Tomato reviews likes & dislikes 2015 - 2020

[Scoot]

Nobody seems to grow Moneymakers - Why is this?

I do. I grew one plant this year and I reckon it'll be my last year growing them. The flavour is nothing special to start with and for some reason this year, just as my moneymakers started to ripen they also started to wrinkle for some bizarre reason.

Got some Shirley's and Black Russian seed to try next year and I'll also be growing some black pineapple and Ailsa Craigs tomatoes once i buy the seeds so I'll have some different varieties of biggish tomatoes rather than moneymakers.

[burnie]

We bought one plant from a GC, a plum type which produced 3 fruits and then got cooked in the conservatory due to not being looked after. Next year when the new greenhouse is running, complete with auto ventilation, I hope that won't happen again. So far I have Ailsa Craig(an old favourite I used to grow in England),Super Sweet100 that came with a magazine, Tumbling Red Tom(for my first go at growing toms in hanging baskets and F1 Crimson Crush as it's blight resistant(just in case). Once my gh is up I will see if I think I need any other varieties.

[maverick451]

Apero


I absolutely loved these, a cherry size with a shape was like a cross between the a plum and a cherry, very sweet and tasty, I have been looking for a good red cherry tomato for a few years now and I grew 10 varieties of modern cherry tomato to test and this was the best tasting and probably on a par with Sungold, the only problem with these is they hardly ever made it to the house.

Earliness 8/10
Health and vigour 8/10 - doesnt seem to suffer from BER like plum varieties do
Taste - 10/10, Extra sweet, this skinned

[Lumpy]

In my opion Glacier are just Yuk!

[Snoop Puss]

Won't be growing Black Cherry next year. Good flavour but not very healthy or productive here.

Will be growing more Sungolds and Floridity, which Mr Snoop loved. Sungold always ripen first for us. I always slice cherry toms in half, so don't mind that the Sungold have a tendency to split/tear when being picked.

This year was my first year of growing Floridity. The first ones I picked were a bit thick-skinned but lovely to eat and a gorgeous colour and intriguing shape. The Floridity plants suffered most in the very cold spell we had, but the toms have survived well on the plants, even though the plants themselves look dead. So possibly not very vigorous, but well worth it for pleasure on the plate.

Always grow Cuor di Bue, but this year they weren't as vigorous. New seed for next year I think.

Marmandes and Pantano Romanesco very similar but PR a bit bigger. Marmandes still doing well, despite dreadful weather conditions. I usually grow Marmandes, but this was my first year of trying PR. Will definitely grow both again.

I also grow Rosados de Barbastro and Colgar tomatoes every year. The RdB are a late variety and look a bit like Brandywine but are less 'corrugated' and have ordinary tomato plant leaves. Absolutely delicious. Huge (so not that many per plant) and very easy to peel. The perfect tom for a tomato salad.

Colgar means 'to hang'. I think Real Seeds sell these. Amazing for cooking (no good for salads) and will store well, hung up on string. Well worth it. They don't look like much when you pick them, but go a brilliant red in the pan and have a fantastic taste. Nothing better for accompanying an egg or a bit of bacon. In fact, I'm a bit surprised that supermarkets in the UK don't sell them at a premium price: they would transport very well due to their thicker skins, which is what makes them suitable for storing for use over winter.

[elleme]

I had some germination issues this year, possibly due to dodgy compost as I had numerous failures of several veg until I changed it. The ones that ended up growing were San Marzano and Red Pear.

San Marzano

Earliness 8/10
Health and vigour 6/10 - this is a mixed bag as initially they were healthy and very vigorous but several fruits got blossom end rot and I think that they started getting blight a couple of weeks back, which I have never had at all before in greenhouse container crops.
Taste 7/10 - nice enough when cooked, not amazing
Will I grow next year - No, I didn't like getting BER, didn't find the taste exceptional and I've learned that I prefer salad toms that I can choose to cook in a sauce over cooking toms which will be bland if left uncooked.

Red Pear (from GYO magazine seeds)

Earliness 6/10 (but with the caveat that I started them late, due to previous germination failures
Health and vigour 9/10 - no complaints there.
Taste 8/10 I rated them a bit lower than that at first, but came back and edited the post as, having had more of the late glut, they're tastier than I first thought with a decent sweetness/acidity balance.

The thing I didn't like so much is that they cropped all at once but seeing as they started late, maybe I'd get a bit more in succession with a longer season (hopefully).

Will I grow those again? Maybe, but next year would like something fairly compact as I am a bit tired of leggy triffids in my GH.

[maverick451]

Blight resistance review

A few pics to see how each variety coped or didnt cope

Ferline
Suppose to have resistance but seemed to be the first one to get effected and went down hill rapidly


Orkado
No claimed blight resistance as far as I know, went downhill rapidly


Crimson Crush
Marketed as blight resistant, ive found plants fairly resistant but maybe not quite as good as made out, a few blight patches on leaves, doesnt spread that quickly, probably could manage by taking off infected leaves when spotted ( i removed effected leaves in this photo)


Mountain Magic
Not Marketed as heavily as crimson crush but I think this is quite a bit more blight resistant, plants are really clean, still looks very fresh late in the season

[bramble]

Nothing outstanding in flavour for me this year.
I still love the flavour of Sungold.
Amish Mayberry is also nicely flavoured.
If this was a beauty contest then Roughwood Golden Plum would win hands down. Beautiful pure golden plum shaped tomato with absolutely no flavour.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

"Rosella" New kid on the block! Would I grow it again? Too right I would!
And shall be doing so for the forseeable future!

Absolute Awsome flavour, Thin skinned, and does exactly what it says on the tin!

Honest! It's smoky undertones is to die for!

[Tripmeup]

"Rosella" New kid on the block! Would I grow it again? Too right I would!
And shall be doing so for the forseeable future!

Absolute Awsome flavour, Thin skinned, and does exactly what it says on the tin!

Honest! It's smoky undertones is to die for!

So you like it Deano? 😁

[Thelma Sanders]

If this was a beauty contest then Roughwood Golden Plum would win hands down. Beautiful pure golden plum shaped tomato with absolutely no flavour.

Same here, and very late as well! Not even much tomato inside the skin, compared with other toms of that size, either. It's a bit pointless really, isn't it haha

[Chris11]

If this was a beauty contest then Roughwood Golden Plum would win hands down. Beautiful pure golden plum shaped tomato with absolutely no flavour.

Same here, and very late as well! Not even much tomato inside the skin, compared with other toms of that size, either. It's a bit pointless really, isn't it haha

Did you get these results under cover or outside? I'm planning to give it a try next year. A cross between a San Marzano and Yellow Brandywine, at least in principle, sounds like a great tomato.

[Thelma Sanders]

I grew mine in the greenhouse border - I dread to think how late ripening would be if grown outside

[Scarlet]

And you lot took the mick out of me last year saying it was best used for cooking!

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...-2015-a-3.html

Post #49

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

So you like it Deano? 

"Trip" You need to taste em!