Behind the Glass (gouache style)

Tomatoes belong to the nightshade family, alongside potatoes and aubergines, and their wild relatives grow in western South America. They need warmth and a long season to ripen well, which is why greenhouse growing is so popular in Britain's cool, changeable summers. Varieties are either cordon types, grown as a single stem up a cane or string, or bush types that sprawl and need little training. Fruit isn't only red: yellow, orange and near-black varieties are widely grown.

Sow seed indoors in warmth in February or March, prick the seedlings out into small pots, and plant them into the greenhouse border, growbags or large containers from late April or May. On cordons, pinch out the side shoots that form between the main stem and the leaf stalks. Once the first truss has set fruit, feed weekly with a high-potash tomato feed. Water regularly, since uneven watering causes split fruit and blossom end rot, and open vents and doors on hot days.

This picture shows tomatoes and terracotta pots in pale greenhouse light. Nothing in it is dramatic. It's the quiet, filtered brightness that glass gives, with the crop and the pots that make up the working life of a greenhouse. The title, Behind the Glass, points to that shelter, which is the reason tomatoes ripen here at all.