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RECENT frosts may finally have put an end to its fruitfulness, but a single tomato plant has gifted its green fingered owners with an absolutely bumper crop this summer.
It’s a good job that Angela and John Francis like tomatoes because they have had dozens and dozens of them this year.
A single specimen was given to them by The Link, as part of a project called Link To Nature.
The Wokingham based charity was working in conjunction with Wokingham In Bloom and Wokingham Horticultural Association, to enhance the local environment and develop people’s relationship with nature on their doorsteps.
The Link provides older people in the borough with a regular visiting buddy for friendship and chats.
As part of Link To Nature, the charity arranged for Link Friends to visit open gardens, invited speakers to talk about growing and gardening, and gave its members sunflowers, pollinators, and tomato plants to nurture.
The Link project was recognised at this year’s Thames and Chilterns in Bloom awards, when the charity was delighted to receive a National Certificate of Distinction.
Plants were delivered to older people as seeds or as small plants started off by volunteers.
“Ours was in a small pot, and stood about eight inches high,” said Angela.
“Now it’s a meter wide, and just as high.
“It’s a complete circle of tomatoes and hangs all around the side of a big pot.
“We think it’s probably a Tumbling Tom variety.”
Said to be suitable for a hanging basket, the monster plant would most likely have pulled any ordinary basket off the wall.
“We didn’t start counting the fruit to begin with,” continued Angela, “but later in the year, when Clare Randell from The Link gave us some bulbs to plant, I mentioned to her that we had cropped rather a lot of tomatoes from our plant.
“That’s when I totted up how many we had picked each week over the summer, and realised we must have had over a thousand.
“I picked some on Monday, and we’re still eating them.”
Angela says that she and John did nothing unusual to develop such a productive plant.
“We’ve grown tomatoes before, but never had success like this,” she said.
“It’s been kept in a large ceramic pot, in a sheltered spot outside the back door, beside the wall.
“I’ve fed it weekly, and given it a drink every day, but nothing more than that.”
Angela, who cares for husband John, says that The Link has been very valuable.
“The buddy they provided for John has been excellent,” she said.
“He comes and spends an hour with John on Wednesday afternoons, and John really looks forward to his visits.
“We really appreciate him, and he makes such a difference.
“It’s a marvellous scheme, and I know the charity is looking for more volunteers.”
How do the couple like to eat their tomatoes?
“Finely sliced, with olive oil and chives,” said Angela.
“And in sandwiches.
“We’re not at all sick of them.
“They’ve kept us going through the summer.”
For information about The Link Visiting Scheme, visit: www.linkvisiting.org
