People know that I like growing a tomato plant or two, and this year is no exception. Normally I give them away, but because the situation in Burma is so bad, this year, I've decided to ask for some donations... 

🍅#tomatoes for Burma🍅.

My partner is from Burma; he was born there in the middle of a civil war which started in 1948 and continues to this day. This year the violence has intensified. The Military junta has killed and imprisoned thousands, destroying property, burning down whole villages and even taking away traumatised toddlers in lieu of their parents-in-hiding. There are many problems in the world, but at this moment, our eyes are on Burma.

Over the years I've experimented growing different tomato plants and built up a variety - I've bought a few seeds from specialist suppliers, saved some seeds from some interestingly shaped varieties and swapped some seeds at my allotment. I save the best seeds I can, and jettison those that don't make the flavour grade! They come in recycled pots, in home-made compost and are £2 each (or 3 plants for £5). Any money raised from their sale will go to Mobile Education Partnerships, an organisation that supports education in displaced Burmese communities along the Thai-Burmese border. It provides funding for schools and educational initiatives, including teacher training. It finds placements for teachers in schools, refugee camps and within a mobile teacher programme. 

I also have some sweet and hot peppers, different varieties of courgettes, pumpkins, strawberries and basil. I'll put a separate note about these in the next few days.

Amish Paste - an heirloom variety dating from the 1800s, grown by the Amish in America. This is an oversized plum tomato with few seeds, which makes it perfect for sauces, pastas or purees. 

San Marzano - another heirloom plum, originally from Mount Vesuvius, near Naples, I saved these seeds from a tomato I bought in the South of France. They're long, rather than round, with few seeds and are the tomato of choice for pizza toppings. This is a large, late variety, that will easily grow to two metres with tomatoes appearing in September. Best grown in a greenhouse if you have one.  

                     
Roma VF - a disease resistant smaller round plum originally bred by the US Dept of Agriculture. This compact plant produces many
tomatoes in a sort of downward growth. If you plant them in a large pot, they'll hang nicely over the sides. This is a bush tomato, which should not be pruned, or you will not harvest so many tomatoes.            
Red Cherry - a delicious, prolific, red cherry tomato that grows about a metre tall and keeps on producing late into the season. Perfect for salads. Also a bush tomato, which shouldn't be pruned.     
Yellow mini plum - a sweet, pale yellow, mini plum shaped, salad tomato. It will grow about a metre and a half and produce large numbers of tomatoes each about an inch long.    

                   
Large ribbed - grown from seeds saved in a French farmer's market, these are delicious, huge, ribbed tomatoes are related to a variety known as red pear. They are certainly not-quite tomato shaped! This plant can grow to two metres tall, and produce large numbers.   
Black large - grown with seeds saved from a big, black tomato I found in a farmer's market in France, these are juicy, delicious and very dark.

Serbian Oxheart - This is the best of the lot! It's a huge pale pink ox-heart shaped tomato with a delicious flavour that was bred by a friend's father, and has been passed around our allotment. Just one single slice will cover a whole piece of toast and you'll never want to eat another variety again. The tomatoes are so huge that the plant will need lots of staking just to support them.   

                    
Pointy Bottom - a small to medium sized tomato, excellent for sun (or oven) drying, with a curious pointed bottom. (Originally known as Principe Borghese).

Green Zebra - A striped orange and green variety bred in the US in the 1950s.