Time to enjoy a bumper tomato crop, says ALAN TITCHMARSH

But here in Britain outdoor tomatoes are at the northernmost limit of their growing range and since you can't rely on our weather it pays to take every precaution to guarantee a bumper crop that really ripens instead of just ending up as jars of chutney.

The first essential is choosing the right varieties. It may sound really obvious but avoid greenhouse varieties as these really do need the extra warmth that comes from growing under glass. So check the small print on the label if you're buying tomato plants and make sure it includes the magic word "outdoors".

Also it pays to check the habit of growth. Cordon (aka indeterminate) tomatoes are the sort mostly grown under glass since the upright habit saves space. These varieties have one main stem that needs supporting with a cane or string tied up to an overhead hook. They also need to have their side shoots removed.

When grown outdoors, cordon varieties (which include favourites such as Gardener's Delight, Moneymaker, Ailsa Craig, Alicante and Marmande) are best tied up to a stake and "stopped" by taking the growing tip out a couple of leaves above the fourth truss of flowers. The plant puts its energies into swelling and ripening its crop before the end of the summer.

If you're banking on a rather poor season then play safe with cherry tomatoes since they start to ripen a lot earlier than more traditional-sized tomatoes, while beefsteak varieties take longest of all.

When you want maximum returns for minimum effort the best tomatoes for outdoors are bush and semi-bush varieties as they don't need stopping, staking or de-side-shooting.

The plants still need slight support since without it their weak, floppy stems allow the fruit to touch the ground and rot. But the best way is to let them grow up through large perennial plant "cage" support frames.

For hanging baskets, very bushy, short varieties such as Tumbling Tom or Tumbler are usually the best. They don't need any supporting since they are tailormade to cascade down over the edges of their container.

Whichever you opt for it's worth looking around for young plants now before shops sell out then keep them on a windowsill indoors till it's safe to plant them out.

Repot them into slightly larger pots, water sparingly but use liquid tomato feed once a week to get them in the flowering and fruiting mood. Harden them off by standing them outdoors for a few hours on fine days and bringing them back indoors at night.

Around mid to late May, when the last frost is past and the weather finally begins to pick up, it's safe to plant them out. From then on the fate of your crop is all down to a sheltered, sunny spot, regular feeding and watering and something that's out of your hands: some decent summer weather.

Hedge your bets this summer LONG, hot, dry summers give us a taste for Mediterranean-style gardening. We can grow accustomed to the new regime (little lawn-mowing and weeding, lots of water-saving and sun-loving flowers) and so miserable weather can come as a dreadful culture shock.

What's in store for this year? Who knows? But this might be the time to hedge your bets and go for traditional plants that can stand, within reason, whatever an "iffy" summer throws at them.

For containers you can't really go wrong with pansies (as long as you keep them deadheaded and take precautions against slugs) and fuchsias also fare quite well.

For show, invest in a standard or pyramid-trained plant or start with a rooted cutting and train your own. However avoid plants with big, showy, delicate flowers such as tuberous begonia and large double-flowered petunias, unless you can keep them in a very sheltered situation, ideally in a porch or gazebo.

Don't expect much from sun-lovers such as felicia (kingfisher daisy) and thunbergia (black-eyed Susan) if the weather is awful, as even stalwarts like pelargoniums may not perform.

For borders anything with native wildflowers somewhere in their parentage are likely to prove more robust than fragile rarities so try cultivated foxgloves and old faithfuls such as thalictrum, tellima, phlox and solidago. Cottage garden plants such as hardy cranesbills and prunella are more of nature's survivors, as are old-fashioned annual flowers such as calendula - there's still time to sow some now if you are quick.

If you think wet summers are here to stay then consider planting moisture lovers such as monarda (bergamot), lysimachia, ligularia, rodgersia, rheum and gunnera. Pessimistic? Me? Not at all. I reckon that now we've talked it down it'll be a right belter!

For more information on gardening and other subjects go to Alan Titchmarsh's website: www.alantitchmarsh.com