Tomato reviews likes & dislikes 2015 - 2020

[Chris11]

Hi 4Shoes. There are lots of myths and misunderstandings with BER, and to be fair not everyone has enough background in Biology to really understand what's going on.

This is one of the best guides I've seen on the subject and is well worth a read. Will try and help if you've got any specific questions after that.

Blossom End Rot - Garden Myths

[4Shoes]

Hi 4Shoes. There are lots of myths and misunderstandings with BER, and to be fair not everyone has enough background in Biology to really understand what's going on.

This is one of the best guides I've seen on the subject and is well worth a read. Will try and help if you've got any specific questions after that.

Blossom End Rot - Garden Myths

Thanks Chris... gut feeling is that it is just the heat in the tunnel and water. I had to move the bush tomatoes out because they couldn't cope - Wilting everyday. These are not quite getting to stage of wilting, but perhaps move out the 2 worst plants and see

Don't have space to move for them all.

Of the 5 plants, it is the 2 that share a growbag tray (for watering) are playing up. One in another tray had one or 2 and others are ok.

[IainM]

Also first year growing anything, and I've got cherry falls (1), sungold (3), shirley (3), sugar gloss (3), apricot dream (3) and outdoor girl (3), four in raised beds and the rest in containers (15 to 25 L). Most of them were started in february and are huge. I'm six foot, but I can't take off the topmost suckers even on tip toes, so a step ladder it is. Sungold and sugar gloss are both awesome. Prolific and very tasty. Outdoor girl is good too. I only started them in April, but they are catching up fast. Shirley is a solid plant, very sturdy and growing straight up with a strong stem that doesn't need as much support. Had toms on there for ages now but they are refusing to ripen, and I've had issues with BER on the two in containers after I had to disappear for a weekend and couldn't water. Apricot dream are all fussy, but I have some ripening now. Cherry falls, the only determinate, is nice though the skin is a bit thicker than the sugar gloss and sungold. Still better than the supermarket ones though. It was the first to produce ripe fruit and now it has loads. Everything is watered once or twice a day, and they're very thisty. Tomorite is given every week. I've never saved seeds, but perhaps I should.

[Nannysally99]

We have cut back on tomatoes this year
Just two Moneymaker plants in tubs
Nice flavour and very prolific

[Chris11]

I've got cherry falls (1), sungold (3), shirley (3), sugar gloss (3), apricot dream (3) and outdoor girl (3)....I've never saved seeds, but perhaps I should.

Hi Iain, that sounds like great results, especially for a first year growing.

Would definitely encourage you or anyone else to save seeds, but of your six varieties, 5 are F1 hybrids. You can save seeds as an experiment from your favourite plants, but the results for the next generation F2 plants will be unpredictable and possibly disappointing. It's impossible to say in advance what results you might get.

Your Outdoor Girl are ok though and should breed true

If you want some more varieties for next year that are non-F1, then keep an eye on my Seed Offer and let me know if you want anything.

[Chris11]

First ripe fruit from my Oranze tomato

[Penellype]

The Balconi red on the spare room windowsill are not coping with the incessant hot sunshine. This window faces east so they are getting only half a day's sun, but they still look like this:



This is greenback, which is caused by the tomatoes being too hot. The red part is edible but the green part is hard and unpleasant to eat and never ripens. I've put the plant outside and hopefully future fruit will be properly red.

[jackarmy]

A trio

Of Rasberry Oxheart trying to get on with Alexa, as usual she dont want to know



Cant comment on taste yet, their destined for chilli chutney but I will try one on toast yn y bore

[Mikey]

I have 5 sun gold, which I've been picking for almost a month now.
6 tumbling Tom which I'm forcing to grow up a cordon and have been fruiting for around a week
5 cour di bue which are a decent size but were planted late so a little behind
2 gardeners delight these are volunteers from last year, I've tried about 25-30 other varieties but other than yellow pear which I thought was cute, and dancing with smurfs which was a striking purple the rest were trials that I've chosen not to continue.

I love sun gold and cuore di bue they are my favourite for flavour and are both consistent growers. I prefer cordons to bush varieties as they are a bit neater and easier to control. I grow in both greenhouse dug beds and MFB's, the dug beds which are 2ft wide and 2 feet deep and filled with a combination of home compost and MPC annually are much better, less prone to drying out, stronger and more prolific. I simply grow too many though to get them all in my dug beds so have to make do with MFB's too.

[Potstubsdustbins]

My first Sun Gold today 6 weeks later than normal did taste good though

[robbra]

None of mine are ripe yet but for the first time ever I am having to tie up trusses as they are too heavy for the vines and collapsing. I accept it for Cuor di Bue which I have never grown before, they are huge but never before on Ailsa Craig or Tigerella. It must be due to the hours of sunshine they are getting and the watering every day. I just wish they would hurry up and go red.
Rob

[Jimmy]

I have a GH with 6 growbags and 3 growbags outside all with three plants.
There are about 12 varieties in all.
Came back from hol at weekend and only just had time to pick the ripe ones.
I got a bucket full.
So it will be a big give away !
Jimmy

[LexLucre]

Harvested my first outdoor crimson crush this week in the south east. Bought the seeds from pennard plants, I guess Sutton's lost their exclusivity. Pretty good flavour (only eaten one so far, I need to try a few more) pleasant texture.

[Bumblingbroccoli]

I've been harvesting sungold for 2 weeks now in the greenhouse. This week greenhouse tigerella - 3 so far. Outside had one v early defiant 10 days or so ago. Last week first lemon drop, golden suntise, red pear and Principe borghese harvest outside. Today red cherry. Best hsrvest for years.

[Small pumpkin]

Like lots of others I've been harvesting sun gold for a good couple of weeks. Also the Unknown variety that I found germinating inside a tomato back in January. Won't be saving seeds from that it's really not very nice.
I've also had my first gardeners delight. Which was a surprise because it was yellow and plum shaped . That's the 3rd thing I'm growing this year that's not what it said on the tin
Hopefully today or tomorrow I'll be able to try my first German red strawberry



Hopefully it's nice I'd like to save these for the seed circle. The plant produces a mass of really large toms. I'm sure the more talented tomato growers here could have the plant looking considerably more healthy.
Decided I'm not actually very good at growing tomatoes . Not going to stop though I like them to much and there's still loads of varieties I've not tried.
For my seed saving method. I'll be doing what ever real seeds seed saving pages tell me to do. I've never saved tomato seeds before