Allotments 4 All

Interestingly I've never (🤞) had blossom end rot. Like you, picman, I grow in a polytunnel (without a helpful top vent) and automatic drip irrigation. What I do get and which I've attributed to the heat, is a fair bit of green back. So my bottom ends are OK but a lot of my top ends not so good!

The green tends to affect the plain red tomatoes. The varieties with anthocyanin or more orange in colour seem fine. I'm assuming heat is probably the cause but not at all sure.

Thank you for this helpful report.  Yes this year was a difficult one for tomato setting in the heat.  We got 38C on a few occasions and watering was a chore.  Finally a little cooler and now the tomatoes are now making up for lost time.  Will be collecting eggshells here too.

Quote from: Vetivert on August 10, 2026, 12:57:07Do they look like these? https://winkel.detuinenvanweldadigheid.nl/products/stamdroogboon-musseneitjes

No they don't, so these may well be the 'real' Sparrow's egg beans.   

Hi Galina. yes egg shells did help I ran out ( 12 plants ) and one plant only got a little bit that plant did have a couple of ber fruits so will collect more shells next year, Biggest problem this year for us poly tunnel gardeners has been the heat, fortunately i fitted a vent in the top of mine in May , has helped keep below 100c.I have an automatic water system but yes watering can effect it, toms take up calcium during the night.       

Yes , Zlatava for the circle .

Quote from: markfield rover on August 19, 2026, 17:50:02Zlatava tomato is an interesting one, appearance wise like a sanguine orange I genuinely thought I had cut my finger.

That's interesting. I grew Zlatava from Kings seeds a few years ago having read about it. But I found their version to be unremarkable. Perhaps you have a strain where the contrast between orange skin and red flesh is more marked. Are you hoping to contribute it to the seed circle? If so, I'd love to try it again.

Zlatava tomato is an interesting one, appearance wise like a sanguine orange I genuinely thought I had cut my finger.

And a report of an oddity.  Something very rare that I have only seen once before.  We all know about the occasional inversed seed, but much rarer still is to find an inversed pod.  But with La Vignerone I found two of them.  All the other pods are normal, green with purple striping. We will have to see what the seeds are doing, but they may well be 'normal' and not inversed themselves. 

And a pepper, the traditional Hungarian sweet pepper Taltos.  My seed source was Hungarian descended US seed saver Sharon Vadas from Colorado.  They grew well in UK during an average cool and cloudy summer and also here.  Its main use is at the white stage for cooking and for salads, but the fruit will eventually turn red.

Reisetomate.  This is a very strange tomato indeed.  Cherry tomatoes are clustered together forming one beefsteak sized fruit.  When ready to eat, individual cherries can be pulled off, leaving the rest of the fruit intact and mess free.  'Reise' translates to journey in German and this is a mess free way to divide a fruit and enjoy.  My seeds were bought from RealSeeds.  https://www.facebook.com/reel/991035172800994

Two photos