Categories: General
      Date: 26 Feb 2012
     Title: Tomato rainbow art . . . 
Heirloom varieties of vegies are often more delicious and more COLOURFUL than varieties bred for commercial transport and store-ability.

That's certainly the case with tomato varieities - and here in Wendy's sitting room we can see the beautiful variety in size, shape, colour that comes from just a modest selection of varieties.

This picture also demonstrates a good practice in tomato culture. That is: pick the fruit when they just start to change colour, and let them fully ripen over a few days in an airy room, but not in direct sunlight. This preserves their flavour.  In contrast to what many people think, they are not usually better tasting if fully ripened on the vine. Do an experiment yourself and see what you find! And remember never NEVER put your home grown tomates in the fridge.

If you want to grow a range of gorgeous toms like this, you'll generally need to start them from seed yourself, or keep an eye out for heirloom variety sales in late September or early October. The botanical gardens often sells a range of weird and wonderful types.

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