Real security comes from having a secure base at home — Keir Starmer’s reckless and renegade decision to get Britain deeper into the proxy war against Russia is as dangerous as it is wasteful, writes SALLY SPIERS
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Should tomatoes be on your mind
MAT COWARD offers invaluable advice on which type to grow according to flavour preferences, size of you pocket, timing and plant reliability
YUMMY: (L to R) Beefsteak tomato; blue cheese, basil, tomato and dressing on toast
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IN SURVEYS and studies, tomatoes generally come first on the list of the most popular vegetables for home-growing in the UK, even ahead of potatoes. In a way that’s quite surprising.
Of course, toms needn’t take up much room, and you don’t need an actual garden or allotment in which to grow them, but they aren’t the easiest crop, being prey to numerous diseases and other problems. Besides which, tomato seeds tend to be relatively expensive.
So here’s a selection of some of the toms available in 2025’s seed catalogues to help you choose.
Suttons (tel 0844 7364208, suttons.co.uk) claim that Black Moon blends “sweet rich-red and savoury purple-black” to create “a delightful synergy that produces a completely new and complex third flavour.”
That sounds just a tiny bit over the top, but it is widely reported that Black Moon has been performing exceptionally well in taste trials.
Bronzy is a new cherry tomato from the Organic Gardening Catalogue (tel 0844 6934977; www.organiccatalogue.com) with “an open growth habit,” which perhaps explains its claimed resistance to mildew, and it produces its fruit early in the season.
If you’re looking for something bigger, Buffalosteak (Kings Seeds, tel 01376 570000; www.kingsseeds.com) is a slicing tom, for sandwiches or burgers, with big, juicy, firm fruit.
Typically, says Kings, each tomato will weigh 250-350g, but can reach 500g.
Thompson & Morgan (tel 0844 573 1818; www.thompson-morgan.com) offer Bliss, or at least a tomato of that name, which gives elongated, golden fruits with green stripes.
It’s a heavy yielder, they claim, with a tangy flavour.
Those who prefer a tomato of standard size, shape and deep red colour, thanks all the same, will be reassured by Fandango from DT Brown (tel 03330030869; www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk), said to be blight resistant and vigorous, suitable for growing in a greenhouse or outside.
Speaking of resistance to blight, the worst of the tomato diseases, take a look at Simply Seeds (www.simplyseed.co.uk). Consuelo is described as a large-fruited cherry tomato, with “good” blight resistance, “superb” flavour and “excellent” performance outdoors in a northern European climate.
Big Mama at Dobies (tel 0844 736 4209; www.dobies.co.uk), “dense, meaty and full flavoured,” is what’s sometimes known as a cooking or paste tomato, bred for making ketchups or pasta sauces rather than using in a lunch box or salad.
My favourite seed company, Real Seeds (tel 01239 82110; https://realseeds.co.uk), specialising in varieties suitable for gardeners not commercial growers, says Latah “might just be the earliest tomato ever.”
Comments from satisfied customers report getting their first fruits in late June. Even better, gardeners’ reviews add that it’s “truly one of the best tomatoes I have ever tasted,” and “the taste is wonderful.”
The plants fruit heavily, over a long period, and have “fairly good” blight resistance.
If you can’t decide, you might fancy Marshalls’ Modern Classic Collection (tel 01480 774555; https://marshallsgarden.com), four packets of seed in one, made up of “time-tested favourites,” all suitable for outdoor growing, selected to provide a range of flavours, colours, sizes and disease resistance.
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