Plum tomatoes

[caroline7758]

Thinking of trying these next year. Do they tend to be easier/harder than others ? And which varieties would you recommend?

[caroline7758]

[thegreatgardener]

How do you plan on using the plum tomatoes.

[caroline7758]

For cooking mainly. Does it make a difference?

[flossy]

  Hi caroline,

  Had many pounds of plum tomatoes this year  --  lost the seed packet though !

  Do remember it said Italian plum - suitable for cooking [ was probably T&M ] - the plants were huge'   
  had them on bean sticks [ in tubs ] with cross supports to hold them steady - they still blew over in     
  the wind !  had to take the largest fruit off to lift them up again - honest !

  The first sets of fruit were very large, took these off and ripened indoors - the rest came off when
  threatend with blight weeks later.  wish I could post a pic - bowls of them in every room.

  Do give them a go, the whole family have made fresh soup and soup to freeze,  about 3 versions of Italian sauce, jars of oven dried toms - these came out very well as the had been blessed with a little
brown sugar and herbs.  Word of warning, they must be well dried before bottling in oil as they will grow bacteria [ my mistake - my son did much better ].

  We have been feeding off the remaining few - in salads and in  fryups,  lovely !

  They are firmer,  fully ripe the flavour is good,  believe they are hardier, my Arctic Plenty got blight,
   the plums didn't   --   may be luck I don't know .

   Loads of recipes on the net - can't wait to have another go next year, if the seed packet comes
   to light will post you.

   floss xxx

[thegreatgardener]

caroline7758 yes it makes a lot of difference.
How you plan cooking them also makes a difference to which variety you may want to grow.

[Tin Shed]

I grow Roma, specifically for making batches of pasta sauce to put in the freezer to last us throughout the winter.
I grow and treat them the same way as all the other tomatoes I grow.

[manicscousers]

our san marzano were fantastic this year, 6' tall,  thick skinned, very few pips, still going now, shape of a sweet pepper..great for sauce  :)

[valmarg]

The variety I would recommend is Olivade.  It is available from Moles Seeds, but it is also available from another seed supplier. (Shall have to have a look where) but can thoroughly recommend the variety.

valmarg

[nilly71]

Thinking of trying these next year. Do they tend to be easier/harder than others ? And which varieties would you recommend?

I was going to ask the same question ;D

Neil

[Jeannine]

I like La Roma..bigger yeilds than Roma, however I would like to give a plug to Eristics tomato trial seed.They grew into a lovely huge plum which was very thick walled and meaty so great for sauces. I still have 2 plants going very strong now, very prolific,started early and still producing. I was impressed and will continue to grow this one.

XX Jeannine

[nilly71]

I like La Roma..bigger yeilds than Roma, however I would like to give a plug to Eristics tomato trial seed.They grew into a lovely huge plum which was very thick walled and meaty so great for sauces. I still have 2 plants going very strong now, very prolific,started early and still producing. I was impressed and will continue to grow this one.

XX Jeannine

Hi Jeannine
Will any of these seeds be in your seed package?
Neil

[valmarg]

The other Olivade tomato supplier is D t Brown.

valmarg

[Barnowl]

My Olivade came from Simpsons Seeds - Moles only deal in quite large quantities.

[angle shades]

my favourite plum tom is Aunty Madge I'm still picking loads of these from the greenhouse and outside, they are very resistant to blight, they are a heritage variety so you will have to keep cutting the plant back,

it's a small plum tom which is fantastic for cooking, great taste in my opinion/shades x

[caroline7758]

Spoilt for choice now!

[amphibian]

Caroline.

I'm a huge fan of Orange Banana, if you PM me your address I can send seeds. Makes wonderful pasta sauce, orange and rich in taste.

[saddad]

I have Madge and Orange Bannana and am still picking both...  ;D

[caroline7758]

ooh, yes please, amphibian- sounds lovely- I can tell my friends I'm growing orange banana tomatoes!
Will send you a PM.