Emma Townshend: 'I've been burgled again - and this time it's my tomatoes that have gone'

Our gardening correspondent had three of her four tomato plants pinched

It's not too late to start tomatoes again, though plants will take at least a month longer to fruit (Corbis)

The thievery has begun again. I stepped out to walk to school on Tuesday, and by the time I came back 15 minutes later, three of my four tomato plants (which had been acclimatising themselves to outdoor life in the gentle shelter of the doorstep) had been pinched. Nicked, I tell you. In broad daylight.

Though I'd like to blame some fellas in hi-vis with wheelie bins of jewels, I could actually see the villain I wanted to speak to at the end of the road, doddering off at about 2mph: a 90-year-old with thick wax in his ears, whose main daytime occupation these days is wandering into people's gardens and pilfering.

My anger was made even more wrathful by the fact that I didn't even grow the little plants myself: they were a gift. I'd given my friend Linda a whole lot of seeds; she gave me back plants. Not just home-grown, but each a different heritage variety. The final insult: the choosy thief decided to whip away the rare ones and leave me the boring but reliable stalwart "Moneymaker".

Now I've nothing against "Moneymaker", especially if they are left to ripen on the vine for full redness, but I was looking forward to a salad comprising rather more flavours. My eye was on the heritage tomato fennel salad I'd spotted in Jenny Linford's The Tomato Basket (£14.99, Ryland Peters & Small), a new cookbook devoted to planning ever-more delicious ways to serve up your harvest. (Also, harissa sardines with tomato salad. Also her kachumber, the Indian salad. Also panzanella. Mouth now slightly too full of saliva to speak.)

It's not too late to start tomatoes again, though plants will take at least a month longer to fruit. So shoulders down and rather glum, I turn to Craig LeHoullier's Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time (£14.99, Storey), which seems suitably grandiose for my plan for my tomatoes to rise from the ashes like a Games of Thrones dragon.

LeHoullier's book is full of good advice and seductive photos (who doesn't want to grow a fat red tomato called "Mortgage Lifter", an "Arkansas Traveller" or a "Mexico Midget"?). But it's definitely for committed enthusiasts who've already thrown their lot in with Big Tom.

For beginners, though, there are a few things to bear in mind. First, skip the seed stage and head to your local garden centre, buying healthy small plants rather than taller ones. Get them in growbags as soon as possible – they are better off developing their root system in the bigger environment.

Second, plan your growing. Your growbags need to go somewhere deeply sunny (so if you only have shade for most of the day, it's almost not worth bothering). One sunny window sill could do it, as long as you are massively attentive to feeding and watering. Those growing in smaller pots should opt for a variety such as "Sungold", which are petite, rather than big juicy plums like San Marzano.

Feeding-wise, buy specialist tomato food, which is chemically balanced (even while being organic) to target fruit-making rather than leaves. Tomatoes are spectacularly hungry, and I remember Sarah Wain, head gardener at West Dean in Sussex, telling me that they find it better to use 5ml or so of food in every daily watering rather than doing a big feed once a week.

Now, finally, the dreaded blight. Many first-time growers are put off every year when their tomatoes get blight, at which point it's all over. Best tip: avoid wetting the leaves. It infects via damp leaves, so water straight to the roots. Otherwise, the only Jenny Linford recipe you may be making is her consolatory green-tomato chutney.

Four to grow: Tomato varieties

'Marmande'

The most upmarketly glam of tomatoes, with a rustic French air, its fruit deeply furrowed and curvy. 3 plants for £5.45, marshalls-seeds.co.uk

'Sungold'

The small golden tomato with the best flavour off the vine I've ever tried. 3 superplug plants for £7.99, suttons.co.uk

'Moneymaker'

Grafted plants mean roots that get vigorous more quickly, giving earlier, bigger crops. 3 superplug plants for £7.99, suttons.co.uk

Artisan Tiger Stripes

Come in three different colours – green, pink and blush – for a perfect-looking salad. 3 plants for £5.95, marshalls-seeds.co.uk