Tomato Heaven

My veggie growing season always starts with Tomatoes.  Some years I can't be bothered with sowing seed and buy plug plants later in the season,  this means I am restricted to only a small selection of the more popular varieties,  but when I can be bothered I start them off in pots on a heated tray and put them on the sunniest windowsill I can find.

I am growing eight different types this year, some tried and tested, and one or two new varieties to see whether they will be added to my list next year.  I have ditched two types this year 'Tigerella', not because there was anything wrong with it, in fact, it performed very well, and tastes pretty good - the other, a beefsteak type 'Consteluto Fiorentino' which didn't behave itself, and turned brown at the earliest opportunity.

The ones I grew last year that performed well, included Gardeners Delight and Sungold, both indoors and out.


Piccolo cherry tomato

I saved these Piccolo seeds from some supermarket tomatoes together with Pomodoro

Pomodorro small plum tomato

 Both of which I found very tasty, hopefully they will come true to type - but if not, well I am sure they will produce tomatoes anyway.

Alicante

 Alicante are a good old-fashioned regular size tomato that produce good crops of medium size fruit, with a fairly good taste, and can be grown in the greenhouse or outdoors, and are a reliable heavy cropper.




Marmande

  Marmande are a  favourite tomato of Provence, the heavy-ribbed fruits are very 'meaty' and perfect for slicing. 



Gardeners Delight cherry tomato

One of the most reliable tomatoes is Gardeners Delight producing masses of large cherry sized fruit with a fantastic flavour on long trusses.




Tumbling Tom

  I have tried quite a few different types of tumbling tomatoes that are suitable for hanging baskets, but to my mind Tumbling Tom, is far and away the best variety so far.  It is usually the first tomato to ripen even though it is outdoors, and the more you pick the quicker they ripen.  A definite winner for me.



Sungold cherry tomatoes

  Finally, my absolute favourite for flavour - the Sungold tomato.  I first came across these a few years ago when I was 'greenhouse sitting' for a friend, watering whilst he was away on holiday.  This is the only variety he grows and I can understand why.  They produce masses of fruit, and can be a bit of a thug, if not carefully controlled by nipping out any unwanted growth.  But the flavour of the tomatoes makes up for an trouble they may cause with their unruliness.  I was still picking tomatoes in November from my outdoor plants.




Black Russian

 My last choice, which I know nothing about, is the Black Russian  - a heritage variety - which is winging its way in the post to me right now.  I bought this on impulse so I don't know what its taste is like, but I'm willing to give it a go - and if I don't think it is worth it I won't bother next year.  All photos courtesy of Google Images

I usually grow a mix of six plants in the greenhouse and the rest are grown outside - a few in a trough in the 'Rosebank' garden, the rest at the allotment.  In the book One Straw Revolution the author suggests that if you don't support your tomatoes, they will lie on the ground and root wherever the stem touches the soil, which means you will get more trusses developing.  So, as ever, I intend to experiment, and do just that ,to see what happens.

I can feel a tomato glut coming on already - most years I freeze tomatoes whole, then just take the amount I am going to need out of the freezer bag - the skin comes off the frozen tomato dead easy if you hold it under a warm tap.

Of course any tomato plants planted in open ground are more susceptible to blight,  so the cherry types are a better bet as they ripen faster.  The mistake people make is overwatering outdoor tomatoes which leads to more leaf than fruit - once they have been planted out at the end of May, they can be left to their own devices till the first flowers arrive.  In their native countries, places such as Equador, Peru and Bolivia they grow in poor ground that is dry - and from experience I can say that outdoor toms develop a better flavour than those grown indoors.  Bush tomatoes would be an even better bet as they don't need staking.