several times a week to encourage deep rooting. Try to keep water off the foliage.
• Feed regularly – I like the Jobes tomato food spikes because they’re easy!
• Put a spoonful of milk powder under each plant to help keep fungal disease at bay.
• I haven’t tried this  – but If you want your tomatoes to grow big and strong you could try weeing on them. It’s been fully researched - Urine is full of nitrogen and potassium ( just don’t let the neighbours see).

TOMATO NAMES TO SNIGGER AT…

• The superhero tomatoes...Marvel Stripe, Goliath, Superson , Black Krim. The Fairy Tale tomatoes… Scoresby dwarf, Mexico Midget, Grape Jolly Elf, Snow White, Sugar Plum, Tigerella.   And then there’s Banana Legs, Mr. Stripey, Charlie Scotts Wartime Italian, Matts Wild Cherry, Burpee Delicious, Kellogs Breakfast, Broad Ripple Yellow Current, Bloody Butcher and Cream Sausage.  Heh.