Topic: Best tomatoes

[valentinelow]

I am looking for a good cooking variety of tomato (plum?) suitable for outdoor cultivation. Does anyone have any suggestions? Does San Marzano do well outdoors? I get the impression that it is pretty good for flavour, but I would love to know what sort of experience people have had.

[ajb]

To be like the cooking tomatoes from Europe you need lots of sunshine. I grew it in a greenhouse and it was OK, nothing special for me. I think in general tomatoes are tastier when grown outside though.

[SMP1704]

I've grown San Marzano inside and out and I had better result in the polytunnel, but the outside year was 2008 - wet, miserable and blighted :o so not the best comparison.

I'm trying Roma for the first time this year - I found SM no more than OK on the taste scale.

[small]

Roma do fine for me outside (East Midlands) and it's only the spares that go out so not the strongest plants.

[campanula]

true, all these plum type tomatoes have been hopeless outside. They also get blossom end rot which none of my others ever do. BTW, I grew tomatoes in a greenhouse for the first time last year and I have to say I won't be bothering again. maybe because they were grown in containers and had to be fed and watered but they looked great and tasted of nowt....whereas the outdoor toms are never watered and rarely fed and are always totally yummy.

[amphibian]

I've grown Orange Banana outside with success in the past.

[saddad]

I grew Orange Banana under glass last year and was very impressed.. still cropping in November..  :)

[Jeannine]

 One that is easily obtained is La Roma..not Roma.It is a great tom with 7 times the yeild of Roma. XXJeannine

[Spudbash]

Valentine, I've had success with both San Marzano and Roma VF outdoors in Hampshire, so either might be worth a try in London. Of course, it all depends on the summer weather...  ::)

[chriscross1966]

Neither San Marzarno or Roma are particularly blight tolerant .... I lost all my outdoor plants last year to it.... this year I'm going to be greenhouse/polytunnel only for toms, all my GH ones survived..... I guess cos the foliage doesn't get wet....

chrisc

[cleo]

San Marzano,Roma,Principe Borghese-all good and no problem outdoors where you live.

Blight is another matter

[Ian Pearson]

Hi Valentine
I grew San Marzano outdoors on my plot about 5 years ago. They did pretty well. As many went in to the compost, I now get volunteer tomatoes coming up every Spring, and many are San Marzano. Interestingly, the volunteer plants seem to do far better than those raised in pots then planted out. I think they get a much more vigorous root system which gives them more resistance to disease.
I'm interested in trying grafting on to vigourous rootstock, which is something that commercial growers do to get stronger plants. Maybe next year.
By the way Valentine, we seem to be neighbours.