One slice or two?
This is a cheap and easy gardening activity to try for yourself and for fun with other family members. Truthfully it does work – so for very little effort (or money) have a go!
Every year we grow new varieties of tomatoes and have only ever once had a ‘problem’ with one type; a beautiful black tomato ‘Indigo Rose’, a cordon variety which generally means a little bit of work to remove the side shoots off the plant to support it as it grows.
The pictures on the seed packet showed small, shiny, black fruits which looked gorgeous and we thought they would definitely be the ‘Cinderella’ of the salad plate!
Seeds were set, seedlings grown and the plants formed and, around late April, they were planted in the ground in the greenhouse.
Quickly, the plants developed, flowers bloomed, fruits formed and over the following weeks the tiny green tomatoes were clearly visible on the sturdy stalks.
The fruits gradually turned to a fabulous, deep black colour (true to the picture on the packet) and then the problems started.
The first fruit was picked and it was vile! It was hard to the touch and tasted so bitter. And therein hangs the problem – how do you know when black coloured tomatoes are ripe?
Of course we can squeeze them, but that’s quite a job on a daily basis. That was the first and only time we grew black ones and never again!
In contrast what about that lip-smacking, juicy, dribbly yumminess of a tomato that you want to eat all summer? Here’s your chance to grow the replicas. Follow these simple steps for success:
• Search your recycling for a small plastic container – preferably that has holes in its bottom for drainage. If not, a takeaway type of box will do
• If the container hasn’t got holes, carefully make a few
• Now choose the tomato you want to grow. Remember to write down what type it is
• Fill the container with compost
• Slice the tomato and place on top of the compost. (There’s no need to water it as there is enough liquid in the slices for growth)
• Cover the tomato slices with a light dusting of compost and pop in your label
• Put another plastic box (with no holes in it) over the top of the container to form a ‘mini greenhouse’. If you haven’t got another box, place some plastic wrap over the top of the container or a clear plastic bag
• Place the whole box on a warm, light windowsill. In around 14 days the tomato slices will show signs of growth. When this happens, remove the lid (or plastic)
• Keep the container on the windowsill, watering occasionally until the seedlings are around two inches high. Carefully, using a metal teaspoon, spoon out each clump of seedlings and separate from each other
Each tomato plant now can be set in its own plant pot until each is about 4 inches high and is ready for its final growing space.
If you’ve not already done it – do it!
Maybe this counts as us forcing you to force your rhubarb, but it truly is worth doing it to your plant as it will repay you with an abundance of early tender, florescent-pink stems of sweeter stalks.
In fairness, we didn’t mean ‘forcing’ it as in threatening it by wagging your finger towards the growing crowns in the soil but, instead, simply encouraging it to grow.
Cover the growing crown (visible root) with a tall pot, bin, terracotta forcer specifically for the job, or basically anything big enough to hide the root from any light which is high enough to allow room for the vigorous stems to grow underneath. Be assured, it grows at speed in the dark!
Mention ‘rhubarb’ and immediately we have an inclination to hum; ‘Doodley-dah, Doodley-dah, Doodley-dum-de-dah’.
Recognise it? Obviously, it’s the signature tune to the 1970s children’s animated cartoon, the infamous Roobarb and Custard!
For those who have no idea what that was, it was a series of funny little teatime films about a green dog called Roobarb and his pink-coloured neighbour, a cat called Custard.
That’s it – no, nothing special, but now we’re all humming the tune. Some readers will recall other ‘rhubarb stories’ which usually involve grandparents who grew rhubarb in their gardens.
How many of us fondly recall, as youngsters, sitting on the higgledy-piggledy concrete slabs grasping a cup of sugar (like treasure,) dipping the long, green, sour sticks into the cup crunching and gnawing along each, dribbling as we did so. The unforgettable taste of the sourness of the freshly pulled rhubarb sticks!
Most hated it but others, like us, basically, loved… the sugar!
Rhubarb! It’s so versatile in the kitchen and particularly beautiful bottled in gin for Easter…
Mothering Sunday
Is there anything better than the sight and scent of fresh, spring flowers?
We set varieties of bulbs including narcissus, daffodils and hyacinths back in autumn and, as ever, they’ve not let us down.
As a Mothering Sunday gift, they are hard to beat – home grown terracotta pots filled with blooms lovingly assembled with every handful of compost and bulbs which should, (with care) return to flowering for years to come.
Good value as well as for the environment – though if your mum has asked for a handbag, best not disappoint her and maybe save these until Easter!
A popular vegetable to eat, but one of the trickiest to grow successfully on the plot.
An effective way to combat pests scoffing the seeds before they get established is to grow the seeds in a piece of guttering and placing in the ceiling area of the greenhouse out of reach.
• Lay two inches of compost in the drilled guttering and wet it
• Set three rows of peas seeds in the gutter – about an inch apart
• Cover them with compost and ‘pat’ down to firm
As they reach around three inches in height, plant outside as one established row.
We’ve learned that all members of the ‘allium family’ (such as onions, garlic, leeks etc) grow best on our frequently water-logged site by being initially nurtured and protected over winter months.
Instead of planting the shallot sets straight into the prepared sandy soil, we fill recycled cell trays with compost and plant the shallot sets into them to establish a root system.
The trays stay in our greenhouses until green shoots form and the weather improves. Then each is planted into the ground to grow until late summer.
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