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-sized tomatoes.I had vowed never to bother with them again, but last spring I was tempted to sow seeds of a brand new variety sent to me to trial, and set for introduction in the 2008 seed catalogues. A new variety would be worth growing, surely?In short... no

that because I go for the dwarf ones - stocky, short varieties - which are perfect in pots. This one is 'Little Dorrit'; its flowers, with golden rays bursting out from a dark centre, are daintier than the giants. Seed catalogues offer varieties with double

' is described as 'mildly hot', but if you want something to blow your head off the seed catalogues compete with one another to offer the hottest. I'm not sure I'd call eating hot jalapeno or habanero a pleasurable experience; sweet and colourful peppers are more

!) Growing so easily from seed makes me wonder why I've never spotted it in any seed catalogues before, but there it is in both the Chiltern Seeds and Thompson & Morgan catalogues - a packet containing 150 seeds costs less than a third of the price I paid

.However, reading through seed catalogues last winter I discovered 'Emir', a brand new variety for 2008 from Mr Fothergill's, which had been bred specifically to be grown in our northern climate. A combination of tolerance to cold conditions and fast-maturing fruits

. Descriptions in seed catalogues often promise two or three cobs per plant, but I rarely get more than one. I wonder whether gardeners in other parts of the country do better?