Topic: Best tomato seeds?

[mpdjulie]

Last year I tried growing alicante, gardener's delight and marmande tomatoes.  The plants grew very well, but I got one marmande tomato, 6 gardener's delight and no alicante.  I don't know where I went wrong, as far as I know I didn't.  Can anyone suggest a variety that is a good cropper?  I had the same problem the year before last with the gardener's delight as well.
Your answers are much appreciated. :)

[valmarg]

Did you take the side shoots out?

valmarg

[northener]

If you like small cherrytype Sungold take some beating, Slightly bigger and i like Golden sunrise (yellow)and Tigerella (stripey) I've never had much success with G delight

[davyw1]

Did you take the side shoots out?

valmarg

Thats the first question

What did you grow them in pots or ground.
What did you feed them on.
What compost/growbag

Because all those tomatoes are good croppers. so to get better results this year you realy need to tell us what you did.

[mpdjulie]

It sounds like I may have gone wrong, I didn't know I had to do anything with shoots!  Basically I sowed them in small pots and when they were about 3inches tall with about 4 true leaves I repotted them into larger pots about a foot high and wide, a plant a pot.  I used tomato feed once a week and kept them in my greenhouse.  I staked them when they got about a foot tall.  Thats all I did with them really apart from watering them.  I am a novice at this so please noone get angry with my ignorance to tomato growing!!

[saddad]

Try again, but take out the side shoots regulalry, unless it is a "Bush" or determinate variety... it will say on the packet. After about 6 weeks in compost a weekly feed with tomorite will help. If you don't take out the side shoots the plant will keep producing leaves not flowers. Pinch the top of the plant out when it gets tall enough anything up to 6'- depsnds on your canes. Good Luck this time...  :)

[Mowhay]

mpdjulie, the side shoots grow where a leaf joins the main stem as if the plant was trying to grow another branch, the flowers will benefit from the plant being gently shaken to distribute the pollen or spraying with a very fine mist of water which I do on an evening after the heat of the day has gone ( I wish ?). This link may help

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0600/tomatoes.asp

[flowerofshona2007]

Also try them in deeper pots, you can get some great ones from Asda, they have the bunches of flowers for sale in them and if you ask you can have some, just put some holes in the base :)
Beefsteak do take longer to develope my favorites are, tigerella, Ferline, gardeners delight and cristal.
Sow early and you will get fruit earlier, dont let the plants get leggy they need light once they germinate.
Watch out for whitefly !! i hang the yellow traps up for them, brush past the plants daily.
Good luck and dont give in :)

[Plot69]

I was going to say exactly what Mowhay said. There's very few pollinators in a greenhouse so every time I go into mine I tap the stakes the tomatoes are tied to a few times. This vibrates the plants and helps distribute the pollen.

There was a thread on the INEBG forum a year or two ago where someone had a very similar question. Turns out they were removing the flower trusses instead of the side shoots.

[tonybloke]

Possibly too small a pot has been used, and a lack of nutrient / water holding ability in the available compost.

[Barnowl]

I think a 1ft diameter pot 1 ft high holds around 20 litres?

If so that should be enough for one tomato plant provided you water regularly and feed from six weeks after planting onwards. (Growbags are between 30 and 50 litres and usually support two plants).

[shirlton]

We grow Shirley. They are very reliable and great flavour.

[daileg]

i have noticed by some of these threads people mentioning the need to feed after 6 weeks growth i was under the impresion only feed tomatos once the first truss had set as otherwise it just produces too many leaves and thus strangling the air flow to the plant

[Barnowl]

I should have said "about 6 weeks"   :)

[mpdjulie]

Thanks everybody for your replies.  I now know where I went wrong, not pruning side shoots!!  Looked on youtube for a demo and hopefully this year I shall have toms.  I doubt it was anything to do with the variety just me.
Thanks again!!