Just an edible plant for this month, but one that can be used in hanging baskets and containers to provide a decorative feature. One of our favourite plants at this time of year is the tomato. The picture below taken at Harlow Carr Garden shows a tumbling tomato in a hanging basket.
Tomatoes in a Hanging Basket
By August the months spent sowing seeds, pricking out and potting on seedlings, keeping an anxious eye out for late frosts or a wet July that might trigger serious blight should all be behind us. The fruits should now be swelling and ripening. The taste of tomatoes warm and fresh from the vine is so much better than from even the best of greengrocers or supermarkets that we’ve given up buying tomatoes out of season. Fortunately, roast tomatoes or tomato sauce or a ratatouille all freeze superbly allowing you to eat your own produce all year round.
We recommend growing from seed simply because of the vast range of cultivars that can be grown, with a myriad of colours, sizes and shapes of fruit available. If you have a few too many seedlings simply give them away and allow friends, family and neighbours to share the fun.
A Bowl of Tomatoes in Early August
Tomato plants are often a first venture into food growing. Following a few simple steps should yield success. Most tomatoes are grown as cordons, meaning that the aim is to cultivate a single strong stem. The flower, and therefore fruit, trusses develop straight off this stem.
Fruit Truss coming directly from the Main Stem
In the axils between leaves and the stem, secondary shoots grow; and these should be removed (pinched out) so that the plant’s energies are focused on the central stem and the fruit forming off it. When the side shoots are as small as the one pictured below it is fairly clear that they should be removed. However as they grow they will start to bear flowers and it can be tempting to leave these as it will mean “more tomatoes”. However, the dilution of energy will mean lower quality tomatoes on both the main stem and the side shoot and the restricted air flow around the more congested plant makes disease more likely.
Side Shoot for Pinching Out
Some tomatoes are grown as bushes, often called “tumblers”, they do not need pinching out and can look spectacular in hanging baskets and containers. All tomatoes require regular, although not heavy, watering. If you avoid letting compost dry out, then you will probably be safe from the problems associated with irregular watering, such as Blossom End Rot.
Blossom End Rot
These tomatoes are still usable, simply cut off the affected end.
A weekly feed once the fruit start to swell will help you get a big crop, but if you are growing in open ground then once a month is plenty.