Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi, I was wondering what the best varieties of cucumber, pepper and tomato were for growing outside? I tried an F1 cucumber bought from b&q (no idea what variety it was) but that died before flowering, my peppers did ok but I had to had them in the conservatory in the end as they weren't doing well at all outside, and my tomatoes ended up with blight! Do fool-proof varieties exist lol?

And suggestions would be most welcome!

Well - none of my back garden tomatoes got blight (Tomaska, Sungold, Gartenperle) but ALL my allotment tomatoes did (Tamina, Tigerella, Subarctic Plenty).

What does that tell you? That either the soil or the air on the allotment is contaminated. I'm still quite ignorant on how blight is spread, and whether or not the spores survive in the soil/compost.

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Are there varieties that are more blight resistant than others? I would hope it wasn't the soil I grew them in as it was bought compost, none of the neighbours seem to do much in the way of gardening let alone veg growing, although from upstairs I can see a couple of houses that have greenhouses, so maybe it is spread by the air but if so they must be able to travel a bit of a distance!

Sungold has been more blight-resistant than my others.
But, the skins split real easy.
If it's not one problem, it's another

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nothing is ever easy is it! still, I'll give it a go, if only so that I can prove my partner wrong, he reckons growing tomatoes outside is a waste of time and would be cheaper to buy them.

This is the first year I've grown tomatoes (all from plants rather than seed) and I suspect adding up all the costs I've spent more than if I'd just gone to Netto, but garden-fresh taste makes it all worthwhile.

I've had mixed experience with blight. The Moneymakers in a growbag on the patio have so far been unscathed, as was the tumbler in a basket but the growbag behind the shed and the nearby ones planted in soil (mix of Moneymakers and a plum variety of some sort that my cousin gave me) have been hit pretty badly. As ever, there's always next year to do better!

I agree, the taste is much better which I want to grow them - plus it easier to go into your garden to pick a tomato than going all the way to supermarket whenever you fancy one!

Hi LP, I don't think there is a blight resistant tomato and I don't think it is too wise to put peppers outside, maybe onto a warm patio, providing you don't have mice, birds, caterpillars, etc.

Burpless tasty green cucumbers usually do well outdoors.

Thank you, might well try those cucumbers!

My Red Alert have been blight free outside but in some cases are next to other varieties which have succombed. They're only small fruits but very tasty and they cook well. Re peppers, I've managed a few outside this year from Lipstick and Gypsy, the fruits are a lot smaller than my greenhouse ones (but then again they were the spare plants and the best ones went inside) but when you consider what a rubbish summer we've had then I'm quite impressed. If you want the best of both worlds then you can always grow in pots and bring inside if the weather looks bad but just make sure you chose a variety that matures quickly and is suited to our climate.

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The tomato varieties Ferline and Legend are supposed to be blight resistant, although I haven't tried them myself so I can't really tell you anything about them!

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Littlepooley, I grew Marketmore cucumbers outside this year (my first year of growing) and I was over the moon with the results. I'll definately grow them next year, but next year I'll construct some kind of support for them to climb up

Lots more suggestions - thank you I've managed to get my sister to agree to save some me some seeds from her pepper plant that has done really well outside, she got it from a garden centre and its name is tinkerbell, although I'm not sure if that's the variety or just a cute name the garden centre gave it to make it more appealing lol! Either way saves me the cost of a pack of seeds

I think that Tinkerbell are an F1 type so will not grow true to type so don't expect any fruits you get next year to be the same as the ones your sis grew this year but that doesn't mean it's not worth a try.

__________________

Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

Hello Littlepooley, I've never tried peppers outside as I just don't think we have the climate for it.
For outdoor cucumbers Bedfordshire Prize and Crystal Apple (little round yellow ones) both did well for me.
As for tomatoes - Red Cherry and Ilde produced great trusses of fruit - and got blighted at the last minute. I was a bit sick about that.
Blight doesn't arrive until August (it's air borne) so early varieties are the safest bet.
You can spray against it with Dithane if you're not averse. Everything you buy in the shops has been sprayed.
Anyway, good luck for next year - to you and me both.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Ah right, didn't realise it was an F1, I'll still give it a go though as it's free and will be an interesting experiment! If it does even half as well as my sisters then it'll be a success

Hi Littlepooley

If you want plenty of peppers I think it's best to grow them in a greenhouse or inside,as the temp doesn't seem to be constantly high enough outdoors to get a large crop, just keep a check for pests.

I've grown 'Marketmore' cucumbers outside and they were the best I've ever tasted. I've always grown cucmbers outdoors - just make sure you don't over water them when they're still young or the stems will rot. I'm going to try a new cucumber in the greenhouse next year as it will be my first year of greenhouse growing (got one at last after all these years!)

I usually grow 'Gardener's Delight' outdoors and I usually get a decent crop, if not a little late, but they got blight for the first time this year. I think with all the wet weather we now get, tomato growing outdoors may become a think of the past?? I will try Fantasio F1 (Dobies) next year

I grew ferline tomatoes this year and they were delicious! The plant grew to be 9ft tall and produced large fruits. This variety didn't catch blight which was present in my garden and even survived 10 days of no watering in August. They are expensive but they're worth it.

D

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I have a feeling I'll be going with marketmore or burpless green cucumbers - hopefully getting an allotment soon (fingers crossed) so I'll have a lot more space for cucumber plants than I would have done at home so will try growing them there - how many do you think would be sufficient to provide enough for one person to eat (OH doesn't eat anything healthy lol). Don't mind if I grow a few too many as can always pass on to family but don't want to overdo it to much!

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~+~ Eagerly awaiting my first allotment ~+~

You should be OK with a single plant unless you eat a vast amount but I always grow 2 in case one fails.

__________________

Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

Thanks, I wasn't quite sure what yields to expect - I don't eat a vast amount of cucumber so I think at least 2 will be a safe bet thanks for your advice

__________________
~+~ Eagerly awaiting my first allotment ~+~

The best outdoor hot pepper I've found is one called Cheyenne, it has very small, orange fruits, but it just keeps going even in an indifferent summer and is so prolific you'd probably only need a couple of plants, even though they're very dwarf. I usually pop them in a container with a few flowers.

Oo sounds like a good one One question though - how hot is hot??? Lol I like a bit of taste but not so as to hurt your mouth lol

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~+~ Eagerly awaiting my first allotment ~+~