Traditionally home grown tomatoes are produced from the heirloom varieties rather than hybrid tomatoes. So what is the difference between hybrid tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes.

What are Hybrid Tomatoes?

Hybrid tomatoes come from a mix of tomato plants i.e. they have 2 different types of parent tomato. The reason this is done is usually to try and create a hybrid tomato that has the best features of both the parent tomatoes. On a commercial basis that might be to prolong the shelf life of a tomato so that they can sit in the shops longer before starting to degrade or to perhaps make them a little more robust when handled.

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Tomatoes have to have loose soil rich with nutrients so that they can quickly establish their root system. The way to ensure the soil is rich in nutrients is to dig in well rotted organic matter and there is no better source for this than your own recycled garden and kitchen waste.

If you want to grow tomatoes and you don’t have a compostor then its time you did, and make sure it’s a decent size. You can always get it kick started with a little bit of Compost Plus and you will have some lovely well rotted compost to prepare your soil with in no time at all.

By that I mean when you prepare vegetables in the kitchen, instead of throwing away the peelings and waste leaves, keep them and throw them into a compostor. This is the same for the other half of the equation, garden waste consisting of grass cuttings and any other organic overspill from the garden such as leaves and cuttings which are usually available in abundance. Try to avoid the tough woody cuttings however as they take a long time to break down.

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