Tomatoes - will they grow??

[Justcallmemrbloom]

Of all the things I plan to grow on the allotment in my first year, it is tomatoes I most want to succeed.

I have built a 2m x 1m raised box and filled with half a metre depth of manure. I've then added a bit of topsoil and planted 7 tomato plants (mixture of gardeners delight, Alicante and money makers).

The advice I am now after is...what is the most amount of tomato plants I should plant? And, is there anything else I could do to get a good batch other than water and care?

Thanks in advance for suggestions

[WendyC]

The varieties you mention are all cordon varieties so won't need a huge space between them. What you do need to allow room for air flow and for the sun to ripen the fruit. I would set them about 18"/45cm apart in a zig zag pattern, to maximise the space.
They will need a stout pole to support them as they grow as the fruit will get quite heavy. Broom handles are useful for that. Remember to take out the side shoots and tie the main stem in regularly.
From the rich soil you have created I doubt they'll need a nitrogen feed to get them growing but once the fruit has set you'll need to get going with tomato feed.
Enjoy!

[roitelet]

And rig some sort of umbrella to keep the rain off and help to prevent blight.

[MarkPelican]

I have grown tomatoes at the allotment in the past, however over the last three years all have succumbed to blight so riotelet's comment is relevant, unless there is no blight where you are, you are probably best to grow under some sort of cover to help prevent blight.

This year I am trying Crimson Crush and Mountain Magic two varieties which are supposed to be blight resistant. Both are indeterminate but I will not grow them as cordons. I will plant a single line at two foot intervals and put them inside a "cage" which I will build from 2 inch plastic mesh supported by poles.

The plants will grow as big as they want and I'll pick the tomatoes as (and if) they ripen.

I grow indeterminate as cordons in my greenhouse but I don't think there's any advantage of growing them as cordons outdoors.

[Scarlet]

I grow indeterminate as cordons in my greenhouse but I don't think there's any advantage of growing them as cordons outdoors.

Why? Cordon tomatoes are huge plants if left to their own devices, throwing out lots of foliage that can become very heavy/ have a tendancy to snap and which can hinder the ripening process - little sun gets to the fruit if not supported and pruned correctly. Why not grow as a double or indeed a a triple cordon and prune accordingly?
Ive never grown the two toms youve mentioned, are they just not that vigorous?

[Dorothy rouse]

I grew Crimson Crush last year, they were quite a small plant!

[MarkPelican]

Ive never grown the two toms youve mentioned, are they just not that vigorous?

Crimson Crush and Mountain Magic are the two supposedly blight resistant varieties from Suttons and T&M respectively. I always get blight outdoors at the allotment so I'm experimenting to see if they're any good.

I grew Crimson Crush from free plants last year and they weren't particularly strong, they only grew to about 4ft. Maybe its my soil (or my growing skills) but I've never had tomatoes get huge at the allotment regardless of the variety.

[Scarlet]

I always get blight outdoors at the allotment so I'm experimenting to see if they're any good

But why grow as a bush rather than a cordon?
Like you I don't grow outside tomatoes anymore because of blight but I do have some success with early maturing bush varieties (Latah, lucky leprechaun both have fruit now from a late feb sowing) put in pots outside when (if) the weather warms up and (fingers crossed) usually finish before blight hits or bring indoors in my porch if blight is likely. Also the "wild" currant tomatoes are "supposed" to have some resistance to disease. I'm trying Chiapas wild tomato this year along with broad ripple yellow currant though I'm not really a fan of picking tidly toms my boys don't mind.

[MarkPelican]

I'm not growing as a bush, I'm just not picking out the sideshoots and tying into canes to make a cordon. Its no different to growing them in a frame.

Its interesting that you have fruit on Latah now, even in my unheated greenhouse, from a February sowing I get fruit starting early July (Latah, Bloody Butcher, Garden Pearl). I'll admit I don't have a heated and lit seedbox to get them going strongly early on but maybe it shows what a difference the weather makes (spring advances up the country at walking pace).

My plan at the allotment (similar to last year) is to grow the "blight resistant" varieties and some standard varieties (probably Alicante and Ailsa Criag) and to see if they have noticeable blight differences. Last year, there was no difference in blight on the plants but when I picked the unripe fruit in September some of them got blight before ripening up and some didn't (but I hadn't separated the fruit when I picked them so I don't know which were which, this year I plan to be more careful). The Crimson Crush tomatoes were the same size as Moneymaker and were later to ripen - they didn't taste any better either.