Garnet  – British bred, a large cherry with a sweet and tangy flavour. Beautiful bronze-red fruits, that go well with rich cheeses and fish, are produced on long elegant trusses.  They are resistant to cracking and have a long cropping season - will produce right through to later autumn.  Inderminate

Price for 12 seeds

Indeterminate tomatoes continually grow, flower and fruit throughout the season until autumn frosts set in. Garnet have a notably long season with lovely fruits right to the end. 

You can grow these as a cordon… this means keeping a single centre stem tied into a tall cane and removing the side shoots.

You can also fan train them which is particularly good if you are growing against a wall or fence.  This time you can keep 3-5 stems and train them out in a fan shape to spread them out.  Any more side shoots that develop ought to be nipped out to keep the fan tidy.  Fan training is a bit more fiddly but fun, it works well when you are growing plants in individual containers.  If you are using growbags you won’t have room to fan train all of the plants.

Why try to cordon or fan?  The main advantages are to maintain airflow around the plants, to concentrate some of the plant growth into developing their fruits, and it does make it easier to pick your toms without rummaging through the fragrant foliage.  To be honest we have only cordoned in the last few years… and we start with very good intentions but, by the end of the season, we still seem to end up with a tomato forest!

Green Zebra is already considered a classic amongst enthusiasts, with its characteristic dark green and yellowy stripes and simultaneous sweet and tangy taste this is one to try. Indeterminate.                                                       Price for 12 seeds

Some tips to help you choose when to pick your Green Zebra toms

You can grasp the tomato gently, feeling for firmness and a slight “give,” much like when a red tomato is ready to pick.

Look for the Zebra’s light green stripes to turn yellower

Look for bottom of the yellow stripes to begin to show a blush colour

If you prefer a tarter flavour, pick Green Zebras sooner. Leave Zebras on the vine if you want them to be sweeter.  Over time you will work out your favourite flavour moment to pick them at, be careful not to leave them for too long

Koralik is a wonderful variety producing abundant, exceptionally sweet, large cherry tomatoes on plants with spreading branches rather like a small oak tree.  Being BLIGHT TOLERANT it is a good choice for short and wet seasons – something that we are all too familiar with in the UK – and your plants will not perish at the first hint of danger!  Grow Koralic in pots or hanging baskets.  Determinate. (6 seeds)

SOW:   can be sown from January to April, seed depth 5mm (early sowings like 18-21°C in a propagator or put on a windowsill).  Transplant when large enough to handle and pot on.  For outdoor growing harden off and plant after frost danger has passed.

GROW: this variety has spreading branches rather like a small oak tree – they are a good choice for containers or a hanging basket. Koralic is determinate meaning the fruits ripen at about the same time.  Being BLIGHT TOLERANT the plants cope with typical UK summer weather (damp & wet) & will not perish at the first hint of danger!

EAT: rewarding flavour and lots to enjoy

Heinz 1350 – yes, really, this tom was bred by that famous company for making ketchup and sauces and it is still going strong more than 60 years after being introduced.  You too can enjoy these, look forward to high yields of toms, weighing 100-170g each, with skins that slip off easily after plunging into hot water. All of your Heinz 1350 fruits are ready close together ready for you to produce your own reserves. If you prefer they can still be used as a salad tomato.  Determinate

Price for 12 seeds

Did you know that heating tomatoes makes it easier for us humans to absorb the vitamin C and Lycopene they contain.  The perfect excuse to ‘can’ your crop… okay so not really putting them into a can as it is much better to use jars!

You will need to sterilise the jars and lids – follow the instructions with the recipe that you select. Your recipe should also give you the expected storage time

Lizzano F1 produces gorgeous bright red, baby cherry sized fruits in abundance.  The plants grow as small bushes (height and spread up to 50cm), no need to take out side shoots, and they are BLIGHT TOLERANT, perfect for outdoors in the soil, in pots or even a hanging basket.  Semi-determinate,

SOW: seed depth 5mm. We start ours about 6-8 weeks before the last frost is expected sowing in modules (cover or put on a windowsill), can be sown as early as January with warmth.  Transplant when large enough to handle and pot on.  For outdoor growing harden off and plant after frost danger has passed. 6 Seeds.

GROW: when growing in the ground space at 60cm, put a mulch of straw under them to prevent soil splash on the fruits, a stake will also help.  These can also be grown in pots or hanging baskets Lizzano is semi-determinate, reaching 50cm in height & spread to form a bush shape, larger than a determinate and with steady fruiting.  Leave side shoots to grow and fruit.

EAT:  keep picking & get more fruits to munch on!

Smooth, tasty, firm fruits that have been popular since the 1920’s. They have a lovely flavour. The fruits are a larger salad size (not big enought to be thought of as a small beefsteak!). This heirloom variety copes well with damp summers: it is BLIGHT TOLERANT. They are often cited as a parent to modern hybrids because of their excellent qualities: a top-tom choice Determinate

Price for 12 seeds

This variety, Marglobe, being determinate, stops growing when fruit sets on the top bud. All the fruits ripen at about the same time (usually over period of 1- 2 weeks).  This makes it a good choice for turning at least part of your crop into paste or suace which can be kept for use over the winter and into the spring.  In America using fruit like this is ofter called canning even though they are stored in glass jars, a refenece to the industrial process of preserving tomatoes. 

Full of flavour this is very unusual as the fruits grow in different funky shapes: they can be smooth round or ribbed (sometimes called scalloped edged). Recommended by Raymond Blanc for taste, they have also featured on Gardeners World and of course they remain a favourite of ours as well.  Indeterminate. Price for 12 seeds.

A perfect bite size cherry tom with a superb sweet and meaty flavour. Perfect for patio containers – the branching habit allows it to spill over the sides and display the mouth-watering crop to its best advantage. You can grow this with support to form a little bush covered with fruit. Determinate. Price for 12 seeds.

This is a very reliable variety and probably the most famous of all. Look forward to heavy crops of medium sized fruit. Indeterminate. Price for 12 seeds

The history behind the name:  this is considered to be an English heairloom variety, it was first listed for commercial sales in 1913 by F.Stonor of Southampton.  It became a very popluar and lucrative crop for commercial gardeners and remains a favourite for home gardeners to this day.  It copes well with the vagaries of our UK climate!

Ola Polka is the perfect choice for growing in small spaces: compact whilst producing lots of sweet bright yellow fruits (30-60g). The heritage status of Orla Polka is revealed with this sweetness balanced with a touch of nutty flavour – delicious in your salads. This potato leaf type is BLIGHT TOLERANT so you can enjoy your crop.  Determinate

Price for 12 seeds