Tomatoes are top of the plots!

TOMATOES, lettuces and potatoes are the top three food cropsthat will take pride of place in Britain’s gardens and allotments this year as a third of the population grows their own.

Nearly half of those who claim they'll be growing fruit and veg in 2010 will be carefully tending tomatoes with 23 per cent opting for lettuces and potatoes. Strawberries remain one of the top favourites and are the only fruit in the top 10 list of fruit and veg which superstore chain B&Q says we'll be growing this spring and summer in a bid to shave £200 a year off the average grocery bill.

Their research shows carrots in fifth place with one in five growers opting for them, and herbs - basil, chives and parsley - taking the next three places. Beans are in ninth place and onions are at number 10.

But a leading seed company claims gardeners prefer traditional root crops to trendier veg such as summer squash, Oriental greens and chilli peppers. While fashionable veg have gained popularity thanks to television chefs, parsnips, the Sunday roast lunch favourite, tops DT Brown's best selling veg list. In fact, traditional root veg occupy six places in its list of best sellers with parsnip ‘Gladiator' at number one.

Two other parsnips, ‘Countess' and ‘Javelin', along with carrots ‘Autumn King' and ‘Early Nantes' and beetroot ‘Boltardy' also feature in the table which is based on sales in the past 18 months.

"There's no doubt British gardeners still love growing and eating their root crops, but we are seeing they now prefer improved hybrid versions of old favourites," said D T Brown's general manager, Tim Jeffries.

"Our modern, canker-resistant hybrid parsnips are equally popular with kitchen gardeners and exhibitors and it's interesting to note that beetroot ‘Wodan' and carrot ‘Flyaway' are rivalling ‘Boltardy' and ‘Early Nantes' respectively."

‘Wodan' is less woody and ‘Flyaway' resists carrot fly. Seasoned growers are latching on to the convenience of using seed tapes - pre-sown, ready-spaced strips - and the popularity of root veg is reflected in the firm's new range.

The best seller is the Winter Stews Collection with presown tapes of parsnip, carrot, swede and celeriac. Even turnips and swedes, are popular with D T Brown's gardeners. Newcomers to their range include turnip ‘Armand', hardier than most other varieties, and swede ‘Ruby', hardy and has good resistance to powdery mildew.

You can buy a money-saving Root Vegetable Collection comprising parsnip ‘Gladiator', beetroot ‘Wodan', carrot ‘Flyaway', swede ‘Ruby', carrot ‘Autumn King' and turnip ‘Armand' for £5.94, saving £2.15 on catalogue prices, plus free p&p.

To order tel: 0845 3710532 quoting reference 61657. The offer is also available online at www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk.

To find out more, read our feature in the latest issue of Garden News, on sale NOW!