Tomato Love
Right, here is this year's tomato list. It's far from perfect, much because I have eyes bigger than the plot (but never bigger than my stomach when it comes to toms). I've not had great germination with some of the F1s and I can't say why as they have all been grown in identical conditions.On the whole though, I think its a good batch. I waited and sowed much later than last year and this has paid off as they are growing with the season rather than crawling out of their pots.
Tomatoes come in all shapes, sizes and colours and battling through the descriptions can be a little daunting if you're just starting out. So here is my 60 second guide to toms.
Tomatoes are classified into two types, determinate (bush) or indeterminate (cordon).
Bush types bear a full crop all at once and have a branching habit and a specific height, which means they 'stop' (or top-off) themselves. Bush toms are ideal for containers and lazy gardeners as you don't have to pinch out. Indeterminates don't stop growing until the first frosts, therefore you determine the height of the plant. You cut the top of the plant off in late July when you have between three and five trusses outdoors, perhaps more indoors. This is known as stopping (topping) off. You also have to pinch out any side shoots. Indeterminate don't ripen all at once. Many heirloom varieties are indeterminate.
Cultivars are divided into several categories: Cherry types which are small tomatoes, often sweeter than standard types and considered similar to wild tomatoes; Plum types have been breed for processing or canning. They are cylindrical in shape, have fewer seeds and are altogether good for making sauce; Beefsteaks which are huge (can weigh up to a pound or more), kidney-shaped and impractical for commerical growing. Best eaten (in my mind) on a plate with pepper, basil and olive oil; Ox-heart which range in size and grow as big as beefsteaks. They are strawberry shaped; Salad - slicing or globe types - which are the most common commerically. Was that sixty seconds, I doubt it?
Anyhow this is what we've got this year:
OP- open-pollinated meaning you can save your own seed.
F1- First Fillial generation meaning won't come true to type so you have to buy new seed next year.
Bush outside: Odessa (early), Millefleur (cherry type), Latah (early salad type)
Indeterminate outside: San Marzano (OP plum), Marmande (OP beefsteak), Super Mamande (OP), Golden Yellow Queen (OP as championed by Slow Food Movement, pale skinned), Alicante (OP), Red Pear (large plum ), Kenilworth (OP local variety salad),
Summer Sweet (F1), Ferline (F1 salad)
Indeterminate indoors: Golden Cherry (F1 cherry), Gardener's Delight (OP cherry), Apero (F1 cherry), Sun Cherry (F1 cherry), Summer Sweet (F1 cherry), Shirley (F1, early salad type)
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~44~RS~)
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
Hi Alys
I've got the same tomato bug as you. This year I've limited myself to 12 varieties. These are Sebastopol, Sasha Altai, Tondino di Manduria, Red Siberian, Black Crimea, Yellow Perfection, Legend, John Baer, Ailsa Craig, Roma, Red Alert and Supermarmande. I alway have problems remembering which are bush and which are intermediate. Most of my Toms are grown outside on my allotment. This year I hope to add a greenhouse to the allotment as last years crop was devestated by blight and poor weather. I've had good germination with all the seeds. Some of the unusual toms in the early part of the list had seeds 5 years old but the germination has been very good. Very happy tomato growing.
Complain about this comment
Oh, am very jealous of Sebastopol it one that I've been meaning to try. Tell me more about Red Siberia and Black Crimea they sound interesting? I like black tomatoes but haven't tried many outside.
If I think about it I'd be liable to just turn the whole plot over to toms if not careful.
Complain about this comment
I don't recommend outdoor toms, it's a bit hit and miss due to the weather.
Red Siberian (ups not Siberia) I found on the internet recommended as a good short season tom for cooler conditions with a good flavour. Red Siberian sounded as if it should grow in colder regions than West Yorks so I decide to give it a go. Six plants now growing well.
Black Crimea (seed packet info) has dark red-brown flesh, very sweet and is relatively early. Not tried black toms before so if I manage just one black tom it will be a first. Will test and recommend if I suceed in picking any toms this year.
I'm assuming seed from these varieties will save and produce true from seed for another year.
Complain about this comment
I'm another Tomato freak - I've got 14 varieties this including Millifleur, Red Cluster Pear - both new Centiflor types, Amish Paste, San Marzano Redorta, Red Beefsteak, Chocolate Cherry, Red Oxheart, Royal Chico, Williamette VF, Orlov Yellow, Santiam, Aurora, Medford and Siletz with another 10 or so still sat in their seed packets for another time.
I promised my husband I'd restrict myself to 30 plants in the greenhouse this year - however I've found myself with 80 baby tomato plants ready to go - Its a good job I've got lots of folk to palm them off onto - My Dad hasn't had to buy a tomato plant for about 5 years - I just love growing tomatoes especially weird and wonderful varieties
Complain about this comment
Hello Jocorless,
Oh I've wanted to try Amish Paste for a while, read really good things about one. Never heard of the last seven. I think we need to start a tomato seed swapping thang!
Complain about this comment
The Amish Paste is lovely - I grew it last year and it did OK despite the appalling weather and blight - Makes a great roasting tomato - I always try and grow atleast 2 paste tomatoes so I can make lots of Roast Tomato sauce for the freezer, a San Marzano has to be in there as well - I usually grow San Marzano 2 but I thought I'd give Redorta a go
Medford is an large early F1 tomato from Oregon as its Siletz and Santiam - both are ideal for slicing
Williamette VF is another one but this time produces medium sized tom's
Royal Chico is a very, very productive paste tomato that was originally developed for commercial purposes in Chico, California very closely related to Roma producing large slightly pear shaped fruits
They all were sourced from the USA and all new to me
Orlov Yellow is a beefsteak type Russian Heirloom which I've grown before and has a lovely flavour as well as colour.
I don't have alot of luck with Oxheart tomatoes as I find they are prone to blossom end rot but I thought I'd try again with Red Oxheart
Its the Centiflor tomatoes however that have really got me excited this year - they are supposed to produce huge grape-like clusters of 3/4 inch tomatoes so hopefully along with the Chocolate Cherry I'll have plenty of cherry sized tomatoes to harvest in black, red and yellow
Complain about this comment
Hi again Alys
From chatting down the allotment it seems a few people are interested in growing heirloom toms. Will add to our green lane allotments web our successes or failures withour tomato crops this year. Found an American web site Tomato fest selling lots of tomato seed including your favoured but ungrown Amish Paste. Has lots of useful info on it too. Just wish it would stop raining!
Complain about this comment
Like the website!
Toms are doing ok at moment, few struggling a little with life not helped by the army of slugs. Indoors, of course, are merrily growing away. Got hold of some Sebastopol for home and all four plants are very happy.
Singing to: Scatalone as it's having a hard time with life at the moment.
Most excited by: Millefleur.
Least excited by: the thought of spending a summer smelling of comfrey.
Not jinxing things by: not collecting too many jam jars for bottling.
Complain about this comment
Just wanted to let as many gardeners as possible know about the problem that we are having on Green Lane Allotments in Wakefield. About 20 of our plots are showing signs of herbicide damage. All plots used manure from the same source last year and advice from the RHS is that they are suffering from weedkiller residue in the manure, from a fairly new herbicide. This is affecting potato, tomato and bean crops so far and is spreading as the chemical breaks down in the soil. No-one can confirm that we can eat any crops that we may be lucky to harvest. I know I mustn't post a weblink but our blog has lots of information, photographs and links to the RHS and Pesticide Safety Directorate warnings issued just this week. If you want to view pop Green Lane allotments into Google and you will find the link. Alys is there any way you can publicise this on Gardener's World.
Complain about this comment
Hi. I'm trying some toms outside this year down the allotment. I've put in some "Black Cherry" from saved seed. They weren't F1 so I'll let you know how they get on.
PS. Thanks for the post on the manure/hormone weedkiller problem.
Complain about this comment
Hi. I'm trying some toms outside this year down the allotment. I've put in some "Black Cherry" from saved seed. They weren't F1 so I'll let you know how they get on.
PS. Thanks to glattotments for the post on the manure/hormone weedkiller problem.
Complain about this comment
Hey glattoments
Interesting. I've been having similar issues with some of my tomatoes. They started to show signs of herbicide damage. So I asked Dr. Claire what she thought it was. We don't use any herbicides and our manure comes from an organic farm (that surrounds our land so I know its not drift). Ever ready for a challenge I left Dr. Claire with some leaves and she diagnosed it as fern leaf virsus (acutally it might just be fern virsus) that is seed or soil born. So I've ripped the virused plants out as it can spread (though I'm not sure if it affects other edibles0. Fern leaf virus apparently is often mistaken for weedkiller damage.
Still I let the team know about your problem
A
Complain about this comment
Hi Alys
I've got my plot at the glallotments site (with the dodgy muck) and so far I’m pleased to report my tomatoes (dodgy muck free) are growing okay. Black Crimea, Sebastopol and Sasha Alta are continuing to grow and hopefully will produce a good crop of luscious toms.
Potatoes are another matter and I look like loosing 4 long rows of Juliette salad potatoes planted in dodgy manure. Fortunately I didn’t spread manure over all the areas due to grow potatoes this year. Bad weather can have its blessings. All the spuds in unmanured areas are growing well. We sent photos of our problem to the RHS and they confirmed it as classic hormonal herbicide damage and have gone on since to issue a press release regarding the dodgy muck problem. Nearly all plot-holders who bought dodgy muck from the same source are having problems with potatoes and in some cases tomatoes. Plot-holders who did not use any manure from this source are problem free. The problem does seem to be nationwide and not just confined to our site. So much for growing your own vegetables to avoid chemicals! Very dubious about using manure in the future.
Complain about this comment
Hi Alys.
Just looked up Fern Leaf Virus on the RHS website and it says
Fern leaf (CMV, alone or with TMV): leaf blades are reduced to half their width or are not formed at all so that the midribs stand out.
Not what we have as our leaves are curled upwards and in the cases of the potatoes almost form a cup (there are photos on our site and blog). Only plots using manure from a particular source have any problems.
We are getting reports to our website from all over the country. Two councils have banned horse manure from all their allotments' sites. PSD and the manufacturers of one of the suspected brands are being inundated with calls.
Last year apparently commercial growers were losing whole fields of crops.
It seems to be a major problem.
Complain about this comment
Sorry but just forgot to add - one of the people complaining on our website got their manure from an organic supplier - but sometimes it seems to appear that tracking back to actual source can be tricky.
Complain about this comment
Hey Glattotments, Plotman41
Went and looked at your pictures. And yes my problem is very different from yours. I've just had to pull out another tom. This means I''ve lost all the Ferline, one Odessa and one Kenilworth. Let's hope no more. Still I feel for you losing all your potatoes. I'm not a great manure fan, relying mostly on our own home made compost and green manure. We only started using the donkey poo recently and i have to say it's fabiously stuff (so are the donkeys). It a lovely luxury to have a trusted source of manure so close by. Keep in touch with news and lets hope the tomatoes continue to grow well.
A
Complain about this comment
Hi Alys,
I have grown Millefleur this year for the first time alongside Sungold F1 and Picalo (seeds saved from toms bought at the supermarket). From the total of 27 plants (9 of each) I have only had problems with 2 and these were both Millefleur. They have some sort of disease that starts in the middle of the stem and will eventually run down the leaves and trusses turning them brown and shriveled. The stem looks like it has a dark brown vein. All the plants are in growbags within trays and all in the same location. I am not sure of the cause of the problem but when the plants are removed from the bags the root system is fine with no problems. Also, the two infected plants are planted in different grow bags. The other difference between the bad plants and the ones that are Ok is the colour of the leaves. On the infected plant the leaf colour is a brighter green than the un-infected plant. They are being fed twice a week - once with Tomrite and then with comfrey.
If you have any idea of the cause I would be most greatfull because i have never experianced this before.
SilebyMojo
Complain about this comment
I was shocked to hear about the RHS article 'Weedkiller in Manure' ie. Contaminated farmyard manure.
I phoned my colleague about the products Groworganic ...see Allotment Society Magazine www.groworganic.org and 6x fertilisers www.6-x.co.uk as used at RHS and he assured me that both Natural Fertilisers are oven heated at over 250 degrees C. and are completely safe to use.
They have been around for tens of years and are both brilliant to use.
Complain about this comment
Hi, all tomato lovers!
I have only just discovered that there are others addicted to tomato growing like me. I am currently trying to decide how to restrict myself to fewer plants for next year. This year I grew 65 plant of 42 varieties! We held a 'tomato tasting day' for charity.
The problem is keeping in those we liked plus new ones to try. My limit this year has got to be 42 plants!!
The varieties all sound so fantastic. I have learnt to sift out those for which the flavour is described as anything less than excellent. I am sure by doing this I may miss some good ones though. I was interested to hear about the American website 'Tomato Fest'. Do they ship to the UK?
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS