Question about Tomatoes

I would like to grow some tomatoes on my allotment as this summer while I was walking around having a look at what was growing there seemed to be quite a lot of tomatoes being grown and some quite big.Not sure what variety they were.I have a spot where I used to have raspberries growing but it is empty now and would like to try and grow some tomatoes there but not sure what variety to get and whether or not grow them from seed or buy the plants from the garden center.Any advise appreciated.

 

I grow from seed and have a glut of plants that I cant use. Next year I am only growing two varieties (famous last words!) If you are growing a lot of the same plants I would grow from seed. If not, beg / buy a couple of plants from other gardeners on the allotment.
For big tomatoes I grow what I know as Buffalo Heart. These have few seeds and are very fleshy. They have low acidity and are great in salads or grilled.

 

We have grown Tumbling Tom (small) and Crimson Crush (tall) from seed with good results, though plenty of other outdoor varieries to try, worth asking other allotment holders which they find best.

Starting from seed, you probably do not need to sow indoors much before April to avoid the frosts when planting out, or buy as young plants.

 

I would recommend Crimson Crush too, simply as they are blight resistant and give good heavy early crops. Once blight hits an allotment site it spreads to all plots within days. Devastating both Potato and Tomato crops.

I grow Crimson Crush as my banker crop, I also grow a few other varieties but if blight hits I will still get a harvest from the crimson crush even though all my other varieties and plants succumb to blight. I grow these from seed and if you want to grow them next year, buy your seed now as they do sell out quite fast. They are quite expensive, that is because they are still a relatively new variety

It's the same for my Potatoes, I grow Sarpo Mira for their blight resistance and a few other varieties too. If the other varieties succumb to blight, I still get a harvest from the Sarpo's.

I differ from Ricky slightly in that I sow all of my tomatoes at the end of Feb, start of March. But I can protect my plants right up till when they are planted out, so I plant out good tall plants, smothered in flowers...ready to get going.

This should help you a little Sowing seeds too early.

Best of luck!!

Steve...

 

I sow my seed the 3rd week in February under grow lights, if they get a little leggy just plant them deeper. If I spot a new variety I give it a try.

 

Last couple of years I've grown a combination of red alert and incas f1.
blight has been a problem on the incas but they are, I think, a nice tasting tom, and very heavy cropping from fairly small plants.

The blight has never spread to my Pink Fir Apple spuds which I grow in close proximity, and I find one spray, possibly two in a bad year, of copper, controls that pretty well.

 

Last season I grew Super Marmalade, Crystal,Ferline & Shirley. Shirley was the best Taste & cropper........Crystal is the one I won't grow again. Hope this helps Paul.