Gardener's Delight Tomato Seed Germination and Growing Thread

Discussion in 'Edible Gardening' started by JWK, Mar 29, 2018.

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  1. JWK

    JWK Gardener Staff Member

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    Yes @silu will definitely grow next year. I have a pretty good idea which years seed are keepers: 2005 & 2012. I also found a 2018 supplier that tastes good too. I will keep tasting them over the next couple of weeks and now the sun has disappeared it will be interesting to see which ones still perform. I hope to save enough seed to share.

    It's 50/50 - some in my old greenhouse, some in my new, some outside in the veg patch on chalky soil and some outside on my allotment on clay. I can definitely say that those grown outside all taste a bit nicer but are smaller and less yield.

    Good point - but with my selective eyes I read that we are due for a period of good summers over the next few years :)
     
  2. JWK

    JWK Gardener Staff Member

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    Hi @sandymac I don't know the parents but found who originally bred it. Back in April I found out that Gardener's Delight is called "Sugar Lump" over in the USA and from a forum there:

    Heirloom Tomato Seeds - 'Sugar Lump'
    "Also known as Gardener's Delight, this flavorful cherry tomato received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society for its excellence and high production both outdoors and in the greenhouse. Paul Tellhelm developed this tomato, and Ernst Benary Samenzucht of Hann Muenden, Germany introduced it in 1950. It was first called "Benary's Gartenfreude, Hochzucht", then later known as "Jung's Sugar Lump" when sold by Jung Quality Seed, Randolph, Wisconsin in 1960."

    I emailed Benary's and got back this repsone:

    Dear John,
    thank you for your e-mail.
    Please note that the genetic of our tomato is still the same as in the past and that this is the first complaint we have to this item.
    But our production team will check this now.
    Best regards,

    Well I never ever heard from them again after chasing a couple of times. I get the feeling that even the original breeder has lost interest in GD.
     
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    • JWK

      JWK Gardener Staff Member

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      It would be good to know.

      I have said this before so apologies but in 2016 me and Kristen grew an 'Improved' F1 strain of GD from a seed company in France, £7 for 15 seeds! - Both me and Kristen agreed it was tasteless.
       
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      • Verdun

        Verdun Passionate gardener

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        I must be very lucky indeed then with my GD.......I will be overthinking them when I eat my tomatoes now trying to imagine what is wrong with them!! :)

        Is anybody else....anyone at all....enjoying GD this year?:noidea:
         
      • JWK

        JWK Gardener Staff Member

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        I am certainly enjoying them @Verdun , the 2005 and 2012 vintage seed are excellent, I'd say better than all my other varieties - just like the good old days. As I said one 2018 seed supplier is also great, it's just pot luck if your plants are from good stock or not.

        One thing I have found is that the less tasty variants are much bigger. Can you take a photo of an average sized one next to a 50p please ? I know you are using grafted plants which probably means they will be bigger regardless.

        Here's mine - the tasteless one above and a tasty 2007 below:
        IMG_20180729_163306990.jpg
         
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        • silu

          silu gardening easy...hmmm

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          How interesting @JWK . You may well have hit the nail on the head as to why GD has altered . Perhaps the seed companies picked the bigger fruiting plants to take seed from at the expense of taste. Bit like Roses, so many of the highly manufactured Roses look great and have zero scent. I have a fairly small flowered species Rose and the perfume from it almost blows your head off if the weather is warm. I have never ever smelt such a strong scent from any other Rose but to look at it is not that spectacular.
           
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          • JWK

            JWK Gardener Staff Member

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            It's not just me @silu the RHS trial of cherry tomatoes last year stripped Gardener's Delight of it's Award of Garden Merit (that's something that rarely happens I think). It was too big and too variable.

            Taken from the RHS trial summary:
            "they felt it was not a cherry tomato. Besides, this cultivar (perhaps because of its popularity and age) is too variable, with many different strains being sold as the same plant. The Forum felt that it is 'not what it should be or once was'"
             
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            • Verdun

              Verdun Passionate gardener

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              IMG_5190.JPG Hiya JWK :)
              Here is an average GD. I pick when not too red
              It will be interesting to see if taste changes nears summer's end
              Following this thread with interest
               
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              • Redwing

                Redwing Wild Gardener

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                That's much bigger than what I remember GD of old.
                 
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                • Ezzie

                  Ezzie Gardener

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                  B9774D7B-E201-4AFD-A16C-83CE3AAFC858.jpeg Here is my 2006 seed report!

                  Mine have been grown outside on a south facing patio. Other family members have grown them in greenhouses (x2) and one outside on a third floor balcony. All south or south-west of me. Collective findings are that they are very tasty. Outdoor yields have not been as good though and my early tomatoes had tough skins which I assume is due to the intense heat they will have had on my patio. This is not now the case since temperatures have dropped.

                  The photo has Sweet Aperitif on the left and an average size Gardener’s Delight on the right. I grew the former as a trial for the first time this year and am very impressed.

                  Having got started on this malarkey :snorky: now, I am going to get hold of some Sugar Lump seed for next year to see if the Americans and Australians are also getting wishy washy tomatoes from modern day seed!
                   
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                  • Phil A

                    Phil A Guest

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                    2012's are smaller and much less productive than the 2005, but both taste like a proper tomato :)

                    2012...

                    DSCI0080.JPG

                    DSCI0082.JPG

                    2005...

                    DSCI0081.JPG

                    DSCI0083.JPG
                     
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                    • JWK

                      JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                      I've removed all my gardeners Delight plants that were tasteless and am just left with 2005 and 2012 plants. This is a 2005 in the greenhouse. I have more outdoors that are still producing too.
                      IMG_20181007_181812867.jpg
                       
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                      • joolz68

                        joolz68 Total Gardener

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                        Are they supposed to grow that tall? Im only 5ft 2 @JWK il need a ladder :heehee: x
                         
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                        • joolz68

                          joolz68 Total Gardener

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                          Question..what do you all feed your Tomato plants? Ive only ever used Maxicrop seaweed extract ,then Tomatorite and homemade comfry tea ,is that the right stuff?
                           
                        • sandymac

                          sandymac Super Gardener

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                          You should be Ok with that.
                          Maxicrop Original contains negligible quantities of N P K fertiliser and so tends to be used as a tonic. I use it all the time Seaweed is rich in trace elements.
                          Levington Tomorite is OK NPK 4-3-8
                          Comfrey tea is rich in nitrogen and potassium The nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) ratio of dried comfrey leaves is 1.8-0.5-5.3; comfrey also contains calcium.

                          personally I Mix FBB and calcified seaweed into the compost at final potting up and TNC mycorr on the roots then feed with maxicrop organic tomato feed (brown bottle not red) NPK 4-2-6
                          I use maxicrop seaweed extract as a foliar feed.
                          This year I will also be using Green Future Organic Tomato Fertiliser (NPK 4-1-6) which is a thick liquid of pure organic plant extracts + fluvic and humic acids
                          rgds Sandy
                           
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