Tomato

Looking after it

Water: Tomatoes need a lot of water and they need it evenly. Uneven watering splits the fruit and causes blossom end rot. In hot weather a pot can need water every day. Feeding: Tomatoes need a lot of feeding. Once the first fruits swell, give a liquid tomato feed, high in potassium, every 10 to 14 days. Rich ground needs less, but a feed every two weeks still gives a bigger crop.

Harvest and keeping

Pick each tomato with its stalk once it is fully coloured. At the end of the season, ripen green ones somewhere warm and dark, or in a drawer with a banana. Ripe tomatoes keep a few days at room temperature, out of the sun. The fridge spoils their taste.

What can go wrong

• Blight. In warm, wet weather, brown patches spread fast over leaves and fruit. Remove affected leaves and fruit as soon as you see them. Grow tomatoes away from potatoes, because both catch it.
• Blossom end rot. A dark, sunken patch forms at the bottom of the fruit, caused by uneven watering. Water regularly and never let a pot dry out.
• Split fruit. Ripening fruit cracks when heavy rain or a big watering follows a dry spell. Keep the soil evenly moist and eat split fruit soon.