Growing tomatoes is an exceptionally rewarding experience, especially if you fulfil all the necessary requirements which aren’t really too much. Being able to go out and harvest basket after basketful of luscious fruit, bursting with juice and vitamins, is a pleasure that never wanes.

We, in Pakistan, are lucky that, with care, tomatoes can be grown all the year round, with the exception of areas in which the temperature regularly plummets below zero in the winter months. Gardeners in Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore, where winter can be decidedly chilly, can still grow tomatoes right through winter providing that they are treated to an unheated greenhouse/poly tunnel or, at the very least, the plants are covered — weighted down sheets of strong, clear plastic are ideal for this purpose — on cold nights and when there is a cold wind/rain during the day.

Contrary to popular myth, tomatoes do not need ultra rich soil to grow in. In fact, if the soil is too rich for their taste, the plants will appear to flourish, producing lots of leafy growth but what look like incredibly healthy and promising plants will produce few, if any, flowers and the fruit for which they have been grown. This is not to say that the plants should be starved of nutrients — far from it — but they need them only in moderation.

Tomatoes are fairly easy to grow and you can produce baskets full of the juicy fruit, if proper care is taken

Perfect tomato-growing soil is sandy loam — a medium type soil with good drainage — though they do well in clay soils too, providing that they do not get waterlogged. Weekly feeds of an organic liquid fertiliser — seaweed-based ones being ideal — or of a home-made ‘compost tea’, brewed in a large container, from a variety of ingredients, such as crushed egg shells, chopped up leafy greens (that would otherwise be put in the compost bin, for example, outer cabbage leaves) and a shovelful of manure, all mixed up in plenty of water, stirred daily and left to brew for at least a week, then further diluted with water for use, are good feeding options.

I brew compost teas in 50-litre open bins, each having a three- to six-inch layer of ingredients and then filled up with water. Once brewed, about half a litre of tea, added to water in a 10-litre capacity watering can, makes a nourishing drink for plants.

Tomatoes are simple to grow from seed, germination time depending on the ambient temperature. Starting off seeds under plastic/glass is recommended for sowing between November and March. Otherwise, growing in the open is fine, except in July and August when partial shade will be beneficial.

Sow individual seeds in specially-designed seed trays divided up into single cells, singly in paper cups or very thinly in trays/pots of well-draining, medium grade with organic compost for optimum results — although seed can also be started off directly in prepared garden ground.

Once they have developed four to six true leaves above the first-to-emerge seedling leaves, the baby plants should be transplanted to their final growing place. One plant per 10- to 14-inch pot is ideal or at approximately two feet apart in the garden itself. Handle seedlings with care as they are brittle and hence easily broken.

Keeping the soil constantly moist is a must for successful tomato growing. Evening watering of the soil around the plants, without getting water on the leaves, is best. The amount and frequent watering depends on how water-retentive the soil is as well as the localised weather conditions at the time. If the soil is allowed to dry out before being watered, the odds are that the plants will suffer water stress; the most common stress result of this kind is clearly visible in the form of ‘blossom end rot’ which appears as a brown patch on the bottom of the tomato, which can spread upwards, totally ruining the fruit.

Some growers like to side-shoot tall growing varieties of tomato plants — this is nipping out shoots that form in leaf axles — to encourage plants to grow tall without the ‘burden’ of bushing out and some claim that side-shooting increases cropping. However, in all the years I have been growing tomatoes, experimenting along the way, it has not made a significant difference.

Keeping tomatoes free of weeds, which encourage and harbour a variety of pests and diseases, is essential and inter-planting them with French marigolds, tagetes or, in spring/summer, basil helps to keep nasty insects away.

There are many different kinds — colours, shapes, sizes — of tomatoes: some being bush varieties that need little support, others tall growing that need to be staked, and yet others that are suitable for trailing down out of hanging baskets and the like.

Red, orange, pink, purple, yellow, black, green, striped, the choice of tomatoes to grow is a purely personal matter but do have a go at growing some.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened.

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 16th, 2018