Reader's question

Michael, nine, and his sister, who’s six, are new to gardening, and with the help of their mum would like to grow some tomatoes from seed. They would like to know what varieties to try, what conditions they need and any hints and tips that might help them.

I WOULD suggest that you pick one of the standard, easy-to-grow varieties, such as Money-maker, Gardener’s Delight or Shirley, all of which have a decent amount of tomatoes throughout the season. The slightly smaller ones are usually sweeter and tend to bear even more fruit. My all-time favourite is Sungold, which is slightly orange, but which also has that slight tang in the pulp which really tickles the taste buds. If you don’t mind eating yellow tomatoes, have a go at Yellow Pear, which again are small, plentiful and juicy. Black Cherry is another fun one, being deep purple in colour and very sweet in taste.

Sow the seeds into a tray of fine compost and cover with a light dusting on the top. Make sure to label the tray, water and place somewhere warm and sunny. Seedlings should be germinating within ten days and be ready to be pricked out in three weeks.

This means carefully lifting them out of the soil (preferably supporting them under the roots with a pencil or dibber) one by one and re-planting them in their own individual pots. Insert a bamboo cane into the soil next to each plant to tie it as it grows. Alternatively, try any of the tumbling tomatoes, and grow them in a pot or hanging basket, in which case, they will need no staking and can be left to dangle.

They need warmth, light and moisture. Make sure to water them daily. Hopefully, by August, you should be sampling the delights of home grown tomatoes.

Jobs this week

■ Inspect the trees and shrubs in your garden for winter damage from winds, snow and frost. Prune and tidy branches that have snapped off. Heel plants back into the ground that been heaved out of the ground as a result of heavy frosts. Snip off any blackened shoot tips.

■ This is the traditional time of year to get your potatoes in the ground. Pop them six to nine inches in the ground, at least one and a half feet apart and cover with enough soil to form a raised ridge over the row. If you haven’t got the ground to put them in, a large tub, bucket or even old compost bag will do. Fill half way with soil, place the chitted potatoes on top of this layer and then fill up to the three quarter mark with soil. When a good head of leaves appear on the surface, top up the remaining quarter with more compost.

This shields the tubers from direct light and prevents them going green and toxic.

■ If you have been sowing chillies, peppers and aubergines, they will probably need pricking out into either multi-cell trays or individual pots now.

Be sure to handle seedlings by a leaf and not the stem. They have several leaves, but only one stem.