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I have the following varieties of seeds:

Chipano F1
Moneymaker
Cream sausage
Royal Chico
San Marzano Lungo F1
Gardeners Delight
Blaby
Balconi Yellow

Does anyone have experience with these? Are they early/late varieties? Greenhouse or outdoor? Are they determinate/indeterminate etc? I have to admit for the last few years I have just planted the seeds indoors and transplanted into pots outdoors after the frosts. I should have the greenhouse set up this year so would like to grow them properly.

Blaby are fantastic, I still have a plant producing outside now even though the weather keeps dropping to zero!! lovely taste too....

Moneymaker, have grown for years - best crops under some cover - reliable

Gardeners Delight, also a regular, crops like crazy under cover but 2006 season did well outdoors, in the ground sheltered from winds

Blaby (Special), new to me last season (A4A swap) 3 plants did very well in Greenhouse, 3 plants went 'belly up' in Greenhouse and six plants outdoors produced 16 fruits between them.

All in all, last season (2007) was bad-bad for me, nothing outdoors was very special, even salad crops had a hard time with all the rain and damp air, will be growing the above Toms again this season + a few varieties new to me

I grow the 3 varieties above as indeterminate and nip out all side shoots after +/- 6 trusses have set flowers.
To be truthful - I nip out sideshoots when I spot them but sometimes I end up with several 'main' stems, this does not seem to stress the plant (especially Gardeners Delight) but I try to avoid more than 10 trusses per plant.

Good luck

I have been able to find some of the information I need, but would be greatful for answers to the following:

1. Are cream sausage, royal chico, and blaby outdoors or greenhouse only? (bearing in mind I am in Manchester, UK)
2. Are any of the above indentified as long season? or particularly short season? (again, thinking of Manchester weather)

Thanks for that info Mikey :)

How do people treat their determinate and indeterminate crops? I have been doing a bit of research and I seem to be getting conflicting advice!

Determinate:
From what I have gathered, you remove flowers from determinate until they well established? Is 1.5ft okay? :P From this stage I seem to have found conflicting advice saying do not remove any suckers through to remove all suckers! Also you shoudl pinch the growing tip out near the end of the season? At exactly what time is this?

Indeterminate:
For indeterminate crops you remove all flowers until the plant is about 1.5ft tall. Then you let the first fruit set and then remove all suckers from below the first fruit cluster? You then allow 2 or 3 max side stems to form properly from above the original fruit cluster and remove all other suckers? You then stake up the plant for support as needed. Do you pinch the growing tip out?

could someone please tell me if the above is correct?

Anyone know where I could get hold of any Blaby tomato seeds? Know they're a heritage variety from Leicester, think they could grow well where I am?

I got mine from an A4A seed swop from 'Saddad'. You could try posting in the swapshop and see if anyone has any avaliable.

Sparky, you determinate plants don't have the same growing tip like an indeterminate.

The indeterminate would grow on and on if the frost didn't kill it which is why folks nip out the tip at some point, the fruit grows all through the season too.

The determinate on the other hand grows up to a certain height depending on the variety then stops, the fruit have a tendency to mature all at the same time, not all on the same day but not on and on like the other one.

Don't prune your determinates, you are pruning off fruit if you do, and don't remove the growing tip when the plant has reached it's height as it finished with fruit on there too.

Leave them alone, some folks do trim them a bit because they can be very bushy and can take up a lot of room, personally I don't do anything to them.

The determinates are often good in tubs because they don'[t get as high.

Think of inderminates as ramblers, and determinates as bushes.

The third one is a semi determinate, this is usually were the confusion comes in.

I can get back to you re some of the questions you asked about the varieties but I will have to look it up ina tomato directory.

XX Jeannine

Quote from: bupster on January 06, 2008, 17:56:24
Anyone know where I could get hold of any Blaby tomato seeds? Know they're a heritage variety from Leicester, think they could grow well where I am?

Hi Bupster,

send me a PM with your Addy and will post you some 'Blaby Special', my own saved seed end of 2007 (parents from A4A seed swap last year)

Mikey

Royal Chico is a red paste tom, a Roma type tomato pear shaped it is mid season and it is open pollinates so you could keep seeds, it is becoming rare so you might want tp if you like it. It is a  determinate plant.

Cream Sausage is a pale yellow pear shaped fruit and it is a semi demi. I have a good page somewhere of how to take care semi demis and I will fish it out for you as they  are the omes that can be confusing. I don't know much  about the tomato itself  it but apparently Mr Fotheringills sell it so they would know more.

Balconi yellow by the way i know well, it is a compact bush determinate which grows yellow  largish cherry fruit, it has quite thick foliage and stays quite manageable with no pruning. I have those seeds and also  the ones for it's red sister Balconi Red. They are good strong easy to grow low maintenance toms which do well outside but I found they lack flavour for me as I like a tangy tom.  .If you dedide to grow it, I can let you have some of the red ones if you wish.

XX Jeannine