Thompson & Morgan have named the fully blight resistant Tomato ‘Mountain Magic F1’ as its Vegetable of the Year for 2016.

Blight is a rising problem for UK growers, especially for plants raised outdoors, due to increasingly wet and humid summer weather – conditions the fungal disease thrives under. T & M say ‘Mountain Magic F1’ has been developed with outdoor growers in mind, which is good news for the many gardeners without greenhouses who have been forced to give up growing tomatoes because of blight

Mountain Magic F1 is a cordon-trained variety ideal for sunny veg patches and borders, as well as grow bags and patio containers. Combining the rich flavour of heritage varieties with modern F1 hybrid disease resistance, it’s a tasty tom with a going for it Not only does it have good resistance to early blight, it carries the late blight-busting Ph-2 and Ph-3 genes, giving it protection against all current British strains including Pink6 and Blue13, the most virulent to hit UK crops. It also has in-built genetic resistance to both verticillium and fusarium wilt as well as skin cracking.

The variety joins last year's introduction, ‘Romello F1’, a compact, the world’s first late blight resistant baby plum variety. Fruits weigh 16-18g and grow towards the outside of the plant for easy picking. ‘Romello F1’, makes the ideal cherry tomato for salads or picking straight from the vine, alternatively treat it as a mini plum for the perfect pasta sauce.

‘Romello F1’  and ‘Mountain Magic F1’ retail at £3.99 for six seeds and five seeds respectively.

Both blight resistant varieties are ideal for an April sowing under cover, for planting outside in early June.

Thompson & Morgan vegetable product manager Colin Randel says ‘Mountain Magic F1’ certainly deserves its title of Vegetable of the Year.

Next year has been nominated by seedsmen as The Year of the Tomato.