Topic: Tomato growing competition for 2012..biggest fruit, just for fun

[goodlife]

Blimey Squash..if that is not winning flower, I don't know what it..looking promising.. ;)
Are sure its not sunflower?.. ;)

And about Jeannine's last advise...I've got a feeling that somebody is telling me some porkies  :-\..I happen to know that fairies don't like whipped cream...and as for the prune puree and green jelly..OH YUM..that sounds lovely.. ;D

[Jeannine]

Squash whatever you do, don't remove that flower, it is a megabloom, the fruit may look a bit oddly shaped but it is the megabloom flowers that often produce the biggest fruit... it may be the only one like it on the plant so don't move ot.

Now why am I tyelling you this ;D

Goodlife, I did  not tell a porkie, they don't count when you are eating chocolate icecream with you feet in a tub of bubbly water..

Sunloving I love all the pots but the first one was a winner and my feet are perectly dry now.. cross my heart,  I loved it.

I had a porcelain teacher many many years ago who told me  never to fire a kiln without an experimental piece in it, she had a collection of some of the oddest things . She mixed glaze with all kinds of things. I fired several pots one year with volcanic ash from Mount St Helens eruption mixed into the glaze.

I used to teach a lot of lace draping.. using a greenware figurine, we would soak 100% cotton fine lace in porcelain slip and then ruffle or fold the wet lace onto the figurine creating a ball gown as we went. When the piece was fired  the cotton threads burned away leaving behind a  beautiful lace made of porcelain. Like cobweb almost. Like Dresden was made except much much finer. I still have boxes of cotton lace , I must do this again..

 I am sitting in my study as we speak and looking on the top of a display cabinet where I have several pieces I need to finish, I really must motivate myself. You are getting me there.

XX Jeannine

[sunloving]

OOh ive got a couple of those megablooms mostly on the black russians though which dont grow that big must give them a tickle later as there's no buzzing in the rain today.

Come on the sun !

Jeannine the lace sounds amazing what an interesting idea. My class is only 8 weeks long and so its very difficult to experiment. You should plan some autumn/winter projects to make the winter fly and perhaps create a whole range of xmas presents and fill up that cabinet with newly fired things.

x sunloving

[galina]

OOh ive got a couple of those megablooms mostly on the black russians though which dont grow that big must give them a tickle later as there's no buzzing in the rain today.

Come on the sun !

Jeannine the lace sounds amazing what an interesting idea. My class is only 8 weeks long and so its very difficult to experiment. You should plan some autumn/winter projects to make the winter fly and perhaps create a whole range of xmas presents and fill up that cabinet with newly fired things.

x sunloving

The only reason for removing megablooms would be seed saving.  They are notorious for cross pollination.  And yes, they do make the largest tomatoes and it is important not to save seeds from them.  But for competition tomatoes, there is a good chance of a winner.  Has anybody seen these on other than beefsteak tomatoes?  I have never seen one on a cherry or plum variety here.  Good growing all  :)

[Jeannine]

Galina I have had a good few from the Dwarf Project tomatoes, I guess it is their heritage.

I remember a discussiion a few years ago on here when folks were talking about big odd flowers and evryone was saying to remove them then.

 I never did, but of course didn't save seeds from the fruit  due ti the risk.
XX

[Jeannine]

Ok you lovely lot..be afraid, be very afraid.

I have just been in the greenhouse on the plot. I haven't been in there for 3 weeks  as have not been too good so John was watering.

I went in today and wow.

I have one tomato still very green and still growing and it is huge, it would fill my hand ..no kidding.

It is called " Rachel Sebastian's Ball Bag"

I don't wanty to appear rude after typing the above but it almost looks like two tomatoes fused together side by side.

I don't know how it will end up but right now it looks very interesting.

XX Jeannine

[sunloving]

OOh that sounds promising. Ball bag! whatever next.  :)

I had a mixed visit to the gh.. the naughty hens had raided and pecked off all the lower beefsteaks - cheeky bs but i have some bigger than an orange melons growing on the plants in pots.

 x sunloving

[manicscousers]

I have 1 marmande showing a bit of promise but, I've been growing my toms cool to stop mould and stuff so the bigger ones are very slow  :)

[sunloving]

At last a non disaster Allotments 4 all biggest tomato 2012 trophy pot.

Ready to be parceled up for the winning tom Its bout big enough for an ameryllis bulb ready for xmas. Get growing my little beauties




XSunloving

[galina]

At last a non disaster Allotments 4 all biggest tomato 2012 trophy pot.

Ready to be parceled up for the winning tom Its bout big enough for an ameryllis bulb ready for xmas. Get growing my little beauties

XSunloving

That's exquisite!  I wish I had started big 'uns this year. 

[Ninnyscrops.]

That looks really great Sunloving, such clever folk on A4A.

Ninny

[manicscousers]

Brilliant bowl, sunloving  ;D
My marmande are looking good, if not ginormous  ;D

[Jayb]

Looks fantastic, well done you  ;D

[gazza1960]

Top bit of pottery there,although my one and only Zak is growing well there is no signs of fruit so no fear from me ......Oh and just got back from plot finding 3 Red Alerts outside all with blight blackening on main stem so pulled em early and hopefully the remaining outdoors plants dont succumb to it... :(

Gazza

[sunloving]

Thanks
The UK forecast is looking much better and i think we are going to have a lot of late whopppers come the end of august.

Mine are slow but so far no blight and a few fruits setting but no mega toms at all and the baking trays ready for roast tomatoes havent seen light of day yet.

heres to a sunny week ahead!

I do have three fabulous melons forming though!
x sunloving

[peanuts]

Reading what has been said here about megablooms . . . I save seed last year from some of my Delice de Burpée, a very big tomato.  I wasn't fussy about which of their tomatoes I saved seed from, and they got mixed up in any case!  But several of this year's D de B plants have been behaving oddly.  They started growing well, then produced  one bunch of flowers, including one or two big flowers, but the plant just stopped.  There was no continuing shoot.  I've had to wait until a side shoot grew up from below and use that as the main shoot.
Now I'm wondering whether  I went wrong in not being more careful which  fruit I used to keep seed from.
Annoyingly the flowers haven't set either!  I've plenty of sungold, and a cherry tomato, but no big  fruit (yet!)

[Jeannine]

The sad thing about mega blooms is they can be pollinated when the flower is fully open and by insects which is the opposite to regular tomato flowers. If you have more than one variety of tomatoes and each has megablooms they cross easily and then you have hybrid seeds,these are not reliable of course. It is best not to keep them unless you have the space and time to do the sorting and selection needed for some generations when working with F1 and up.I have a very large tomato on one of my plants now which is from a mega bloom, it is huge to say the least and the tempation to kep the seeds is strong. I do know in this case what it will have crossed with if in fact it has which is another huge tomato so I may play with them, but usually I would not bother.

SUNLOVING....the pot is smashing, really good job, well done you !!

XX Jeannine

[galina]

The sad thing about mega blooms is they can be pollinated when the flower is fully open and by insects which is the opposite to regular tomato flowers. If you have more than one variety of tomatoes and each has megablooms they cross easily and then you have hybrid seeds,these are not reliable of course. It is best not to keep them unless you have the space and time to do the sorting and selection needed for some generations when working with F1 and up.I have a very large tomato on one of my plants now which is from a mega bloom, it is huge to say the least and the tempation to kep the seeds is strong. I do know in this case what it will have crossed with if in fact it has which is another huge tomato so I may play with them, but usually I would not bother.

I am starting to see the wisdom why Mr Simpson of Simpson's tomatoes wrote that he always saves seed from the second truss.  No guesswork about megablooms which don't happen on the second truss and in the case of parthenocarpic or semiparthenocarpic tomatoes, the second truss does have seeds, whilst the first truss is seedless.  My theory to save seeds from the first truss in order to promote earlier ripening tomatoes has its drawbacks - for example doubts whether a fruit was or wasn't from a big daisy type megabloom. 

Well the free seed sent from the New Jersey Tomato weigh-in events was taken from the biggest winning tomatoes.  Guess some of these must have been from megablooms.  That explains why some of their plants here were so-so, whilst others just romped away and produced pound plus tomatoes.  And I only saved seeds from the biggest.

[Jeannine]

Galina,I garee with you. The man who started all this..( the guy here who grows huge maters and said women can't grow them") always saves seed from his first tomato for seed keeping, well at least that is what he told me. Mind you he only grows 1 variety in his greenhouse and I have seen some very small red tomatoes through the glass. Having said that he is growing 2 types this year because he asked me for a couple of my plants..oops.

I think they find a wee bit of wheat among the chaff personally, not my idea of a harvest but then I guess I want to grow something other than a huge tomato most times.

This year I just want to beat him!!

XX Jeannine

[Nigel B]

Well, to be fair, I've learnt far more about this plant than I thought I knew, just from following this thread.  :)
The ones I have growing this year haven't a chance in the competition, but that's cool. I haven't had the heart to remove all but one tomato from a whole plant for a start.  ;D
Maybe next year.
May-bee I'll re-arrange the greenhouse and remove a flagstone or two so I can dig out a hole, fill it with my own compost and bung a plant or two in next year..
Maybe.
 
So long as I can impress the family and friends with burger-bun-sized slices of tomato I'll be a happy bunny. Even if I have to make my own, smaller buns.  ;D
I have plenty of tomatoes growing though, so thanks again to those very kind people that supplied the seeds I'm growing this year. We're getting great pleasure from them already, learning as we go.

This isn't an official surrender though.  ;) Not yet.
Anything can happen.  :)