You could say that my sister is keen on tomatoes – though ‘obsessed with’ is closer to the fact. They’ve had perfect growing conditions this month. Jack’s beanstalk gives the idea. I suggest pinching out some axial shoots and discouraging growth above the garden wall. “Hands off’, she tells me. ‘Don’t touch them’.
An Italian visitor turns up. ‘Your tomatoes are out of control’ he says and pinches out precisely what I was banned from pinching. A prophet is not without honour…..



