I've got a couple of Marmande tomatoes and one has developed in a strange way. The first truss has formed but the growing tip has produced a rosette very similar to a chrysanthemum flower bud, totally different to anything I've seen a tomato do before and it doesn't appear as if the main stem will grow anymore.
I've started to let a side shoot grow hoping it'll take over from this blind budded tip. Anyone experienced anything on a tomato like this before?
they form crissate flowers, don't worry!!
Quote from: tonybloke on May 19, 2009, 20:59:08
they form crissate flowers, don't worry!!
Thanks for answering but could you elaborate on "crissate flowers" please?
Google drew a complete blank on that one.
Try googling cristate instead or have a look at these threads.
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,43650.0.html
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,31278.0.html
Thanks BM. I fully understand now, it's seems very common on Marmande. It's the first, and last, time I'll be growing them.
whoops! sorry for the bad spelling!! ;)
Quote from: Plot69 on May 19, 2009, 21:42:45
Thanks BM. I fully understand now, it's seems very common on Marmande. It's the first, and last, time I'll be growing them.
wait 'til you taste them! they are a lovely large fruit, and one for making sauces with.
rgds, Tony
So what do you do when you have one of these flowers ..cut it off ? leave it ?
I have read the other posts and I am still unsure ???
Duke
I'd leave it... :-\
Quote from: tonybloke on May 19, 2009, 22:20:44
wait 'til you taste them! they are a lovely large fruit, and one for making sauces with.
I shall let it grow. I've got two plants and it looks as though the other is going the same way. Should ne interesting to see how it turns out.
I've got loads of flowers on these two plants but can't see any that have actually set yet.
Quote from: Duke Ellington on May 20, 2009, 12:05:28
So what do you do when you have one of these flowers ..cut it off ? leave it ?
I have read the other posts and I am still unsure ???
Duke
I'd leave it, king fruits can be untidy monsters but they do taste great.... one of the three wierd bits of beefsteak tomato growth habits to learn.... the others being bifurcating growth (the growing point just splits and you end up with two mainstems, stop one out two leaves above a truss and tie it to an extra cane) and blind growth into a truss where the growing point creates a flower truss as a terminal event on the stem.... always leave one decent sideshoot on th eplant so that you can train it in if the main stem does this.... if it wasn't for how good they taste I'd never bother with beefsteaks, as it is half the toms I grow indoors are beefs./... this year it's Black Krim, and they're happily chucking kingflowers, growing blind and bifurcating to their hearts content whilst the San Marzano 2, Alicante and gardeners delight shoot up their canes like they've been launched by NASA......
chrisc
OK OK noted all.
So, has any one, as yet, kept the seeds from the monsters for next years tomatoes?
I went to water today and left them all but am very tempted to grow only monsters.
Waddaya think?
Quote from: PurpleHeather on June 02, 2009, 20:16:48
OK OK noted all.
So, has any one, as yet, kept the seeds from the monsters for next years tomatoes?
I went to water today and left them all but am very tempted to grow only monsters.
Waddaya think?
Dependcs how big you want your toms really..... for biggest fruit keep the king and say one or two fruit per truss, for max cropweight about three or four per truss, I'd only take it off if I wanted show toms.....
Just got one on one of my twenty marmande plants. It has formed just above the first truss, so am gonna leave it untidy or not just for interest sakes. Will look good at the annual show if it turns into something big.
Quote from: PurpleHeather on June 02, 2009, 20:16:48
OK OK noted all.
So, has any one, as yet, kept the seeds from the monsters for next years tomatoes?
I went to water today and left them all but am very tempted to grow only monsters.
Waddaya think?
This years Marmande and Costoluto Fiorentino are from seed saved last year.I,ve one "blind" plant of each but out of 32 plants thats o/k. Both types have king flowers and most have bifurcated stems(now reduced to singles).Last year I left both stems and some subsiduaries, they grew huge and filled the greenhouses but I had a good crop from them. I think I,ll thin the trusses this year for larger fruit but I,ll never stop growing them,they taste too good!!
all of the tom's I grow are from own saved seed. I'll post some photo's of my 'marmande' progress so far ;)
[attachment=1]
Well after a very skeptical start with Marmande toms and getting used a very unusual habit I must say they're growing on me... Not tasted any yet but I shall definitely be growing them from now on.
I'm growing Costoluto and they have all grown with strange Chrysanthemum tops. The idea was to grow them in the greenhouse with my other toms (Lidl, Tumbling Toms and Tamina) until I ran out of space then move them outside. Does anyone grow them outside (I'm in North Wales), I thought it was worth a try.