The Tomato Book

I received my copy of “The Tomato Book” a few weeks ago now, in the midst of my tomato growing frenzy.� Despite only having 4 plants growing in my conservatory, I’ve become a bit of an obsessive and am already planning world tomato domination for next year.

You’ve already seen evidence of my tomato obsession this year through my recipes; “Pappa al Pomodoro“, “How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes“, and “Wild Tomato Salad“.� For the last one, change “Wild” to “Heirloom” – a bit of an example of my lack of experience helpfully pointed out by my friends on Facebook.

So, I’m a beginner in every sense of the word.� I’ve learned about pinching out sideshoots and such-like from the internet but didn’t know what to do when my leaves started going brown around the edges. Luckily, The Tomato Book features easy to follow “What’s wrong with my leaves?” and “What’s wrong with my tomatoes?” fault finding charts.

Helpful Tomato Tips

When I had my first flick through and saw the 60 (or so) page section just describing some of the varieties available out there I was amazed. What a sheltered tomato life I’ve lived. I also had no idea that it was possible to create my own variety through cross-pollination and grafting; a tip best left a couple of years, I think. I’ll never work my way through them all!

Plenty of other tips abound in this great little book; did you know that placing a banana next to green tomatoes encourages them to ripen? Neither did I.

The final section of the book is taken up by preserving tips and recipes; the tomato and marscarpone ice cream sounds particularly mouth watering.

All in all, a great little book which I’ll be coming back to year after year through my tomato growing adventures.