First tomatoes lacking in taste... Will the next ones be better?

Hi all,

Over the past two weeks some of our tomatoes have ripened. They look great and the plants look great too. However, many of them taste very bland and watery. Once picked, they also tend to split.

I gather that the cause of this is either that I over-watered them during the drought (I gave them a fair bit of water most days) or that they haven't appreciated the heavy rainfall of the past few weeks. They are planted outside in the ground, in relatively composted soil. I gave them a bit of universal plant feed whilst they've been growing.

There are many small fruits still developing and flowers that have yet to pollinate. So my question is, is the rest of the crop doomed to be tasteless, or is there anything I can do to help the flavour develop?

Ben

 

Hi John, thanks for the quick reply and friendly welcome!

We have three different varieties. They're growing in a communal garden and unfortunately I only know the name of one variety, which is Gardeners Delight. I actually compared one of the GD tomatoes with one of the other varieties and the GD has significantly better taste, though still not as sweet and tangy as I would have liked. Most of the ripened fruits we've had so far are from one of the other varieties, so hopefully the GD fruits will come out a bit better.

The area around them is pretty clear so they should be getting plenty of sun. I may, however, have planted them a bit too close together.

Is it still worth feeding this late in the season?

 

Hiya benjimon....agree with advice already given but I have found less watering actually improves the taste.
My tomatoes are all formed, green to ripe and have been eating them now for 3 or 4 weeks. They are in the ground but in a gh. They are all GD simply because they are relished here above all others. My tomatoes will all be ripe and gone by first week or so of September. Much of the foliage has been removed and I no longer feed them.
If you feel your plants are too close together, removing lowest leaves, all yellowing foliage should always be removed, will help create good air circulation and expose fruit to the sun and light. This summer should have provided plenty of heat to ripen tomatoes outside.
I have to say there is currently discussion about GD tomatoes that their taste is more bland than in previous years. Personally, I have not noticed this and think they are as delicious as ever

 

Hi,

Rather than pull the fruit off the stem, cut the stalk so there is still some left on them, I find that helps reduce splitting.

 

Interesting Ricky, I will try that this year.

There is a lot of variation in taste between varieties so as others have said you may have picked a dud this year. Never fear there is always next year! Have a look at others reviews and try a few different ones next time. I have been growing one plant each of eight or ten different varieties, with a mix of sizes and colours, trying different types and only repeating the good ones. For larger tomatoes I like mortgage lifter and Cherokee purple. Lots of tasty cherry toms around too.

 

Ha ha Marley....
Reminds me of an old boy years ago who grew the best tomatoes. As a keen novice
I asked him for his tips. He said he added salt and vinegar and I believed him. He saw me coming

However, always willing to try things so the syrup will be tried. Prob attract aphids and ants though??

I spray my tomatoes a couple of times with skimmed milk in spring, epsom salts and use seaweed spray. A regime that seems to work here.

A p.s. about JWK's post that I found very thought provoking..... I have noticed one of my GD plants produces less sweet than the others????