Tomatoes, the most popular vegetable for the home garden, are divided into three main types. Small compact plants with stems only 12 to 18 inches long, called determinate, stop bearing once they reach their full size.

The kaki species is especially tasty. These persimmons are heart-, plum- or tomato-shaped. 2 to 4 inches in diameter and golden red, yellow or orange in color; the flesh may be yellow or brown. The trees grow 20 to 30 feet tall with an equal spread; they are especially beautiful in autumn when their leaves turn brilliant shades of yellow and red. Good varieties are Chocolate; Eureka; Fuyu, also called Gaki or Fuyugaki; Hachiya; Tamopan; and Tane-Nashi. Japanese persimmon trees are usually self-pollinating and can be planted alone.

The common persimmon grows wild in much of the southern and eastern half of the United States and will grow in Zones 5-10. Trees grow 30 to 60 feet tall with a spread of 20 to 30 feet. This species bears 1- to 2-inch yellow, orange or purplish fruit in the fall. Good varieties are Early Golden, Garrettson and Killen. Plant trees of at least two varieties to ensure that the trees bear fruit.

Gooseberries are seldom eaten fresh but are prized for jam and pie. However, like currants, they spread white-pine blister rust, and their cultivation is prohibited where white pine trees grow. Ask your agricultural agent if gooseberries can be legally grown where you live.

To prepare the ground, scatter a 1-foot-wide band of 5-10-5 fertilizer at a rate of 1 1/2 pounds to every 25 feet of row; dig the fertilizer in thoroughly, and set the plants 2 to 3 feet apart in rows 4 feet apart. For later crops, sow seeds directly outdoors when night temperatures can be depended upon to stay above 60.

The genus is closely related to Cattleya, and the plants are sometimes difficult to tell apart. From the early days of hybridizing, laelias were crossed with cattleyas to such an extent that there are more laeliocattleyas than interspecific hybrids. Laelias are evergreen epiphytic plants, their size varying from 15cm (6in) to 1 in (3ft) tall. A number of the smaller growing species have pets. brightly coloured flowers held on upright sprays above the foliage for plants, such as Laelia cinnabarina, produce slender pseudobulbs with single, semi-rigid leaf. The larger nests such as L. crispa, resemble cattleyat while others, which include L. ar3ceste are more distinct with squarish pseudobulbs and a shiny single leaf Their flowers are carried on tall, slender flower spikes, at the end of which the large, 10cm (4in) blooms are held in a loose cluster.

Orchids will dry out quicker in their lofty position hanging in the greenhouse. Again it should be stressed that humidity and moisture are all-important if your plants are to reach their full potential, and every part of them is to be allowed to develop fully.

In addition to producing a normal root system, when these roots have become fully or partially formed further roots then emerge along their length at right angles to them, they then turn upward and after a short time cease to grow leaving a sharp pointed tip to the end of the root which becomes very hard.

The first essential in any greenhouse where orchids are to be `grown is some form of artificial heating. If you arc growing only cool-house varieties, heating will be necessary for approximately six months of the year. Intermediate or hot-house orchids will require heating all the year round to maintain the higher temperatures at night. Whatever form of heating is decided upon, it should be more than capable of holding the required temperature without working continuously at full capacity. Also, an additional form of heating should be kept at the ready in case of emergencies when one system may fail.

O. sphacelatum is an epiphytic species which grows well on bark in cultivation, when extra feed can be given during the growing season to enable the plant to produce large pseudobulbs. ‘The aerial roots will live for several years, often until their pscudobulb becomes leafless.

This Dendrobium pierardii provides an example of an epiphytic species producing a crown of aerial roots. These fan out from the base of the new growths in all directions, growing at an extremely fast rate. These very straight roots will continue to extend throughout the summer, often ending tip as long as the canes.

Their own weight will soon cause them to assume a pendent habit, when they become entangled with the canes, often adhering to and growing along their length. These are annual roots, which serve the plant for one season only. They cease growing as the long caned pseudobulbs reach maturity, to die naturally at the same time as the leaves are shed and the plant prepares for its dormant period.

In their natural environment both are epiphytic species; Cymbidium roots would be lightly covered by debris in the axils of branches, whereas the roots of the Maxillaria would be hanging free below the branch eventually to form a thick mat of truly aerial roots.

One of the features of the old Eclipse Fish was the balance between the three main nutrients nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, and the fact that the potash was released for plant uptake steadily over a long period. Was that the explanation why there was seldom any mildew to be seen in the nursery? Certainly, very few of the outside parks used fish manure. It may all be very circumstantial, but there is no doubt that it makes sense. I use the modern product extensively, and I don’t struggle with mildew, nor do my roses hang their heads.

Decomposition of the organic content begins slowly, and as the decomposition bacteria proliferate, nutrient availability increases gradually and reaches a peak about 80 days after being put into the soil. After this there is a gradual tailing off. This is a long sustained feeding action, and it indicates the best way to use this manure.

The manure is concentrated and, as with any other, it is quite capable of causing scorch. The best policy, therefore, is ‘little and often’. During the second half of March, sprinkle the dry powdery material either generally at about 1 ounce (28g) per square yard (square metre), or a level dessertspoonful - no more - around each rose at 8-12 inches (20- 30cm) distance from the stem, and scratch-hoc into the soil or mulch surface.

The dendrobiums comprise an enormous genus and their growth is extremely varied to suit all environments. A somewhat unusual species is D. cunninghami, which is adapted to the temperate conditions of New Zealand.

Aeridovanda Mundyii shows the complete adaption of an epiphyte. It can exist with nothing around the roots. It is monopodial and has little reserves of water. The continued existence of the plant is completely reliant upon the foliage, terete leaves which have become completely rounded, thinner than a pencil, their surface reduced to the minimum to prevent overheating and dehydration.

No part of the plant is soft, the roots arc thin and wiry, the leaves hard, almost rough to the touch. Thus the plant is able to stand a severe climate, at the same time capable of extracting what little moisture there is available through its foliage.

The thin, diminutive pseudobulbs carry little food reserves and would not sustain the plant through any lengthy period of drought, although in extreme seasons the soft leaves would quickly be shed to help the plant.

Plums need soil with a pH of 6.0 to 8.0. Buy standard trees 3 to 6 feet tall, and dwarf trees 3 to 4 feet tall. Japanese and Japanese-American hybrids begin to bear two to four years after planting; European and damson plums begin to bear three to five years after planting. In Zones 4 and 5, plant plum trees in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked; they should be planted during the fall or winter.

Cattleyas form part of a huge alliance comprising many other related orchids, the best known of the natural genera being Laelia, Brassavola, Sophronitis and Encyclia. These, and others, have been widely interbred for nearly 200 years to produce the colossal range of variously sized flowers that is available. The species in the alliance originate from Central and South America, and in the genus Cattleya there are about 50 species. Most of these are rare in the wild and are found in cultivation in specialist collections, where they have been raised in nurseries from selected clones. Hybrids can be counted in their thousands, and range from miniature plants containing species of the diminutive Sophronitis, mostly with brightly coloured flowers in orange, yellow and red, to the large, frilled excesses of the Brassavola crosses. The most well known of these man-made hybrids are Sophrolaeliocattleya, Brassolaehocattleya and Laeliocattleya.

Although American grapes can similarly be grown on arbors, they are best trained by the four-cane Kniffen system. In this system the vine is pruned to four canes, each of which is tied to a wire. The four-cane Kniffen system can also be used to train some of the European grape varieties, such as Black Monukka, Blackrose, Emperor, Olivette Blanche, Red Malaga, Thompson Seedless and White Malaga. Usually, however, European grapes are better when grown on a single wire strung between posts about 3 to 3 1/2 feet from the ground.

To follow this system, each year cut away all but four canes. Tie two to the wire and cut them back to 6 to 10 buds each; cut the other two back to two buds each. The tied canes will produce the current year’s fruit, and the two-bud canes will produce canes for the following year’s fruit.

There are various grades of polythene sheeting for fixing to the glazing bars with drawings pins or a stapler. For an aluminium house there are specially-designed clips. A totally sealed greenhouse will give the grower a fresh crop of problems. Condensation will build up on the polythene and reduce the light drastically in the winter when every bit of light is of benefit.

This encourages their long aerial roots which in the wild hang down from their host trees where they grow as epiphytes. The air in these jungles contains many nutrients in the form of gases given off by decomposing vegetation.

These days of high fuel costs the most expensive item required in determining an orchid collection in the northern hemisphere is the Ming. Prevention of heat loss is the aim of every grower, and insulation of the greenhouse will make a great saving on fuel.

The heater is the most important single piece of equipment in the orchid house. The choice of equipment is wide, from the old- fashioned coal or coke fired boilers with hot water pipes, which can be fired by gas, either bottled or mains, or oil from a reservoir tank to the most modern, clean and efficient electric heaters.

The main benefit of a hot water system is that if anything goes wrong, and the fire goes out, you are left with a large reserve of hot water which will keep hot for many hours giving time to rectify the fault.

However, the best system can break down and an electricity failure will render even the most excellent of fan heaters useless. It is therefore essential to have more than one type of heating system, and the duplicate should always be different to the main appliance. A paraffin heater which works independently will make a good standby system to be used on a cold night should the mains fail.