Gourmet Gardener: Tomato time
August wouldn’t be August without the distinctive fresh smell, sight and taste of homegrown tomatoes.
During this late summer period, tomato plants demand a lot more attention and care in the garden with careful pruning, feeding and watering to ensure maximum yield and minimal disease.
For best results, examine tomato plants every day to nip out any new side shoots and to continue to train the main stems onto individual bamboo canes or lengths of strong, taut garden twine tied vertically from the roof of the glasshouse/polytunnel and twined onto the plant. Once you find a sufficient number of trusses, which are the clusters of fruit, then you can stop the growth of the plant so the energy can go into ripening.
You can do this by cutting off the green growth above the uppermost fruit that has already set. I have found this year our tomato plants have been a little late flowering and subsequently ripening; however, generally tomatoes start to ripen from mid-summer onwards, depending on the variety, weather conditions and fruit size.
Smaller cherry tomatoes ripen more quickly than larger fruits, and greenhouse tomatoes usually start cropping earlier than those grown outdoors, and continue for longer, well into autumn.
Harvesting the ripe fruit is such an enjoyable task, but you can find yourself in a situation where you have surplus tomatoes, even from just a few plants if they are managed properly.
To make the most out of your crop, it is always a nice idea to prepare some tomato relish or sauce. Preserves can be used later in the year or even gifted to a nice neighbour or friend. There’s always a feel-good factor to homemade gifts.
This recipe is for a delicious batch of tomato relish to distribute!
Tomato relish recipe
For this recipe you will need:
• 2kg ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped (you don't need to peel them)
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• 1 cup white wine or malt vinegar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp cold water
Method
Place tomatoes and onions in a container and sprinkle with salt. Leave to stand for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours.
Strain off and place drained tomatoes and onions in a large preserving pan with curry powder, mustard powder, chilli powder and vinegar.
Bring mixture to the boil and boil for about 15 minutes. Stir in sugar until dissolved, then continue to boil gently for another 1 hour 15 minutes.
Mix cornflour to a paste with cold water. Stir into the boiling sauce until very slightly thickened (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat, pour into sterilised jars or bottles and seal with lids.
Tomato Relish will last for months in sealed bottles or jars.
Tomato relish dolloped on warm fresh bread and some cheese makes a perfect picnic addition for enjoying the summer! Happy harvesting!
Timely tips for the garden
• Grow some winter food: August is an excellent time of the year to sow seed of winter salad crops and other leafy vegetables such as lambs lettuce, chard, chicory, rocket, oriental mustards “Red Frills’ and ‘Green Wave’, mibuna, mizuna, tatsoi, pak choi, choy sum and komatsuna.
• You can also sow radishes, kohlrabi, and spring cabbage. But don’t leave it too late as the sooner you sow, the better the opportunity the resulting young plants have of developing strong, healthy root systems before autumn kicks in and falling light levels and lowering temperatures start to radically slow down growth. These winter crops will thrive in the protective environment of a polytunnel or glasshouse
• Make new strawberry plants by cutting and planting the runners that the plans will now be producing. It is a good idea to make new plants as the fruiting ability will be more vigorous from new plants next year. I keep them in a pot in the polytunnel so they are protected over winter.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• Tara Kate Linnane is passionate about sustainability and growing all things edible.
Together with her husband Barry, she has embarked on a journey of designing edible spaces and getting others started on their gardening adventures.
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