Which tomato varieties will you growing in 2010?
Why will you be growing them?
What will you be doing to prevent them from being destroyed by blight?
Will you be growing them inside or outside.
I will be growing
Sungold, because it is said to be good and I got a packet of seeds for 10p from wilkos.
Ferline, as it is meant to be blight tolerant.
Beefmaster, wanted to try a large tom, picked this as it is what kings seeds stock.
Tomato Roma, wanted a cooker and as above.
I have some cuttings of a GD on my windowsill as an experiment, so if they survive I will grow them on.
I also have packets of Tumbling Tom & MM, undecided on these.
I will be growing both in my cool greenhouse as well as outside.
Gardeners Delight: I like them
San Marzano: best italian plum/cooker I've tried.
Black Krim, very very early biggie, grew this year and was great
Korol Gigantov: supposedly super-hardy and early
Giant Spanish: supposed to get enormous
Giant Spanish Yellow: I wanted to try a big yellow
Kirschklumpen:cos it's the strangest tomato going.
All will grow indoors though I might try some cookers outdoors under a sort of tall cloche with no sides, keeps the rain off the foliage.... dependant on space I guess... would also like to grow a monster... best ever ) a few years ago now) was 2lb 2oz from a Jumbo Tom.... I'm sure the Korol and Giant Spanish will beat that
...
Might try some Sub-Arctic Plenty outdoors if I get the extra half plot I'm hoping to...
Well, when I've done the audit on how many varieties I have... I'll be starting some of them all for our "Heritage" Tomato sale in May.. should be about 50 varieties and will probably grow at least 30 myself.
Sungold (F1) and Black Cherry are definites
Potato Leaf White, Black Maur, Banana Legs, Greek, Blaby, Tangella, Stripped Stuffer, Garden Peach are almost certainties..
All under glass/poly...
:-[
We always grow Shirley for our banker, but will also be growing some plum tomatoes that we brought back from Tunisia that have done really well this year. Ledgend is the new one for this year. All will be grown inside to protect from blight. Everytime we have grown outside we get it so it seems a waste of time and effort to try it again
It depends on what happens over winter. I am in the middle of a breeding project, if I manage to raise some of the f1 plants to fruition, before spring then I will mostly be growing f2 plants from that project, if I am forced to grow f1s in the ground, next year, then I will have more space to play with. My plans are something lkie this.
Growing:-
[list=1]
- Japanese Black Trifele. I love this tomato.
- Orange Banana, my favourite paste tomato.
- Japanese Black Trifele x Orange Banana, ongoing project.
- Black cherry, this cherry is superb, great flavour mamouth yields, vigorous plants.
- Gregory Altai, early, tasty, big.
- Gold Medal, never tried this one.
- Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge, never tried this one, curiosity as much as anything.
- Others for my daughters breeding project, as yet to be established.
I have not really suffered from blight for the last two seasons, but it has been very dry here. However to reduce the possibility I am going to build a carport like structure to grow them under. Open sides but protection from rain. I didn't spray with anything other than milk this year and intend to keep to that. If i do spray anything it will be breeding project plants only.
Quote from: saddad on October 22, 2009, 07:46:44
Well, when I've done the audit on how many varieties I have... I'll be starting some of them all for our "Heritage" Tomato sale in May.. should be about 50 varieties and will probably grow at least 30 myself. :-[
We will have to compare notes so we don't grow the same varieties for the tomato sale! ;D
I have now reduced the number of varieties I grow to about 24 in my home greenhouse, and 8 in the little lottie one. I do a sort of audit in early October and highlight the outstanding ones to grow again next year, and then try varieties I haven't grown before to make the same number of plants. In theory, I should end up with a stable list of favourites, but I keep finding other good toms to grow!
Added to favourites this year are;
Olirose: oval rose coloured fruit, useful size, nice taste
Kenilworth: prolific and tasty
Red Russian:vigorous, largish fruits, long cropping and slightly sharper taste
Speckled Roman: I've been saving seeds of this for years, selecting the largest fruit and they are now reliably huge and more striped than speckled! Great basis for soups and sauces
Fuzzy:slightly furry red fruits, very pretty!
Legend;new beefsteak, early and prolific
Red Zebra:bigger fruit than Tigerella, and a good taste too.
I will not be trying any tomatoes outdoors next year, fed up with losing them to blight before they ripen, it is not worth the heartache...... :-\
I'm planning a greenhouse.
I will not be growing Moneymaker ;D
which varieties will you be growing, plainleaf2? and why? and what are you doing about blight?
My mate got me a couple of Money maker plants, i did'nt like throwing kindness in his face so i grew them, the chickens loved them. Ok next year Sungold and Fantasio. Fantasio are still growing strong now. All indoors.
for size i am growing
Delicious
Porterhouse
Big Zac
Beefsteak
I will starting the above four on dec 15. for plant out feb 15.
for taste
sungold
for sauce
san marzono redota
10 others to named later
As for bight I have never had a problem since I use dococil (sp) . And a rain hood.
tonybloke now your turn.
I will be growing Korol Gigantov for flavour, size and vigour,
Gardeners Delight for flavour and salads, (and freezing whole)
Whippersnapper for salads and freezing
'ludowick' for their unusual colour/shape'
Marmande for cooking.
I grow both indoor and out, and don't usually have problems with blight (I live in the driest part of the U.K.)
QuoteAnd a rain hood
Can we have a description of this?
Quotefor plant out feb 15.
Do you mean out as in outside? They would get their socks frozen off here.
dig well they will be in a hoop house and wall of water.
as rain hood is hoop house that can be raised as plant grows to prevent plant leaves from getting wet, but directs the water either to plants at soil level or to water storage barrel. I will post picture later so you can see what looks like.
but the design is very simple
Had a quick google and a hoop house looks like a kind of polytunnel.
I managed to built something of the sort, but when it rains the wind blows and it soon blew over. My allotment is on a very windy site indeed. Plan to try again next year with a wall of sweetcorn to keep the wind in check.
Digeroo sound like need better design.
now back the tomato topic.
Definately Sungold,some big ones from saved seed no idea what variety they were originally,on the look out for a new cherry type,Legend because they were splendid this year and probably all sorts of different ones as despite swearing I won't I always sow too many.We were very lucky this year and lost only a few to blight (we grow mainly outdoors) I sprayed twice with dithane (had nothing to weigh the bordeaux mixture with down the lottie) and the OH is convinced that planting them between rows of french and runner beans offered them some sort of protection he could have a point because some other plants in the open succumbed :(
Plainleaf2 so what's dococil? A Google search throws up nothing appropriate!
flight that was trade name of it but alas i misspelled it. I can't remember what active anti fungicide was in it.
now back to which tomatoes will you be growing
Feline.. blight resistant and not a bad tomato
Cristal.. Nice taste
Tigerella.... Hubbys favorite
Romano... Love them
Black cherry...Sweet
Love apple.... for stuffing
Roma... For sauces
And a few otheres not decided yet :)
Yellow peach = love the fuzziness and the flavour
Black cherry = for flavour
San Marzano = for my passata machine
and several others yet to be decided.
All outside - I am an optimist ;D
Sungold because they are yummy.
Korol Gigantov because of the generosity of one forum member
Big Boy curtesty of my mate Mike who knows his onions
San Marzano because of the wisdom of previous posters
Harbinger because they are early and reliable
plus whatever else takes my fancy at the time...
I think I will give Ferline and maybe Legend a go
Also a tomato that grew in my garden. No idea what it is or where it came from but suddenly there were two small yellow fruits.
My favourite is still Sungold I love going out into the garden of a morning and grazing.
O.K. guys,
Got the tastey info. Black cherry is also blight resistant?
More info. on that point. Thanks.
Black Krim again- a medium size but great complex flavor
Anna Russian- a large, up to a lb. heart-shaped very meaty fruit with very small seeds and tiny seed pockets. The plant itself initially looks ferny and frail but beefs up
Polfast- it is the earliest, good flavor, smallish to med. sized, but poops out by August so I'll grow some in pots to replace these
Maybe Pruden's Purple again though this yr. it didn't earn its keep. Wonderful flavor when it does.
Not Brandywine- too huge a plant and few fruits though they were large
Not Tigerella- flavor not as good as the others to my way of thinking
Will try "Black Cherry" due to rave reviews and still hunting for a super-early tom- maybe a Canadian one?
I may try putting a temporary roof over some with open sides.
Sungold.. for the flavour and yield in a cherry size.
Paul Robeson,of all my blacks this is my favourite black tom, the taste is out of thos world.
La Roma (not roma ) for a plum type.
Big Beef is my standard best red. usually blemish free with a super taste and perfectly round.
Galapagos and Elfie, recently sent to me from Oz,my new ones this year.
Brandywine Yellow(Platfoot) Also Hughs, another yellow.
Soldacki,pink, the taste is super and the yield is good
Muleteam , midseason
2 Only Tumblers, good yield takes up little room and matures in 55 days so although the flavour is not the best it keeps me going till the others arrive
Lillians Yellow Heirloom, I think it is the best yellow, it is potato leaved and is generally a strong plant,
the seeds are not easily found in the UK and the fruits often cat face but they have a very distint taste.
Kellogg's Breakfast, brilliant orange ,large, high yield, fab taste.
Green grape,, heavy yield, outstanding taste.
One or two of the Polar group, not sure which yet, but because they are compact and very early.
Aussie, for a bit of fun.. I have bet on with a penpal as to who grows the biggest.
After that, I don't know, with much less space now I have to be more selective(and sad)
XX Jeannine
I am hoping that the greenhouse will be build and the garden landscaped in jan/feb, baby due march so i am hoping i can get some early tomatoes and salads planted before i need to stop.
Quote from: cambourne7 on October 23, 2009, 00:47:25
I am hoping that the greenhouse will be build and the garden landscaped in jan/feb, baby due march so i am hoping i can get some early tomatoes and salads planted before i need to stop.
Ahh, a baby! :D Just promise us you won't go wrecking your back lifting heavy pots when you're great with child, Cambourne.
dont panic i cleaned the downstairs today and my back was so sore after this gardening is low on my list of priorities :) and i am only 19 weeks so god knows what size i will be by christmas :)
Quote from: cambourne7 on October 23, 2009, 13:28:26
dont panic i cleaned the downstairs today and my back was so sore after this gardening is low on my list of priorities :) and i am only 19 weeks so god knows what size i will be by christmas :)
In Dec. you'll be the perfect sixe for one having a baby! Vac. cleaners are murder on the lower back.
cambourne7 and GrannieAnnie would mind taking the offtopic posts to the shed.
This is tomato and veg growing thread.
We don't mind too much on here Plainleaf, chill.
northerner no
Plainleaf2 people often go off-topic in threads on this forum which other members don't mind at all.
If you don't like it then hard luck and don't start threads here.
Flighty these same type people made personal attack and insults against me on other threads.
so if they want talk offtopic that is what shed if for. Off topic and other unrelated posts is what pretty much killed bbc garden boards.
It is much better to grow a baby than toms. You can buy toms in supermarkets but not babies. How exciting I wish you well. Oh I have got all excited now and its not mine and a long time to wait until March. I was just excited that I got any ripe toms this year, think they were Gardeners Delight from a free packet of seeds. I have two children and four grandchildren and was more excitrf about them, then toms, but must say was excited about my cauliflower until I found it had a slug in it. Going of topic now, what I shame. ;D ;D
Borlotti well said! :)
I like topics, (the ones with hazel-nuts in) or is that off-topic? ;D ;D ;D
I prefer Roses to Quality Street.
Getting back on topic...
Red ones. Because I like the colour. The usual things. Yes.
Do you mean the tomato flavoured Topic Tony?with the tomato nuts in it??
I thought about growing that one next year!!!
I have just looked at my seeds and the toms that I grew, and are still eating are
Tomato F1 Fantasio, outdoor variety with blight resistance by Suttons Seeds, packet cost me £3.30. Still have some seeds left for next year, so put that in your pipe and smoke it, nasty person, whoever you are. Obviously not you Flighty or Betula. How can anyone argue about toms. >:( >:(
What has a hazelnut in every bite? .......................
Squirrel s**t
do squirrels like tomatoes, if so what variety would you grow for them? ;D
Lushy x
:) back to tomatoes then,these all taste fantastic (well I think so!)
Black Krim,
Cherokee Purple,
Brown Berry,
First In the Field,
Harbinger,
Gardeners Delight,
Snow white Cherry,
Eva Purple Ball,
Black Cherry,
and loads more I haven't bought yet ;D/ shades x
My apologies to all for mentioning the offending ergonomic off-topics of lifting of pots, babies and causes of back pain.
I'm not offended by you Annie... :-X
GrannieAnnie as far as I'm concerned there's no need to apologise for mentioning what you did, and as I said here earlier most of us don't mind off-topic comments! :)
Absolutely Grannieannie, yours was a nice post and not offensive in the least
Lushyx
I've been going through the seeds I have and to be honest I don't think I'll buy any more until I've used up this lot.
I have Tumbler, a generic freebie cherry, sweet million and Gardener's delight. They never make it to the kitchen. They grow round the house and we eat them as and when, a bit like the sweets mentioned earlier in the off-topic asides.
Then I have Roma (inexplicably 3 packets) and San Marzano for cooking sauces etc.
The salady type ones are rose de berne (pretty name), Stupice,Latah, Buckbee New, Sub-arctic Plenty - all supposedly early and short season- and Sweet Olive (f1) and Moneymaker :o :o :o Don't know where the moneymaker came from?? Freebie with a magazine probably.
I haven't grown many tomatoes this year except the snacking ones round the house but next season my new greenhouse should be finished and also my plot reorganisation so I hope to grow lots.
Quote from: GrannieAnnie on October 23, 2009, 21:38:48
My apologies to all for mentioning the offending ergonomic off-topics of lifting of pots, babies and causes of back pain.
;D ;D ;D
p.s I'll be growing red ones, yellow ones, small ones, trailing ones ........ ;)
After losing all my toms to blight three years running I don't see myself growing them again until I've got a greenhouse organised. There isn't a lot of awareness of the disease on the site - a lot of people every year think their potatoes are rotting due to floods - and I'm convinced that blight's overwintering on the site in accidentals. I'm wondering about how to raise awareness of this, but I'm not sure how successful I'm likely to be.
Quotebaby due march
Congratulations, look after yourself.
No apologies needed GrannieAnnie. A bit of wandering is what makes this site great. Its like a conversation.
Still not convinced Robert about the volunteers and accidentals. Bad blight here on a pristine site for potatoes. I believe blight must have come in with seed potatoes.
None of you have mentioned Principe Borghese ... has this one fallen from grace ??
Request ...
If anyone has either Glacier and/or Stupice would they be willing to swap a couple of seeds ???
I am going to grow Santiam next year, could do a swap :)
Im going for
Gardeners delight - reliable and easy to grow
Outdoor girl - as an outdoor variety also my grandads fought of the blight very well this year
Roma VF for sauces
Money maker - to try out
Marmande - to have with my steaks and burgers on the barbie
I always sow way to many, pick out the strongest as give the "runts" to freinds and family.
Woody
Hiya, woody, welcome to a4a ;D
we will be mainly growing
golden sunrise, like the long season, early toms and taste, tigerella, ditto, red beefsteak, can't remember the variety, orange banana saved seed from one of debP's, brill for sauce with the san marzano, black krim and a black cherry, gardener's delight and garten perle for cherries, think that's it, so far ;D
Quote from: Digeroo on October 24, 2009, 12:34:48
Still not convinced Robert about the volunteers and accidentals. Bad blight here on a pristine site for potatoes. I believe blight must have come in with seed potatoes.
This is definitely a problem in the States. Where do we find out what minimum standard is accepted for seed potatoes here? Meanwhile, the two that are always quoted - and make a lot of sense - are farmers' outgrade piles (definitely not the problem this year; we had a major outbreak when there was nothing reported within 15 miles) and volunteers. While it's possible blight is coming in via seed, we've definitely had volunteers all over neglected plots. Let's control what we can, and see if that deals with the problem!
Next year could be interesting.
I`m about ready to give up on `Smiling Cat Herbs`. It`s too much bother for the return and which ever way I go (folks coming into the garden or me putting plants out on the pavement ) I risk falling foul of the law(ers)
But there is a new `farm shop` just up the road and I did mention today that someone just a mile away could supply them next year.
Just a mention today but I did say "if you want to sell Money Maker,Alicante,Ailsa Craig and stuff like that go to Spalding Auction-but if you want quality and flavour let me know" ;D
I'm hoping to try some of these varieties-I've-never-heard-of next year if Saddad's early sale comes off, but for my main staple I shall grow Ailsa Craig again - they have been wonderfully tasty this year. I gather from other posts that they are rather despised?
Quote from: flowerlady on October 24, 2009, 15:28:39
None of you have mentioned Principe Borghese ... has this one fallen from grace ??
Silly old me, I'll be growing it, quite forgot.
I am looking to change my varieties but I will keep Shirley as they always do well.
New ones I would be trying are:
Berry F1 : http://www.thompson-morgan.com/seeds1/product/891/1.html
Ferline F1 : http://www.thompson-morgan.com/seeds1/product/899/1.html
Vanessa F1 : http://www.kingsseeds.com/kolist/1/0/14849.htm
I've read good reports about Ferline and Vanessa on this site, but am yet to meet anybody who has grown Berry.... they do look yummy.
Hi,
This is my maiden post/reply so sorry if you've heard it all before...
No 1 by a long chalk - Green Tiger - only available by buying tubs of tomatoes from M&S in high season - seed comes true, strong tom flavour, sweet even when hardly ripe and splitting (like now), fairly early too (unlike Green Zebra but may be a child of it) and very meaty. Maybe too meaty for some but worth the effort - just make sure those falsies are firmly in before biting...
Gardener's Delight and Sungold (for cherry tom flavour) - I don't sow these - I buy a plant or two as soon as they appear in the garden centres and take cuttings - gives a head start of a month or more. I also plant any axil sprouts that get too big to waste - right up until July. They always root if you bury everything 5cm deep except the last 10cm or so, especially if you put a tile over the buried part to maintain moisture.
Blight note: bordeaux mixture does work if you mix it fresh from separate solutions - CuSO4 solution and lime solution - that way you get a colloidal precipitate (nanoparticles in current buzzspeak) which is much more effective. It's probably as effective or nearly as effective as dithane/mancozeb and doesn't leave that appalling smell.
a) Copper is very bitter but is also very visible and polishes off tomato skin very easily leaving NO residual taste
b) The CuSO4 I bought was intended for use in animal feed - it keeps them healthy - it is an essential trace element in our diet too - as long as you keep it in these kind of trace quantities.
c) Copper has been used against blight since the potato famine in the 1840s - it is slightly poisonous in large amounts but more importantly it is a 'simple' poison - if you took enough to make you ill and it doesn't kill you, then you'll be fine a day or a week later (you'd have to be dead already to get that much past your tongue). New chemicals are relatively untried and may have long term effects - remember Benlate (www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/benlate-fungicide-causes-birth-defects-504667.html).
d) All the other ions in bordeaux or burgundy mix are as harmless as anything can be (that dihydrogen monoxide stuff www.dhmo.org can kill you).
Burgundy mix is easier in some ways because you use washing soda instead of lime and the solution keeps better - it is a bit harsher on foliage than bordeaux but it's worth it for the convenience. Green Tiger's stems are the only ones that I've found get scorched by burgundy so I reduce the concentration when the panic days are past.
Cheers.
PS. I don't think any remedy would have worked in 2008 except prevention (shelter and ventilation) - it was so bad.
PPS. In case we get another 2008 - does anyone have any lychee tomato seeds? I can swap for Green Tiger.
welcome to A4A, Vinlander!! a very well informed and presented first post, thanks for sharing!! ;)
Quote from: plainleaf2 on October 23, 2009, 17:14:33
Flighty these same type people made personal attack and insults against me on other threads.
so if they want talk offtopic that is what shed if for. Off topic and other unrelated posts is what pretty much killed bbc garden boards.
who's getting a real tree vs an artificial tree this year? ;)
Quote from: Vinlander on October 26, 2009, 00:09:15
Hi,
Blight note: bordeaux mixture does work if you mix it fresh from separate solutions - CuSO4 solution and lime solution - that way you get a colloidal precipitate (nanoparticles in current buzzspeak) which is much more effective. It's probably as effective or nearly as effective as dithane/mancozeb and doesn't leave that appalling smell.
What proportion of lime to water is it, please? I just used copper sulfate this yr.
Hiya, vinlander, welcome to the mad house ;D
Quote from: manicscousers on October 26, 2009, 16:35:14
Hiya, vinlander, welcome to the mad house ;D
Attn. Vinlander- Only some are mad- Manicx being one. ;D
Welcome Vinlander.
The Green Tiger, from M&S interested quite a lot of us. Not seen any this year though. Would you be interested in trading some seeds?
Copper sulphate solution is very acid on its own - the lime both neutralises and precipitates it so it is much less likely to wash off.
I converted Lawrence D. Hills bordeaux recipe to suit 4 Litre containers (gallons are getting hard to find these days).
2 and 5/8ths ounce of CuSO4 in 4L warm water and leave overnight to dissolve.
3 and 1/2 ounce slaked lime in 4L cold water.
When you mix the solutions 1:1 you get an instant colloidal precipitate which must be sprayed before it settles. I decant both solutions into 500ml water bottles and carry it to the plants before mixing in my sprayer. This makes a litre of spray which will do about 10-15 plants.
The CuSO4 solution should last indefinitely - it's too weak to crystallise. Keep the lime solution well capped - contact with CO2 will make it precipitate out as useless chalk dust.
I use burgundy mixture because washing soda is easier to dissolve and stays dissolved - the quantities are identical. It can scorch some leaves so I use it 2/3 strength unless it is the 1st spray of a bad attack.
I bought 1kg of CuSO4 by mail order (Mole Valley Farms) - less than £10 and should last years. The washing soda is easy to find - mine came from Wilko.
I've got nearly all my seeds for next year but I'm happy to swap 10-20 Green Tiger seeds at a time - and open to suggestions eg: (for starters various things that seem very hard to buy)
A few seeds from pumpkins that make lots of big fat seeds - measuring more than 25mm long - ideally more than 30mm.
Lychee-Tomato, Skirret, Rampion,
Very mild chillis with lots of flavour (habanero trinidad, aji dulce, numex suave, tobago seasoning, trinidad perfume etc.etc.)
The promise of cuttings in spring of pepino (solanum muricatum).
etc. etc. - should I start a new thread on who's got what exotica?? I have some really weird stuff like hardy custard bananas, nearly hardy strawberry guavas, compact fruiting cacti (better than dragon fruit) etc.
Cheers.
vinlander, thank you for the copper/lime recipe!
Tescos do washing soda. I hadn't heard of this mix, but it sounds worth trying. When I was a kid I killed all the bindweed in the garden by repeatedly painting copper sulphate (nicked from the chemistry lab at school) onto the leaves.
vinegar would been choice for weeds due to lower toxicity.
Just found one new to me which sounds interesting First Light.. ( Johnny's seeds in the |US) Think this one might tempt me to do just one more. Smashing new bean on there too. XX Jeannine