TOMATOES

In this first issue I name my favourites tomatoes grown over the years, list those in my 2021 trials and explore their wild origins and relatives.

After the year we've just been through and with the limitless paths presented by the new one ahead, I find it funny the thing I should be thinking about most right now is tomatoes. But there you are, that's where I'm at folks, browsing websites and catalogues trying to decide which tomatoes to grow in 2021. 

Solanum lycopersicum, the species that tomatoes are bred from, evolved in the Andes mountains on the north west coast of southern America, and to be more specific, in Peru.

Those brightly coloured shiny berries (for they are technically berries) stand out in our gardens against the usual leafy greens. While that may make them seem somewhat exotic bling, their look should be familiar the world over. Not because of tomatoes themselves but because of their wild relatives all around us. 

Tomatoes were once thought to be poisonous to humans, bel…