Click here to watch the video.
Here’s Tomato Gardening for Dummies, or Tomato Planting 101.
The blurb says: “Are farm stand tomatoes still not fresh enough for you? If so, then you will probably want to grow your own. There are many varieties of tomatoes and the good news is that you do not have to choose just one.”
It sounds promising but all you really get to see is a tousled lady sitting in an ancient armchair in a garden shed (one assumes this is a garden shed as this is a gardening show. It might be her house for all we know.)
And yet some interesting things emerged from the video, such as an insight into what made the early tomato breeders tick. Some of the extraordinary names they called the old classic varieties include Brandy Wine, Burpees, Green Zebra and Zorba — not a single one of which makes you think “tomato.” In fact, they make you think “disease,” as they are highly susceptible to tomato sicknesses.
The number of modern hybrid tomato varieties available is startling. You get plum, cherry, stewing, drying, bottling, salad — and all of them are disease-resistant (bred for resistance) and many of them bear fruit all year round. Get advice from your nursery before buying a selection of plants. And — this is important — when buying the plants you should buy the staking materials you will need. It’s best to have the stakes in place before the vines grow, then train them up the stakes as they grow.
Our Lady of the Shed says you can use things like hockey sticks and fishing rods (?) to stake your tomatoes but you should avoid your garden looking like a junkyard.
