Tomato report

[elhuerto]

Hi

Thought I'd share my experience this year growing a few different tomatoes for the first time (many sent on from very kind people here). It's been typically hot here (most nights not dropping below 20ºC) but the winds have been really strong and have caused damage.

Definite seed savers
Jet Star - look like those tomato shaped ketchup bottles from Little Chef. Good size, decent crop, dense deep red and a decent meaty flavour - good for the grill.

Tigerella - loads of fruit, good looking tomato but maybe slightly watery taste.

Ananas Noir - good salad tomato, decent size but plants are already looking a bit "done in"

Possible seed savers
Moneymaker - loads of tomatoes, very regular shape and colour but could taste better, maybe they look so good that the taste test doesn't live up to expectations

Bloody Butcher - decent crop but not outstanding in any other department, will probably give it another go though.

One night stands
Nebraska - all plants wilted

Livingston - as above but with a couple of tomatoes picked at least.

I do also have some cherry, plum and local varieties on the go which are tried and tested here.

I know growing conditions are quite different here but that's been my experience so far this year. The hot / windy conditions this year have taken their toll so I don't think we'll have such a long season as 2010.

[elhuerto]

[goodlife]

Nice to read these kind of reports..particularly as your growing conditions are quite different to ours.
Perharps next year you could try Bloody Butcher for bit earlier crops as here is tends to be one of first ones to crop..for me anyway..
Have you got any windbreaks put up?
Huh..we can only hope for 20'C nights.. ::) we've had 10-14'C for weeks now..
I think you might need to save your own seeds from the fruits and then you get 'climatized' plants for your conditions.
I've noticed the need for it when getting seeds from 'warmer' sources..first couple of generations often don't perform quite as well.
Hope you don't mind me carrying on with my report as this would be good post subject for all of us who's grown tomatoes...would be nice to see plenty of photos too..
I'll just nip to GH and get some evidence for the success so far... ;)

[goodlife]

Right..things so far.. all plants are doing fine..some growing faster than others..no plant losses.
For some reason majority of my 'black' tomatoes seem to be first ones to ripen??
[attachment=1]..catching the roof soon...

[goodlife]

[attachment=2][attachment=1]

[goodlife]

Highlander[attachment=1]
Nyagous and Chore de Bue[attachment=2]

[goodlife]

[attachment=1] Deep Purple Beefsteak
[attachment=2] Snow White Cherry
[attachment=3] Venus and Micro Tom

[1066]

Jet Star - look like those tomato shaped ketchup bottles from Little Chef.

what a wonderful description!  ;D

edited to add - drooling at those pictures Goodie  :D

[elhuerto]

Some very good looking plants there and much more lush than the ones here. I'll try to remember to take the camera to the plot tonight but I can't compete with those.

[davyw1]

The only photo i could get where you could se the tomatoes

[goodlife]

Davy your plants look like they are under the stress! :o...such a load on their 'shoulders'.. ;D
Those are heavy croppers..what variety are they?

[pigeonseed]

They look great - and yours too Goodlife. And yours sound good elhuerto! I'm a bit jealous too of that hot weather.

We have windy conditions here too - plants don't take kindly to it. But saving the strongest sounds like a good investment for future years.

I'll try and take some pictures tomorrow. I'm doing some plum lemon this year and they're the one's I'm most excited about. Tigerella - only one ripe so far, so v late. 3 plants lost to blight.  :(

The 'nova' from the HSL have had only two ripe ones so far but they were delicious. I'd recommend them. If I successfully save seed, I'll offer that round.

[davyw1]

They are Cedrico and they are heavy croppers, you have to tie the trusses up for support.
Funny you should say they are under stress, funny enough they are.

[goodlife]

Cedrico...ahh..I should have guessed that.. ;D They are such a beautiful looking toms and the plants produce them in huge quantities..but I'm not quite sure about the taste yet :-\..I tasted some last year first time..somebody elses and they were bit 'wooly'. But I'm not sure if it was down to the way he grows them.
I 'pinched' some seeds from him and I'm growing some myself now..as a experiment to see how the type keeps over time with each saved generation....yes they are F1 and expensive to buy..but now I'm growing the first generation (F2?)..and so far the plants, fruit and crop size look identical for the plants that were grown from bought seeds ;D
Who knows..with a bit of luck I may able to get stable 'open pollinated' 'cedrico'.. ;)..or even improved version..that would be called 'cedrica'.. ;D..does that sound like girls name..?

[bcday]

Definite seed savers
Jet Star - look like those tomato shaped ketchup bottles from Little Chef. Good size, decent crop, dense deep red and a decent meaty flavour - good for the grill.

Jet Star is a hybrid. Saving seed from it would be a bit of an experiment to see if the F2 and subsequent generations would be as good.  ???

[willsy]

Davyw1. What is wrong with your tomato leaves? "asking" as mine are the same. is it some kind of deficiency?

[davyw1]

Davyw1. What is wrong with your tomato leaves? "asking" as mine are the same. is it some kind of deficiency?

Yes, well with mine it is they have run out of minerals so they have a watering and spray with Epsom salts. I will now reduce the watering and spray them with epsom salts for a few days.

[goodlife]

They might not look pretty but do not affect crop in this stage anymore..saying that bit of epsom don't hurt neither.
I find that if one is even bit over keen with tomato fertilizer..the nutrients intake is disturbed..often resulting leaves like that. ...bad habit of mine..that's why now I rather make really really weak solution and do little and often than that recommended 'once a week'.

[antipodes]

GGgrrrrr this is where outdoor tomato growing is so frustrating! I now have good starting crops on my toms, most of them, but everything is still green! and the sun has decided to go on holidays for the most recent period. Ppffff
Still I am starting to get lots of fruit setting on the Italian plum tomatoes that I bought at the market (variety escaped my memory), on the beefsteaks, for once, and on the Tigerellas. Even the Gardener's Delight are getting big but still no red fruit
:(
And this year I have been particularly ruthless with pruning, I can actually walk between the plants this year  ;D ;D

[manicscousers]

marmande, tigerella and black krim  ;D
all undercover, don't know why you have to double click to see the last two  ???

[1066]

the last 2 don't seem to have uploaded Manics

A pic of a couple of Alicante and a Marmande today  ;D

[attachment=1]