Tomatoes for north-facing garden

Discussion in 'Edible Gardening' started by Florabritannica, Feb 5, 2017.

  1. Florabritannica

    Florabritannica Apprentice Gardener

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    This is my first ever post...
    I am a keen but inexperienced gardener, dividing my time between London (small north-facing plot, mostly used as a football pitch) and Dorset, where I have a couple of acres.
    Unfortunately most of my time is spent in London.
    I am starting to think about tomatoes, which will be grown in grobags against railings beside the house, facing north, with quite a lot of light but not much sun - we get some from the side in the morning and evening.
    The challenge is getting them to ripen before blight sets in.
    What varieties should I choose? And when should I sow? I plan to start them indoors and then move to a large cold frame until frosts are over.
    Hugely grateful for suggestions and advice.
     
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    • CanadianLori

      CanadianLori Total Gardener

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      Welcome to the forum! I have totally different growing conditions and I am a perennial novice. Pretty much useless but

      @Zigs wakey wakey. A neighbour needs some help please!! :spinning:
       
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      • NigelJ

        NigelJ Total Gardener

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        There is a variety called Sub Arctic Plenty that is quick maturing and cope with cooler conditions.
        It is also a bush type so you don't need to pinch out the side shoots.
         
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        • Florabritannica

          Florabritannica Apprentice Gardener

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          Sub-Arctic Plenty certainly sounds like the biz. Thank you for the suggestion!
          Any other ideas? I'd like to combine tomatoes that look like tomatoes with some that definitely don't.
           
        • Phil A

          Phil A Guest

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          Welcome to Gardeners Corner :sign0016:

          There's a 42 day tomato available here

          I've grown other varieties from their selection, there's a 58 day one, but i've forgotten the name, maybe @Vince or @JWK will remember.
           
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          • clueless1

            clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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            All the prices are in dollars. Is that cos it's an American site?
             
          • Phil A

            Phil A Guest

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            Yep, it's in someplace called WI according to the packet :)
             
          • clueless1

            clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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            Don't you have to pay import duties on stuff from the US? My mate bought a leather wallet from a US based online shop. He bought it because it was cheap. But then he got a demand for some disproportionate sum, for import duty.
             
          • Phil A

            Phil A Guest

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            Not sure about seeds, @Vince bought em and sent them on to me :spinning:
             
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            • Scrungee

              Scrungee Well known for it

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              They don't ship to the UK. I recall Vince having a contact in the USA who bought tomato seeds and then personally sent them to him in the UK.

              This UK based supplier sells 42 day tomato seeds TOMATO 42 DAYS SEEDS | New & Featured Vegetables

              Some info 42 Days - Tatiana's TOMATOBase



              P.S. I'm not entirely convinced that 'low temperature' or 'fast maturing' tomatoes are necessarily going to perform well in shady conditions. I thought the rule of thumb was an absolute minimum of 6 hours sunshine but ideally 8 hours sunshine per day.
               
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                Last edited: Feb 5, 2017
              • JWK

                JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                Welcome to the forum Florabritannica !

                I agree with Scrungee, about the shade.

                I've had no success with so called early varieties. In 2012 I grew 'Siberian' which is rated at 49 days, but it actually took 70 days and was well beaten by other run off the mill varieties. It was also poor tasting - I gave it 3/10 here:
                Rate Your Tomato Varieties

                I've found Sungold consistently ripens the earliest, followed by New Girl (an improvement on 'Early Girl'). Both have great taste.

                I don't want to put you off though, Sub-artic plenty may well be OK and you could get around the low-sunlight issue with grow lamps to bring the plants on indoors maybe.

                If you are worried about blight you can use a prophylactic spray called Bordeaux Mixture.

                I reckon it depends on the value, usually anything up to £15 is duty free. I've bought Canna seeds from the USA and didn't have to pay anything extra.
                 
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                • Florabritannica

                  Florabritannica Apprentice Gardener

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                  JWK it is very interesting to hear you say that. This will be my third year of tomatoes in that location.
                  The first year I grew Sungold and Black Krim. Blight hit before ripening, though I managed to salvage enough for a few jars of green chutney.
                  Last year it was Sungold, Black Krim, Costoluto Fiorentino, Gardeners Delight and Red Alert.
                  Sungold ripened ok but not brilliantly, likewise Gardeners Delight. Got a few Red Alert. The other two were disappointing.
                  However, the weather was cold until mid-August and I was a bit haphazard with my pruning regime. Hoping to be better on top of things this year!
                  Thank you for the Bordeaux Mixture recommendation!
                   
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                  • Fat Controller

                    Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                    Welcome aboard @Florabritannica :sign0016:

                    I would suggest Maskotka - readily available, heavy cropper, small red tomatoes that are really tasty and seem almost bombproof (I have grown them in heat/shade/cool/sun and they just seem to perform no matter what. I believe they are Polish in origin which might explain it.
                     
                  • Florabritannica

                    Florabritannica Apprentice Gardener

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                    So grateful for the warm welcome and all the helpful suggestions!
                    Bombproof is probably the way to go.
                     
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                    • Fat Controller

                      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                      The longer you are with us, the more you will find that the friendship and advice just keep coming :) - the GC members are without doubt the friendliest bunch of people you could ever choose to meet.

                      Keep your eyes open for a thread inviting members to Shineyland too - our very own @shiney and Mrs Shiney go to incredible lengths to have an open weekend at their garden, and in doing so raise a lot of money for charity. I am hell bent that I am going to finally get there myself this year (been trying to go for the past few years and work has always thrown me a curveball).
                       
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