Topic: A good outdoor Bush Tomato for the North Midlands?

[the_snail]

Hello

I have not posted for a long time  ::) so I thought I would break the ice with this one  :)

I am planning ahead for next year whilst it is frozen and snowing. I would like to know please does anyone have a good suggestion for a good bush tomato for growing outdoors as I do not want to stake or support the plant. I just want to plant it water it and eat the tomatos  ;D If it where that simple :P

Thanks all for your help.
The-Snail

[goodlife]

You are really pushing it now ::) ;D I don't know any bush sort of toms that doesn't need at least couple of stakes or canes to keep them upright..unless growing small container type tomatoes. All taller sorts will topple over with a weight of the fruit.

[Ellen K]

Next year I intend to try a variety called "The Amateur" which is supposedly as you describe.  Also Red Alert - both packs of seed I've got are Suttons.  But yes, I don't understand how they will stand under the weight of fruit.

I think tomatoes don't do well unless you tend them. Stake them, feed them, stop them at 4 trusses, even spray them against blight.  Tomatoes by their nature aren't a low maintainance crop.  Or maybe I'm just a crap gardener.  But it will be interesting to see how some of these varieties do (and taste).

[star]

I grow Tumbler, I call it a mini bush type. No staking, stopping, pinching out. You just have to water and feed the hanging basket as you would if they were flowaz.

Not bad croppers.....though it depends how many toms you need. There's only me who likes 'em so one or two plants are plenty for me  :)

[Bugloss2009]

well our favourite tomato is Lime Green Salad, which is a well behaved bush-type. The taste is wonderful. Unfortunately they went down with blight this year, and i haven't any seed (and i got the seed from America....).

But i will get some more, when i get my watsaname in gear closer the time.

[galina]

Red Alert is a smallish outdoor bush type and very tasty and early.  Open pollinated too, so you can save your own seeds.

As others have said already, you still need a couple of stakes to keep branches off the ground or the slugs get half your harvest.  Thompson and Morgan claim that this one does not need any staking, well you can judge for yourself when you see fruit on the ground, should you decide to grow Red Alert.  I stake them with broken bamboos.  The plants are not very big, which means you will not need very long or very strong stakes.  

[galina]

well our favourite tomato is Lime Green Salad, which is a well behaved bush-type. The taste is wonderful. Unfortunately they went down with blight this year, and i haven't any seed (and i got the seed from America....).

But i will get some more, when i get my watsaname in gear closer the time.

The seeds can be bought in the UK too:
http://www.seeds-by-size.co.uk/tomato-green-fruited-varieties.html

[the_snail]

Thanks all for your reply. I knew that it would need a little staking :P I think the consensus is for Red Alert so that is what I will be trying :)

Thanks all for your replies.
The-Snail

[chriscross1966]

I got a lot of fruit this year off San Marzano and a big crop weight off not so many fruit with Heinz 1489 (IIRC).... that said neither are really bush tomatoes and they both need support..... never seen a tomato with a decent crop that didn't to be honest.... there are some specialist dwarfs like Garden Pearl  but although it'spertty early and you can gropw it in a hanging basket etc, it's not massively productive even though smopthered in fruit.... it's just too small.....

chrisc

[star]

I tried Gartenperle this year Chris, I found the fruit very tasty and a lovely pink colour. It is small but very sprawling in a basket.

I would grow it again though  :)

[grawrc]

I grew Koralik cherry bush tomatoes this year and they were amazing. I didn't stake them and they are very blight resistant. Totally labour free actually apart from the chore of picking them!  ;)

[daveyboi]

I grew Koralik cherry bush tomatoes this year and they were amazing. I didn't stake them and they are very blight resistant. Totally labour free actually apart from the chore of picking them!  ;)

Did you find the fruit as a little on the small side grawrc?
They were definitely very prolific and sweet tasting ideal for kids to pick at :)

[valmarg]

If you fancy a beefsteak variety, Legend is good.

Flops a bit but has good tasty tomatoes.

valmarg