Episode 660: Embracing Tomato Fortnight & Sowing French Beans in Early Summer

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Early summer has truly arrived, and with it comes one of my favourite celebrations in the gardening calendar—Tomato Fortnight. As I shared in this week’s Veg Grower Podcast, the allotment and kitchen garden are bursting with activity, from staking tomatoes to sowing French beans, harvesting peas, and even spotting new life on my citrus tree.

Tomato Fortnight: Why I Grow So Many Varieties

Down on the allotment, the heat has been intense, but the tomatoes are thriving. I grow around eight different varieties, each chosen for a specific purpose—beefsteaks for sandwiches, salad tomatoes for everyday use, cherries for hanging baskets, and plum tomatoes for passata. As I said in the episode: “There are so many different varieties, hundreds and hundreds of varieties… that is why I grow so many different varieties of tomatoes.”

Between home and the allotment, that adds up to around 30 plants—and honestly, I could still grow more.

Greenhouse vs. Outdoor Tomatoes

Greenhouse tomatoes crop earlier but lack the depth of flavour of outdoor-grown fruit. Outdoors, I rely on blight‑resistant varieties like Crimson Crush and Crimson Blush to help avoid devastation from late‑season blight. “Any tomatoes growing outside, unless they are blight resistant, are susceptible… it can literally rot your crop within a week.”

Watering & Feeding

Consistent watering is key to avoiding split fruit and blossom end rot. I mulch heavily with straw to lock in moisture and feed weekly with seaweed until flowering, then switch to tomato feed.

Sweetcorn, Squash & Straw Bale Growing

The allotment beds are now fully planted. Sweetcorn has gone in as a block, not rows, to ensure good wind pollination. Squash and courgettes are thriving in the straw bales, settling in nicely after the recent cold snap.

Interestingly, my maincrop potatoes have overtaken the first earlies due to that cold spell: “The cold snap… just set those first earlies back a little bit.”

Catching Rainwater in a Dry Year

Back home, I’ve been racing to put out buckets and containers ahead of the forecast rain. “It has been a very dry year so far… I want to catch as much rainwater as I can.”

With 16 water butts running low, every drop counts.

Seed of the Month: French Beans

June’s seed of the month is one of my absolute favourites—French climbing beans. They’re fast, productive, and perfect for filling gaps as spring crops finish.

Sowing is simple:

• Sow direct 2 cm deep or
• Start in modules for quick germination (7–14 days)

Beans aren’t hungry plants, but they do need something to climb. I use hazel-stick frames, drilling holes with a soil auger to get the sticks firmly into the ground. “They simply curl their way up around the stick… I find it fascinating.”

I also grow Borlotto for both fresh pods and dried beans—beautiful, versatile, and easy to store.

Kitchen Harvests & Courgette Fritters

Harvests are rolling in: lettuce, radish, spring onions, peas, strawberries, raspberries, and the first courgettes of the year.

To celebrate the courgette glut, this week’s recipe is Early Summer Courgette & Mint Fritters with Lemon Yoghurt—crisp, fresh, and perfect for lunch. “These fritters are crisp on the outside, soft in the middle… lifted beautifully by fresh mint.”

Bee Update: A Calm, Growing Colony

My weekly apiary visit brought brilliant news: “The bees have incredibly settled in… we’re now up to eight frames of bees.”

Even better—I finally spotted the queen. Supers will be going on soon, meaning honey isn’t far away.

Book of the Month: Home Brewing by Kevin Forbes

May’s unexpected Book of the Month was Home Brewing by Kevin Forbes. With elderflowers in full swing, I used it to make cordial and even started elderflower wine. “This book made it sound very, very easy.”

For June, I’ll be diving into The Victorian Kitchen Garden by Jennifer Davies.

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