Catherine Mansley, Digital Editor
‘Sun Baby’
‘Sun Baby’ is eye-catching with small, bright-yellow cherry fruits. Strongly flavoured, it’s more acidic than some, but I find the taste refreshing. Grows well outside and as each truss produces lots of fruits, you don’t need too many trusses for a decent harvest. Subscribers: see next month’s issue for free seeds.
‘Losetto’
If you’ve ever had your tomato harvest devastated by blight, you’ll know how disappointing it is. ‘Losetto’ has been bred to shrug off blight, and its semibush shape makes it ideal for growing in a pot on a sunny patio – perfect for those of us without a greenhouse. The cherry fruits taste good, too!
‘Marmande’
I don’t often grow beefsteak tomatoes as they take so long to ripen, but when Raymond Blanc told me this traditional variety was one of his favourites, I had to give it a go. The large fruits have hardly any seeds in them, so you get as much of the flavour-packed flesh as possible. Late but worth the wait.
‘Sun Baby’
‘Losetto’
‘Marmande’
TOP TIP
If you’re growing tomatoes outdoors, don’t be too greedy. Once cordon plants have produced three trusses, cut the top off to encourage the fruit that’s already formed to ripen, rather than allowing more fruit to form than will have time to ripen over an average British summer.
Adam Duxbury, Commissioning Editor
‘Shimmer’
A new variety for me and one that I quickly fell in love with. The rust-red flesh is flecked and swirled with green and the rugbyball shaped fruits are about halfway between a Roma and a cherry. I had masses of fruit to enjoy from my three plants.
‘Costoluto Fiorentino’
A tomato that will be familiar to many and a real favourite in my house for good reason: the firm, ribbed flesh has a meatiness that makes it great for many different dishes. I grow mine to well over two metres and reliably enjoy huge tomatoes from them.
‘Honeycomb’
I’ve grown these twice now and love how attractive they look as the trailing trusses ripen to a golden yellow. The flavour is honey-sweet, too. I grow all my tomatoes outdoors and these gave good yields, but they would likely be much higher if grown in a greenhouse.
TOP TIP
If, like me, you had unripened tomatoes at the end of the season, don’t waste them. Either ripen them in a paper bag with a banana or make green tomato chutney for winter.
‘Shimmer’
‘Costoluto Fiorentino’
‘Honeycomb’
‘Andine Cornue’
‘Golden Sunrise’
‘Sweet ‘n’ Neat’
Emma Crawforth, Horticultural Editor
PHOTOS: ALAMY/MATTHEW TAYLOR/PRACTICAL PICTURES; SARAH CUTTLE; PAUL DEBOIS; NEIL HEPWORTH; JASON INGRAM; ROBINSON SEEDS/
MAMMOTHONION.CO.UK; SUTTONS/JASON VARNEY
‘Andine Cornue’
If I could only grow one tomato, this heritage variety would be it. The pepper-shaped fruits have a meaty texture with a taste that is all tomato.
‘Golden Sunrise’
A new one for me last year, this attractive, golden-yellow salad tomato was by far the most prolific in my greenhouse, fruiting in generous sprays from midsummer all the way into November.
‘Sweet ‘n’ Neat’
A foray into the world of table-top (very small) tomato plants last summer brought me masses of cherry-sized fruits on easy-to-grow, cute plants. Recommended for indoor growing, and I haven’t tried them outdoors just yet.
TOP TIP
I plant most of my tomatoes in a greenhouse bed, which receives a thick and rich mulch in winter. This feeds the plants all summer, cutting the need for fertiliser to almost zero.
‘Tumbling Tom Red’
‘Sweet Aperitif’
Blake Roberts, Premium Content Manager
‘Tumbling Tom Red’
This tomato is the definition of ‘bang for your buck’. I grow mine in hanging baskets and wait excitedly through early summer as they begin to cascade down, before giving generous yields of small, sweet fruits. If I’m totally honest, very few actually make it inside, because they’re just too tasty straight from the vine.
‘Tigerella’
I first started growing ‘Tigerella’ after being tempted by the fruits’ quirky striped appearance – they’re truly beautiful tomatoes. I recommend them if you like something slightly tangier. They crop a few weeks earlier than ‘Moneymaker’ so it can be worth growing a few for earlier fruits.
‘Ildi’
Only got space to grow a few tomato plants? Then make sure ‘Ildi’ is one of them. It produces a mass of yellow, pear-shaped cherry tomatoes and is perfectly happy in a container. I’ve found that the trusses keep well, so you can use them gradually without the fruits going bad.
‘Tigerella’
‘Ildi’
Maskotka
TOP TIP
If you’re a little forgetful, like me, then set up a calendar reminder on your phone or a note in your diary when you need to feed plants. Tomatoes are hungry plants so it can be easy to lose track of your feeding regime in the height of summer.
‘Black Cherry’
Kevin Smith, Editor
‘Sweet Aperitif’
The clue’s in the name, and I was first drawn to this tomato after it performed well in a GW sweetness trial. It’s now my go-to cordon variety, and never disappoints – the sweetness of the cherry fruits is unmatchable. Just delicious when eaten straight from the plant.
Maskotka
I sow and grow loads of this variety, often filling an entire raised bed with plants. It’s a hassle-free bush variety that needs hardly any staking and I simply leave it to its own devices. The fruits are slightly larger than cherry-size and most end up being made into pasta sauce for the freezer.
‘Black Cherry’
I love the novelty of super-dark tomatoes and mostly grow this cordon variety to bring visual interest to my tomato harvests (along with a few yellow and orange ones, too). That’s not to say that it isn’t a good performer – it’s reliable and gives a great crop of delicious fruits. Tasty and good-looking – what’s not to like!
TOP TIP
Keep harvested tomatoes at room temperature, rather than in the fridge – this will guarantee the best-possible flavour. And don’t worry about keeping them fresh – it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to resist eating them like sweets!
Big Daddy
‘Red Cherry’
TOP TIP
On cordon-type plants, remove the first truss of fruits – they’ll end up so heavy that they’ll be on the ground, otherwise. Also remove any leaves that are blocking sunlight – the fruits will need plenty of light and space to ripen well.
Oliver Parsons, Horticultural Sub-editor
Big Daddy
Huge, half-kilo fruits that feed a family – the only downside with these is how long they take to get to that stage, so sow them early and grow under cover if possible. I grew these outdoors last year on a sunny, open allotment site in London, and only a third or so of the fruits ripened on the plant.
‘Red Cherry’
I grew these for the first time last year when they were included in the #GWFreeSeeds lineup. An easy-going, easy-growing cherry tomato that produces zillions of gobstopper-sized fruits and doesn’t mind too much if you take a week off in August.
‘Green Zebra’
I worked with these at a local community food scheme a few years ago and they have so much character on the dinner plate. You wouldn’t want this to be the only tomato you grow this year, but they’re definitely worth finding a space for.
‘Green Zebra’
PHOTOS: ALAMY/A-PLUS IMAGE BANK/HELEN COWLES/MATT LIMB OBE; SARAH CUTTLE; NEIL HEPWORTH; JASON INGRAM
Where to buy
◼ chilternseeds.co.uk; 01491 824675
◼ mammothonion.co.uk; 01524 791210
◼ mr-fothergills.co.uk; 0333 777 3936
◼ pennardplants.com; 01749 860039
◼ thompson-morgan.com; 0844 573 1818