Topic: Tomatoes - is there any point?

[Sinbad7]

Blight has driven me mad over the last few years but never one to give up and I do love homegrown toms I grew Sungold and Piccolo this year and have to say although totally different to the variety's I usually grow they have been/are brilliant.  Both early and good croppers, have been freezing them which is a first for many a long time now.

So don't give up, do one more year and try different varieties.

I also suffer with clubroot so between the blight and that life ain't easy on the plot but have been successful with toms and brassica's so never give up where there's a will there's a way :)

[earlypea]

It's only my third year of growing tomatoes and I was totally put off by the first - I had some outrageously prolific tomato plants (beginner's luck, for sure) but they we're cruelly smitten as they started to ripen.  Beyond that my parents seem to think it's my duty to supply them with oodles of toms before they go on holiday in mid-August  ???

I had an OK year last year with realseeds early types; Latah and Aurora (the earth was a little poor so not very productive).

This year I skipped the latah because it's early but there aren't enough of them, but my Aurora has been gorgeous.  Landscape view of my first one this year, much more generous proportions than realseeds pic for some reason.  The majority have been like that.



Couldn't plant out until late so first pickings on July 17th and bowlfuls regularly since then.

Everyone on the allotments has been asking me my secret because despite some bursts of good weather theirs are only starting to ripen now and we've just had blight warnings.  

Gave a taste to one plotholder who grows masses of tomatoes every year.  He's extremely down to earth so I was shocked when he said 'that's the sweetest tomato I ever tasted".  I've promised seed to loads of people.

So, yes - I think grow early types on the allotments.  I've got some other more exciting ones in pots in my mother's garden where I'm thinking they could, possibly avoid blight - we'll see....

[tonybloke]

They need to develop tomatoes that go from seed to crop in at most 100 days

p.m. me your address for some 'quick' varieties of tomato (USA seed)

[Trevor_D]

I grow masses of tomatoes - 70 or 80 plants of different varieties. And every year has its problems. The last two years have been awful for blight, but I've still got sauce & puree in the freezer from last year!

This year looks brilliant so far - a re-run of '06 (when, as we having an extension, I was bereft of a kitchen at a vital time of year!!). I check Blightwatch twice daily, of course....

Never give up on tomatoes. They are the only crop it's impossible to buy, anywhere, that has a taste & texture anywhere remotely like home-grown. (Discuss - as no doubt you will....)

(I can even get asparagus, peas & courgettes from my local PYO - but not tomatoes!)

[1066]

but I've had a good year with Tigerella this year - very early.

The first ones, outdoors in a windy NW-facing coastal garden, were ripe in early July (or maybe even late June, I can't remember now) and so I was very surprised and pleased with them.

Now that's worth knowing, so thanks Pigeonseed  :)

[asj]

Definitely!!  Yesterday's harvest of Tumbler in a hanging basket.

[Mrs Gumboot]

Tigarella did superbly for me last year. Seem to be struggling a bit this year, but that's almost certainly more down to my inattention and neglect than the weather!

The last few trusses of stubborn green ones from the end of the season last year ripened up a treat on the window sill in a brown paper bag with a banana or two inside. Got the house sitters to take out the ripe ones in October when we went on holiday.

Will second the opinion that it's one of the few crops where shop brought doesn't even come close. Nothing but nothing beats a ripe tom straight from the plant. The ones in the supermarkets are mainly water and never ripe.

[Digeroo]

I find the supermarket variety amoroso is not bad but yes the home grown sun ripened ones are the best.  I love sungold though the seed is becoming increasingly expensive.  Ate another 10 today - delicious.  They are lurking behind a wall of sweetcorn seems to be keeping the wind off them.

No sign of tigrella ripening yet.   

I almost did not bother this year so mine are very late, but now glad I planted them.

[asj]

Digeroo - would it not be good to save some of your own seed?

[Trevor_D]

I couldn't find any Sungold seeds on sale either this year or last. Finally resorted to buying (!?!) a couple of plants from our local nursery this year, so I've just saved seed for next year.

[lottie lou]

When did everyone start their toms off?  Mine are still very green

[lincsyokel2]

When did everyone start their toms off?  Mine are still very green

mid march  :(

[pigeonseed]

I think I might have started mine in mid-Feb in the house. Can't remember that far back!

[Chrispy]

Toms killed by blight, managed to save a few green ones and ripen them on the window sill......

Well that was last year, this year is more like....


Thats the second bowlfull like that so far, been picking then for ages before the glut started, must have had 10kg by now, and still going strong.

I started a few end of Jan to go in the greenhouse, the rest I started early March for outdoors.

[lottie lou]

My tomato plants have loads and loads and loads of leaves.  I grow them in the greenhouse border that I change every year putting in well rotted manure and then home made compost.  Do you think it is too rich and should I remove my leaves.  There aren't that many toms but loads of flowers

[kypfer]

My "Sunrise" were sown January 16th in a heated propagator on the coffee table in the lounge ... I live alone, I can get away with these things  ;) ... they are now over 6ft tall with 6-7 trusses per stem, but no red ones yet.

I grow mine on my second floor balcony, which has pro's and con's. The con's are mostly the lack of sunlight. I get about 2 hours a day, between when the sun comes around the side of the building around noon and disappears behind a tree a little after two. The pro's are that the air seems just that little bit drier (or has more movement) than at ground level, so no blight in the last four years, though simialr plants in my little plot on the other side of the building have suffered to a greater or lesser extent every autumn !?!

lottie lou : if you've got "loads of flowers" the fruit will come, it's a little late but certainly not too late. As for removing the leaves, I can't see the point. Theoretically it encourages the fruit to ripen earlier ... but tomatoes will ripen in a brown paper bag in the drawer under the bed (and various other similar locations) so that concept seems to have little validity. My other concern is that (and I may be wrong here) leaves allow the plant to collect sunlight which is then converted to sugars by photosynthesis which are then stored in the fruit ... for me I'd rather sweeter fruit that ripened a little later ... but I may be in a minority.

Why not try removing the leaves from one/some plants and let the others alone then make a comparasion between the ripened fruit?

[lottie lou]

The main problem is that I read something on the internet - was it Joyful tomato?  The writer said that he removed certain leaves from his friend's plants and his friend had the best crop ever.  I thought that the leaves were used for photosynthesis but .....

However I am still very envious of other people's crops.  Unfortunately cannot ripen under bed - chucked that out when I got a skip - has done wonders for my back pretending we are Japanese.  PS was an interesting experience in Tokyo when I shared a room with 3 young blokes.

[nilly71]

This is my best year so far for toms, last year i was quite happy with the amount but got hit badly with blight.

This year I have loads, only 9 plants were planted but the 3 Roma plants have produced loads of toms.
This picture was taken about 3 days ago and shows only two of the plants with all the toms on.
I've started removing all the leaves apart from the top (approx 10"). Hopefully i've not caused them any damage from doing so. One of my plot neighbours removes all the leaves as the fruit sets and he has loads on each plant.



Neil

[lincsyokel2]

oh i have plenty of crop, just no ripe ones, there just sitting there green and going leathery.

[betula]

My first red tomato was rotten.....yuk :(

The rest are growing but very Green........ :(