You Say Tomato

Salad days may still be a long way off, but the beginning of the year is a good time to think about tomatoes, says Sue Bradley, who’s also busy shredding her Christmas tree

- Sue Bradley

Fabulous flavour and a tongue-smacking tang: there’s no room for tasteless tomatoes in French gardens. This is a nation with a proud tradition of developing cultivars that fulfill its unceasing quest for gastronomic excellence, and undoubtedly the best way to enjoy such tomatoes at the peak of perfection is to grow them at home.

France’s most popular heirloom varieties include ‘Marmande’, a large and ribbed beefsteak with a silky texture, distinctive flavour and few seeds, making it great for slicing. Each fruit weighs in at between 160g and 180g, which makes staking vital to help plants bear their load.

Head of horticulture at Marshalls Seeds, Nikki Hargreaves, says ‘Marmande’ is “a tomato rarely seen in the UK despite it performing so well here”, while the cultivar has impressed The Royal Horticultural Society so much that it’s been given the prestigious Award of Garden Merit.