Appearances are deceiving in Mike’s case. You get to his glasshouses by walking through some kind of scrap yard, to be greeted by what appears to be a jungle. Wild fennel springs up around the walls, mature grape vines sprawl across the metal frame and fig trees dominate the sightline. Weeds grow freely in the soil, tomato vines tower above your head.
Look closer and you’ll see that everything is carefully placed, selected and nurtured. The gaps in the glass let in bees and other wildlife to promote cross-pollination and ecosystem biodiversity. Through the winter, his hens roam free in the glasshouse, providing natural fertilisation and pest control. The additional compost comes from his small-scale mushroom cultivation, so it is rich in organic matter and allows him to grow tomatoes organically without having to use any other fertiliser. If the soil seems dry, it’s because Mike only waters just enough, putting his plants under the stress that produces exceptional flavour.
Varieties are chosen for flavour, from the Trombetta Courgettes he first grew from a Ligurian seed, to the fifteen varieties of tomato he knows by profile, not name. Each year, Mike selects the seeds from the plants that have performed best, to continually improve the variety throughout the years. Nothing is selected for appearance, but the flavour of his crops is equal or better to much of the produce that comes from the Mediterranean.
The difference is that his land is just a short ride from the Central Line, meaning that Mike is able to deliver his delicate, fully mature produce not only in person, but within six hours of being picked.
TROMBETTA COURGETTES WITH FLOWERS
JULY - SEPT
Grown from a Ligurian seed, these develop slowly, concentrating flavour and ensuring the low water content in the dense, seedless flesh. Mike picks them a tender, baby size with the fragile flower still attached.
PANDORA CUCUMBERS
JULY - SEPT
With a thick skin and few seeds, Mike’s minimal watering is the key to dense, concentrated flavour of these cucumbers. Delivered to us within six hours of being harvested, the delicate yellow flowers on each fruit show just how fresh these really are.
GREEN TOMATOES
JULY - SEPT
Most growers only harvest Green Tomatoes at the end of the season, when cooling conditions prevent them from ripening fully. Mike’s are good from the get go, grown from his own saved seeds. The stress of these conditions causes the plants to concentrate sugars in dense, crisp flesh. We have these right through the season, alongside his fully ripe tomatoes.
HERITAGE TOMATOES
JULY - SEPT
Each year, Mike selects the seeds from the plants that have performed to his exacting standards of flavour and quality, continually improving each variety: Black Russian, Pineapple and Red Pear to name just a few of the dozen he grows. His standards of what has performed best are based on flavour and not on cosmetic appearance, and for this reason his tomatoes are scarred and imperfect.
