With this incredibly hot weather the garden is certainly under strain. There is one plant that if tended carefully, however, will enjoy the heat and that is the tomato. 

Ideally, tomatoes like things warm – there’s no point even thinking about them before the beginning of spring as they hate frosts. Even then, the ideal time is early November. 

Tomatoes like warm, well drained spots with full sun and no wind where possible.

About a week before planting, start building up the soil – which also needs to be well drained – by adding compost and if you have sheep: sheep pellets. Add some sand if you need to lighten or dry up the soil a wee bit. Alternatively plant them in a container on your veranda or at the kitchen door if the weather there suits: they’ll be right there when you need them that way.

You could also try planting them with basil – an ideal companion herb both for eating and growing. Planting rosemary alongside or in a neighbouring pot is sometimes successful in keeping aphids away as well.

Keep a close eye on your tomatoes for fungal diseases and bugs.  Your local garden centre will have a selection of treatements – both organic and conventional to help you deal to the problems. Copper sprays will control fungus, and should you have a whitefly problem, try Neem Oil.

Avoid planting your tomatoes in the same patch every year – look at a rotational planting programme to keep the soil of your vege patch healthy. Tomatoes hate being overcrowded so make sure the air is able to circulate well around each plant. Water your plants once or twice a day when it’s really hot – avoiding the leaves where possible.

Tomatoes are greedy and need to be fed fortnightly with a liquid food. While again you can find plenty of options at your plant centre – don’t forget your local school. Most schools these days have a worm farm programme running and sell worm water – warm poo if you will – at a very low cost.  You can help your garden and your school at the same time.  And if the local school DOESN’T run one – why don’t you help them get one started?

Once your plants are fruiting – keep a close eye on their colour. Most people harvest as soon as they see the first blush of red. They then keep them on sill to let them ripen slowly.  I prefer to leave mine to ripen in the sun on the vine – but this is usually only a day or two once that first colour has appeared.