Aspect: Rich soil and sunny site.
Care: Stake when planting. Cloches and other protection will help establish in cold, windy weather. Feed weekly when in flower. Nip out sideshoots; pots these up to make extra, good, squat plants.
Water: Young plants - regularly to establish. Then 2 to 3 times a week when flowering and fruiting.
Ripening: It takes 6 to 8 weeks from pollination to maturity.
- Do not remove leaves in an effort to ripen fruit.
- Tomatoes do not need light to ripen.
- The optimum temperature for ripening is 21 to 24 C. If temperature exceeds 29 to 32 C, ripening slows significantly or even stops, as fruit exposed to direct sunlight will heat to levels that inhibit pigment synthesis.
- Slowness to ripen is unlikely to be due to soil conditions not indicate need for fertilizer.
- For best flavour, allow to ripen fully on plant.
- Freeze whole: plunge frozen tomatoes in hot water and skins will slip off.
- Make into tomato sauce and freeze.
- Make and freeze ratatouille (1 aubergine, 1 onion, 3/4 lb tomatoes). Do not add garlic at this stage; add when thawing and re-heating as it will taint other frozen items.
