Allotments 4 All
General => Bargains Galore => Topic started by: Jayb on April 30, 2015, 14:37:02
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Probably need to be quick as they have limited supplies http://www.dobies.co.uk/allotment+giveaway.htm
Looks like it is for allotment holders only booo.
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Well...if I'm lucky to receive a plant...I'll save you some seeds... :icon_thumleft:
Hmm...must check if it is hybrid variety...
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Good luck with getting a plant :toothy10:
Thank you for the offer, but I've already bought some Crimson Crush plants as I really liked the sound of them, though they are not doing much at the moment! Hope you get one/some as it will be good to compare progress and L. Blight resistance!
Although a generous offer from dobies, I thought it was a shame the offer is limited to allotment holders as not everyone here could be included if they wanted to trial them.
.must check if it is hybrid variety...
They are a hybrid according to Suttons.
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,78780.0.html
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Oh pants! I entered the giveaway because I couldn't find confirmation that it was an F1 and I thought that they had finally created an OP tomato instead of all the F1s that populate the catalogues.
Still, there's no telling that I will get any, but I am much less interested in them now.
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Well...look what came through letter box!!! :icon_cheers:
As it happens...I've been giving my spare tomato plants away for my fellow allotmenteers....and when it came to planting for myself...I was ONE plant short!! :BangHead: So other day I put bush tomato plant to grow where I normally plant tall ones.
It must been faith..it was meant to be... :icon_cheers: I'll be taking that bush tomato plant out and replace with my new comer.. :happy7: :icon_cheers:
Shame that it is F1...though it still doesn't stop me from saving seed and to see what comes out of it. :angel11: :glasses9: Watch 'this' space....
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Oh...just opened the parcel....there is TWO plug plants!!!! :toothy10: But I only have one spare space... :BangHead:
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Congratulations! Hope you can find the space for the extra plant. :toothy10:
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Just had the postie knock at my door and hand over 2 lovely plug plants... :wave:
We'll have to compare how we do.
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We'll have to compare how we do
.
:icon_thumleft:
I asked my nextdoor neighbour if he needs any tomato plants...."OH NO...I have load of spare one to get rid of myself!" Once I told him what this spare plant was..."well, I suppose I could find place in polytunnel for it"...it is hard thing to say no for freebies.. :icon_cheers:
My tomato plant is planted in its new home...fingers crossed it will do well!
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My 2 free plugs also arrived today, now potted up. One will go in one of the greenhouses and the other outside in sunny sheltered spot.
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My 2 free plugs also arrived today, now potted up. One will go in one of the greenhouses and the other outside in sunny sheltered spot.
Snap!
I thought this might be the best way to get a fair comparison and check if the propaganda is correct.
Although in all honesty I don't want 'blight' in the first place! :BangHead:
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Snap here too ...
:toothy10:
The only thing is ... I'm not sure I've got room for them now :BangHead:
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much to my surprise I received two today grr :BangHead:just as I am heading away for the bank holiday on well they will have to fend for themselves in pots in the blow away.
we get terrible blight at our allotment and so I shall be very interested to see if they survive.
Nora
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Mine Came today as well
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Crikey! We have been lucky :icon_cheers:
Jayb...you did time you post right..it must been 'hot from the print'...and we all must have jumped to it too :toothy10:
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:icon_cheers:
I'm glad people have been lucky getting them :toothy10:
Lets hope they live up to the claims - tasty, grow outdoors and the all important blight resistance! We shall see.
Did they ask for any feedback?
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Did they ask for any feedback?
Yes plus someone will win £500 worth of garden gear if their name is drawn out of the hat
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:icon_cheers:
I'm glad people have been lucky getting them :toothy10:
Lets hope they live up to the claims - tasty, grow outdoors and the all important blight resistance! We shall see.
Did they ask for any feedback?
Funny you should mention 'outdoors' as the leaflet that came with the plants didn't mention about it...and looking at photos..in one of them they are grown in polytunnel....can't say much about other photos.
Hmm...not very clear, how hard they want to 'push it'. Being tall tomato too...it would be easier indoors... :icon_scratch:
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Yes - very lucky! Thanks so much for the heads up on them.
I think I'll donate mine to the local school allotment - because of the summer holidays being at a really busy allotmenting time theres usually not much point in planting toms because they get back to find a load of neglected and blighted plants ... if Crimson Crush lives up to it's hype then they should return to school in September to a plant full of lovely, inviting, red fruits instead.
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Had a look at my two this morning now that they have freshened up and I have noticed they are both blind, I.e.they have no growing tip.???????
I am also led to believe they are a cordon variety yet one is throwing up what best can be described as a sucker, suggesting that they might be a bush variety.
So now I am not so sure as to which way to treat them??????
Does anyone else have blind plants?
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Mine had a sucker as well on one of them.
I think they're propagated by cuttings by the look of them ... should work out OK in the end - if they take you can just train a side shoot as the main stem.
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I think they're propagated by cuttings by the look of them ... should work out OK in the end - if they take you can just train a side shoot as the main stem.
Agreed and that's what I planned to do but if they are doing a promotion you would think they would have taken more care!
Might drop them an email to see their response and find out if indeed they are cuttings rather than seedlings.
Not sure that will be the type of feedback they want so such a reply might scupper my chances of winning the £500 worth of gear :wave:
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I have sent this pic to Dobies and asked if they are cuttings or seedlings
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd27/tgalmanac/20th%20May%202015/Crimson%20Crush_zpsfpzw8n1t.jpg) (http://s222.photobucket.com/user/tgalmanac/media/20th%20May%202015/Crimson%20Crush_zpsfpzw8n1t.jpg.html)
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Mine look like they are rooted sideshoots. Am not complaining mind, they are sturdy and look like they will make good plants. Will be keeping an eye out for John Harrison's newsletter for his next arrangement with Dobies.
My plants are going outside. Our site has lots of blight and I want to test whether they come through. :)
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I have sent this pic to Dobies and asked if they are cuttings or seedlings
Mine look very similar and I think they are cuttings. The leaves at the bottom are too big and there is no sign of seed leaves...to me they look like side shoots.
Not complaining though...as long as they grow...
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Well, I was a bit sad to have missed this offer as I'd like to try the variety too ... but Suttons have just sent out an email offering 3 free plants "free" i.e. you just pay the postage which is 4.99.
Crimson Crush, pack of 3 plants in 10 cm pots, 245241 delivery late May and the checkout code is S15CC.
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Those are very much like the ones I had from Suttons, definitely cuttings, yours look to be a bit bigger than the ones I received. Mine looked a bit sad at first and were a bit slow to get going but did take off after a couple of weeks (B&Q crappy compost might have had something to do with it!) and are looking quite good now. They have made nice sturdy plants and all have flower buds.
Perhaps there were not enough seeds so they went down the propagation route?
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Well, I was a bit sad to have missed this offer as I'd like to try the variety too ... but Suttons have just sent out an email offering 3 free plants "free" i.e. you just pay the postage which is 4.99.
Crimson Crush, pack of 3 plants in 10 cm pots, 245241 delivery late May and the checkout code is S15CC.
Nice one, I'm almost tempted to get some more.
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^^ Jayb I yielded to the temptation and have ordered from Suttons.
I also missed the Gardeners World tomato seeds giveaway but my allotment neighbour got a pack of T&M's Experimental Tomato and ended up with 3 plants she says, so maybe she will trade one with me.
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Those are very much like the ones I had from Suttons,
Not surprising as Dobies is part of the Sutton empire it seems
Discovered this fact when. I got a reply from Dobies as the contact address is
groupscheme@suttons-seeds.co.uk
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Oh dear! I've ordered them too. I will have to put them in pots though, my tomato bed is already planted up and my mini greenhouse is also full. We can save seeds too as I think they are not F1, are they?
Tricia
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Oh dear! I've ordered them too. I will have to put them in pots though, my tomato bed is already planted up and my mini greenhouse is also full. We can save seeds too as I think they are not F1, are they?
Tricia
I asked about it earlier on the thread and answer was that they are F1.. :BangHead:
BUT...if the fruit is nice enough, I'm still going to save some seed and see what comes out of them. I've saved seeds from F1 fruit before and most of them have been VERY close to the original if not even better. It just bit of fun and as long as the plants and fruit are good enough for the purpose..that will do nicely for me.. :glasses9:
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I received some literature with my plants which reads as follows:
The story of Crimson Crush
Resistance genes were discovered in wild species of tomatoes.
These were transferred into our cultivated tomato species through conventional breeding methods.
One parent line was developed from a cross in the UK in 2005 with further selection taking place in outdoor trials in Worcestershire & Warwickshire.
This parent contains the PH2 gene.
The second parent was selected in the USA
This parent was shown to have excellent blight resistance even in very warm, humid conditions.
This parent contains the PH3 gene.
The offspring of these parents resulted in vigorous plants with very good temperature tolerance and exceptional blight resistance thanks to having both the PH2 and PH3 genes.
The earliness and excellent eatii qualities were discovered in trials and blind taste tests over a two year period in various trial locations throughout the UK.
Crimson Crush is the result and is now available to you!
This was an added paragraph to show the results of scientific tests:
Whilst Crimson Crush is fully resistant to Blight, in trials at Bangor University, where a solution of blight spores was applied directly to the plants, some spot infection occurred, this infection affected less than 10% of the plant and the growth and productivity was unaffected, whereas control varieties were 100% infected and died as a result of the infection.
I can not make head or tail of the conclusion I think they might mean other varieties that were subjected to the same tests.
This is another claim that Dobies/Sutton make on the same leaflet:
After first selecting Crimson Crush for its super Blight Busting powers, we reselected it again by accident in a blind taste test, where it surpassed established names like Brandywine, Black Russian and a whole host of others.
So now you know as much as me about it but there is no mention that it is an F1.
I would say that it is a GM variety suggesting that saved seeds should contain the necessary genes.
What do you think?
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Ah! Have just checked Suttons online. The F1 info is placed at the end of the line of growing requirements instead of next to the variety name! That's why I missed it.
Tricia
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Got mine yesterday - didn't look to healthy but they were well rooted (certain they are cuttings) and I am sure they will pick up in a few days. We always get blight on out plot so it will be a decent test.
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TG, I read that to mean that Crimson Crush is NOT a GM tomato (unless the original PH3 parent was GM).
To be GM, a gene from outside the tomato family has to be introduced to the plant.
You used to be able to buy tomato puree that had been made from GM tomatoes, I can't remember much about them but the modification wasn't for the purpose of blight resistance.
** awaits arrival of Silverleaf or someone who actually knows about such things **
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Your quite right Ellen
I re read my post and the leaflet after I Hit the 'post' tab and came to the same conclusion as you.
However the gene manipulation would have been done in 'lab' conditions and it was this I had in mind when I mentioned gene manipulation.
I agree that in this case both the genes used were of the same genus as opposed to adding or taking away genes as you would with GM methods.
Sorry about that!
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You used to be able to buy tomato puree that had been made from GM tomatoes, I can't remember much about them but the modification wasn't for the purpose of blight resistance.
Yes they were the FlavrSavr tomatoes and the GM purpose was to breed for long shelf life (as if those genes did not exist in real tomatoes :BangHead: - there are such things as storage tomatoes). Nobody wanted to buy them as fresh tomatoes and they ended up making them into puree (which does not need long shelf life as it is preserved :BangHead:). An utterly bizarre episode which did leave the industry with little doubt that there is no consumer interest in buying GM foods in Europe.
If Crimson Crush are propagated by cuttings, that would explain the very high price they asked initially, which left them with too much surplus stock. By the way - what is the problem with rooted cuttings? Are they not clones from plants grown from seed?
I did not apply for any as I have far too many tomatoes and a greenhouse which means that I usually get tomatoes despite blight (although the day when blighted plants have to be tidied in the garden is the saddest in the gardening calendar every year). Wish everybody great success with these and as goodlife said, do save the seeds, because the company may or may not progress this tomato to seed production stage. This could be a one time only. But if Crimson Crush is as good as they say, it could be equally as popular in the future as Sungold is now.
:wave:
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Ah, that's he story behind GM tomato puree !! I always wondered.
I think cuttings will have less of a root structure than plants the same size grown from seed but tomatoes grow new roots pretty quickly so they should catch up.
I also wondered about trying to overwinter a few small plants from cutting to cut again for plants next year, assuming the tomatoes live up to the hype and don't die off with blight in the Autumn. We shall see .......
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It seems to me that Crimson Crush has been bred just like any other F1 variety. No mention of any lab gene manipulation unless I have missed something? It says at the top
"Resistance genes were discovered in wild species of tomatoes.
These were transferred into our cultivated tomato species through conventional breeding methods."
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It seems to me that Crimson Crush has been bred just like any other F1 variety. No mention of any lab gene manipulation unless I have missed something? It says at the top
"Resistance genes were discovered in wild species of tomatoes.
These were transferred into our cultivated tomato species through conventional breeding methods."
I was answering Ellen's question about another tomato. Nobody suggested that Crimson Crush is GM, Ellen herself said that in her post and others have too. Standard hybrid tomato and the hope is that with saving seeds from Crimson Crush, the different resistance genes can be saved too. :sunny:
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Just got mine, a bit pot bound I think but I'm very pleased ...
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Wow! they look strong healthy plants :icon_cheers: - am waiting for the doorbell to ring to announce delivery of my order. I prepared a grow-bag for them yesterday - so that they can be planted up straight away :sunny: :wave:
Tricia
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Wow - mine were nothing like that. Didn't come in pots and were much smaller - basically a barely rooted side shoot which hadn't grown at all.
I was answering Ellen's question about another tomato. Nobody suggested that Crimson Crush is GM, Ellen herself said that in her post and others have too. Standard hybrid tomato and the hope is that with saving seeds from Crimson Crush, the different resistance genes can be saved too. :sunny:
I was just responding to Tee Gee when he referred to "gene manipulation would have been done in 'lab' conditions "
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Delivered at 14:10, planted up by 14:30. The third one is in a pot in my mini GH.
Tricia
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Have just received mine much larger than I expected , but once they have straightened up they should be very good. Only postage to pay so cannot lose
Mine are from Suttons , I know more than one firm are offering plants.
(http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/laurieuk/100_4015.jpg) (http://s374.photobucket.com/user/laurieuk/media/100_4015.jpg.html)
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On looking at Lauries, Ellen and Tricias plants compared to the ones I received has me wondering.
Did you three order from the link JayB posted? as it was linked to Dobies, or did you use a different link?
I know when I wrote to Dobies I got a reply back from Suttons ???? which suggested to me that Suttons actually own Dobies, but Dobies trade under their original name for the goodwill of their loyal customers.
But what gets me is: who owns who?
I also understand that D T Browns is part of Fothergills, and Chempak is part of T&M.
Leisure Gardeners is part of Kings so is it any wonder why the price of seeds is going up when you consider all these monopolies that are popping up.
The top two plants at the back in the picture below are my Crimson Crush. (3rd & 4th from front)
I noticed today that they seem to be taking off and throwing new foliage so the next thing I am expecting from the members is:
Who picked the first fruit. :icon_cheers:
Who picked the largest/heaviest fruit. :blob7:
Who got the largest crop ? :glasses9:
But most of all did any plants suffer from blight. :BangHead:
At least it is something to look forward to!
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd27/tgalmanac/29th%20May%202015/P1250448_zpsj9wymew2.jpg) (http://s222.photobucket.com/user/tgalmanac/media/29th%20May%202015/P1250448_zpsj9wymew2.jpg.html)
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I ordered through Suttons using the code Ellenk posted. The plants are far more vigorous than any of my own grown from seed! I hope they will live up to all the hype! We shall see???
Tricia :wave:
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I ordered from a Suttons advert in my email looking carefully at them I think mine are grafted plants as there is a definite change in growth just above soil level.
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I think mine are grafted plants as there is a definite change in growth just above soil level.
That plant on the right of your picture certainly look like it grafted.
The stem is bent about an inch above the soil where possibly the stem was spliced/ grafted into the rootstock.
I am wondering if Sutton's / Dobies are experimenting with producing both grafted and plants from cuttings in case when they start selling seeds they find the resulting plants do not come true to type meaning they will have to produce these Blight resistant plants vegetatively .
They are asking for feedback so are we all part of a nation wide experiment?
It would seem the plants that A4A members are working OK and we are going to get fruit but will we get viable seeds with the same blight resistance?
Only time will tell!
Let me apologise for being so suspicious but I was brought up to believe that " nothing is really free"
Let's hope in this case I am wrong and we all have an abundance of seeds that produce plants with the desired resistance next year
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Nice looking plants from Suttons :happy7:
I wonder if the plants themselves have been used for cuttings rather than grafted?
If seeds were in very short supply this year and they wanted to go ahead with offering Crimson Crush for the start of this season then cuttings would have been the only way.
Tee Gee, Suttons have stated Crimson Crush is an F1 variety, also in an email they confirmed seeds will be available in the Autumn for the 2016 catalogue.
No feedback was asked for when I bought plants from Suttons earlier on, perhaps Dobies wanted constructive feedback about Crimson Crush's performance from allotmenteers?
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http://www.suttons.co.uk/suttons+crimson+crush+feedback.htm?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=22.05.15%20-%20Bank%20Holiday%20Offers
^^ this is the link from Suttons offer email to send in your feedback.
Looking at my plants, yes you could convince yourself they're grafted but I haven't seen enough grafted plants to be sure. But also they have mighty fine strong looking stems for plants that size which points to grafts. What JayB said: Possibly the growers had a collection of grafted plants to harvest cuttings and these are the surplus.
Whatever, I am really pleased with mine and can't see that Suttons made any money on the deal so you can't say they are a ripoff or a deception. If they are grafts well even better IMHO.
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I'm not sure they're grafter or simply initially grown as two stems with one removed to provide cuttings as supplied.
I have both dobies and suttons plants, my dobies ones were cuttings and my Sutton's ones great big healthy plants.
odd that dobies are asking for feedback on a plant Sutton's has already declared teh best thing since sliced bread and is selling!?
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i received 2 and they were tiny
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Question?
These plants are said to be blight resistant....how can we tell?
As I see it we have to have other plants along side them in the hope that the others catch blight!!!!
Then if the Crimson Crush plants don't catch it, then they come up to expectations but at a price...........we lose the others!
A bit drastic that I think.
Then the reverse is true and that is if the other plants do not catch blight, suggesting that we are having a blight free year. then we do not know if the Crimson Crush are as immune as they are made out to be!
So we have a catch 22 situation!!!
Personally I don't want blight at all, so may I suggest that we compare notes at the end of the season to see what happens with those people that are unlucky enough to catch blight.
What will also be interesting is: how will those with the big plants or the little plants fare at the end of the day.
Then I suppose you have to consider if the are grown inside or out.
So it is diaries and cameras at the ready guys and then we can get our own feedback.
What do you all think?
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TeeGee....I agree with you...more we swap notes and more CC is grown in different situations, better the idea how tough blight fighter the variety is.
I wish now that I wouldn't given the other plant away... :BangHead:
I planted mine in GH where I rarely get any blight on my toms anyway... :BangHead:
BUT...I will root one side shoot as new ones appear and plant that outside..not so much for the fruit, but just to see how the plant cope outdoors if we get hit with blight...I have some other varieties of tomatoes planted outside and those WILL get blight if it is around...or should I say 'when the blight will arrive'.
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So it is diaries and cameras at the ready guys and then we can get our own feedback.
What do you all think?
I think it will be great to get feedback on how others have found Crimson Crush. I started another thread earlier in the year I was hoping it could be used for comparing results. http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,78780.msg797728.html#msg797728
There was also another blight resistant seed giveaway and several people were lucky enough to recieve seeds, so between us all we should have a fair number of 'blight' resistant tomato varieties. I'm also growing Mountain Magic this year.