THE TOMATO GROWING THREAD 2018

Discussion in 'Edible Gardening' started by ARMANDII, Jan 1, 2018.

  1. Gail_68

    Gail_68 Guest

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    GC members I hope your doing your Beefy Tomatoes...those are my favourites with some tongue on sandwiches :dbgrtmb:
     
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    • JWK

      JWK Gardener Staff Member

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      I've grown Rosella and found it to be similar to but not quite as nice as Black Cherry:
      Tomato Taste Experiences 2015
       
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      • Scrungee

        Scrungee Well known for it

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        I've just finalised my tomato seed list for 2018, and I'm going for even fewer varieties than last year [1]

        OUTDOOR

        Bush

        Red Alert F1 (early cropping, salad size fruits, sown in three successional batches, first for early toms started off in pots in polytunnel then put outside when conditions permit, second planted outdoors, third in pots and brought under cover when getting chilly outdoors )

        Tumbler F1 For containers at home

        POLYTUNNEL

        Cordon

        Suncherry F1 (sweet cherry toms, tougher skins than Sungold so less susceptible to splitting, good for picking whole trusses of ripe fruits for 'tomatoes on the vine')

        Floridity F1 (for village show)

        Shirley F1 (rather bland, but only sufficient for the show)

        Orange Paruche F1 Bought when 50% off at Hombase last year to check how they compare againt Sungold for taste, sweetness and splitting.

        Sungold F1 Just a few to compare against Orange Paruche

        Plum tomatoes - haven't decided on variety yet EDIT 1 - Ordered San Marzano 2 from Premier @ 99p/pkt delivered, might try another one, must have bigger plums than @Zigs this year EDIT 2 - Ordered Long Tom and Harry's Italian from Victoria. All 3 packets now received.

        Giant (for heaviest tomato class)

        Dan McCoy strain (World Record)

        Fabrice Boudyo strain (UK Record)


        [1] But I'm toying with tbe idea of a third 3m x 6m (10' x 20') polytunnel
         
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          Last edited: Jan 21, 2018
        • Scrungee

          Scrungee Well known for it

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          Looking back at my growlist, it appeared lacking in non-F1s, and although I have plenty of saved heirloom seeds thought I'd try something different, so ordered

          www.victoriananursery.co.uk/Tomato_Seed_Long_Tom

          [​IMG]

          Tomato Seed 'Harry's Italian Plum'

          [​IMG]

          Those should provide some interest in attempting to grow big 'plum' tomatoes, plus I'm hoping they'll look attractive after stuffing. I used to grow so called blight resistant Ferline for stuffing, but they started getting blighted grown outside, and didn't thrive in polytunnels (as others have said).
           
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            Last edited: Jan 11, 2018
          • Carllennon

            Carllennon Gardener

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            Hi All,

            So ive never had a greenhouse before, but have one now and its going to have sun for pretty much most of the day. I grew cherry toms in my conservatory last year in my old house and some F1 outside, but my new house is going to be much more favourable for toms, so when should I sow for greenhouse growing?

            Ta
             
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            • JWK

              JWK Gardener Staff Member

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              For an unheated greenhouse start sowing mid-march - you need around 21C for germination then plenty of good light - so a kitchen windowsill is ideal unless you have a heated propagator for your greenhouse.

              Be choosy when you select your variety as late blight is a major problem with outdoor crops. Some varieties have a degree of resistance.
               
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              • Steve R

                Steve R Soil Furtler

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                • Scrungee

                  Scrungee Well known for it

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                  Too big, I 'm thinking of putting a new one up at the plot on fresh ground as my oldest needs a new cover and the soil inside is getting beyond growing tomatoes in for a while, but as I will probably be moving to another plot don't want anything bigger than what's already there.

                  My plan is to get new tunnel ready for (mainly) tomatoes by the beginning of May, then spend the summer dismantling the old one and moving it to my garden which will require some major reorganisation of our back garden. Then with one at home it'll be immensely useful making the move from my plot to another (fairly close) location.
                   
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                    Last edited: Jan 18, 2018
                  • Vince

                    Vince Not so well known for it.

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                    Big Zac
                    Manx marvel
                    San Marzano
                    Gardeners Delight

                    and I thought I'd give gigantomo a try.
                     
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                    • Fat Controller

                      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                      Well, despite promising myself that last year was my last with tomatoes, I have jumped back on the treadmill for another year..........

                      Ordered the following seeds today:

                      Tomato Black Cherry 100 seeds
                      Tomato Tigerella 50 seeds
                      Tomato Black Krim 25 seeds

                      In fairness, I am going to do a lot less flowers from seed this year - going to cheat and by seedlings, or grow veg instead, so hopefully I will have more time to dedicate to my toms.
                       
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                      • ARMANDII

                        ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                        :thumbsup::heehee:
                         
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                        • Vince

                          Vince Not so well known for it.

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                          You just cannot beat a home grown delicious tomato?

                          Just DON'T fridge them.
                           
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                          • Fat Controller

                            Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                            You can't - more recently, I have been battling with the taste of shop bought tomatoes, to the point that I wouldn't bother with them. Only a week or so ago, I tasted a supermarket offering, and it tasted more like a cucumber than it did a tomato - that was a Sainsburys effort - Costco tomatoes are absolutely awful, and I am yet to try a variety of theirs that tastes nice or that lasts more than a few days before rotting, and that is a very unusual thing for me to say about Costco stuff, as it is normally top notch!
                             
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                            • Cinnamon

                              Cinnamon Super Gardener

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                              Transplanted my first sowings into 7cm pots yesterday. Here's my likely growlist for this year:

                              Variety Colour Growth Size Shape Maturity
                              0-33 Regular Semi-determinate Salad Flattened, irregular Early
                              42 days Regular Bush Salad Regular Early
                              Alicante Regular Vine Salad Regular Mid-season
                              Altaiskiy Oranzhevyi Yellow Vine Large Flattened, irregular Mid-season
                              Black Russian Black Vine Large Slightly flattened Mid-season
                              Black Russian x Bloody Butcher F2 Black Vine Large Regular Early
                              Black Trifele Black Vine Salad Pear Late
                              Bloody Butcher Red Vine Salad Regular Early
                              Cherry Baby Regular Vine Small Cherry Mid-season
                              Chocolate Sprinkles Black (red w green stripes) Vine Small Cherry Early
                              Dagestanskiy Pink/purple Vine Large Heart Late
                              Dark Galaxy Red with blue stripes in sun Vine Salad Regular Mid-season
                              Garnet Black Vine Small Baby plum w elongated tip Mid-season
                              Green Zebra Green with yellow stripes Semi-determinate Small Regular Late
                              Jaune Negib Yellow Vine Salad Flattened, fluted Mid-season
                              Orange Paruche F1 Regular Vine Small Cherry Mid-season
                              Rosella Black (pink) Vine Small Cherry Mid-season
                              Svart Black Vine Salad Regular Mid-season
                              Teton de Venus Orange/red Tall Large Heart Mid-season
                              Traveler Pink/purple Vine Salad Regular Mid-season
                              Volvograd Regular Bush Salad Flattened, irregular Early
                               
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                              • JWK

                                JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                                A great list there @Cinnamon lots of different colours and flavours :blue thumb:
                                 
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