If you could only grow one tomato .....

[si'sraisedbed]

Thanks for the offer Flummery, have sent my address and will give them a go.

[JO,JO]

i grew gardeners delight in the flower borders last year and had that manay i couldnt give enough away,not so good on the tumbling tom,alisa craig did well.hope for a better year for growing

[smallblueplanet]

I've got to back up Manda on this. I had a cracking crop from it last year and they dried beautifully.
I was growing it as a cordon but let a number of extra branches grow off it and it started to take over stakes for other plants. I think it is perfectly happy to grow many, many stems.

Oh, sounds very good T-lady. Did you grow it outdoors then?

[davefromthechipie]

This will sound boring and it is but if i could/had to.. only grow one tom type It would be the old classic moneymaker tasty, reliable and cheap

[Mike and Louise]

Last year we grew Gardeners Delight in an unheated greenhouse with loads of success.
This year we are growing MoneyMaker. Not the best Tomatoe taste wise, we have been told, but very reliable in an unheated greenhouse.

[T-lady]

Oh, sounds very good T-lady. Did you grow it outdoors then?

Nope, I lost all of my outdoor toms to the dreaded blight. This one was romping in the greenhouse - I'm trying it again this year

[Arachne]

This is my first year growing tomatoes, I started late, and they're just past their first set of true leaves, but from how they're doing so far, I'm putting a tentative early bet on Harbinger - they seem to be biggest, happiest and healthiest.

Not a clue what the tomatoes are like, so my opinion may change over the summer.

[JO,JO]

in total have got 25 plants this year,brandywine yellow,marmande,sub artic,taminda,harzfuer?,tumbling tom,incas,ferline,micro tom,sweet millions,garten pearle, i always think i grow to many but i love growing tomatoes the only disaster with them was tumbling toms last year which got too much water.even though am in east yorkshire it can be quite mild as we live in the vale of york in a dip so to speak,ive only seen settled snow twice here in the last 6 years and it lasted at the most 2 hrs. i have got summer bedding from last year growing in a trough outside all through the winter months they are now in flower

[JennieAtkinson]

When I posted this thread I was looking through seed catalogues and it was before I made the decision not to order anything from south. Thinking of my carbon footprint etc. It wasn't just seeds, but tatties, flowers ......... well everything really! It is very easy here to think it is just not possible to buy, beg or steal anything and just order from south. So it has been interesting.

I have now decided to use everything I already have and swop with friends up here and of course use the seeds that come with the magazine.

So this afternoon I've sown the Sub Arctic Plenty and I'll probably go with the good old gardners delight and some gartenperle. I'm supposed to be getting some more seeds from a friend, but not sure what they are going to be. Exciting .......... !!

[Eyren]

For a couple of years I successfully grew Gardener's Delight and Shirley outside in my sheltered, south-facing garden, but after last year's disastrous weather, I'm hedging my bets! Tumbling Tom in hanging baskets in the conservatory (ground-level containers not an option with three cats!), and Ferline and Sub Arctic Plenty outdoors (some of each on the allotment and in the garden, for comparison). Glad to hear Ferline is very tasty!

[si'sraisedbed]

Still got a few Golden Sunrise if you want to try 'em? Send a PM with your address if you can find space for them!

Thanks for seeds Flummery, they arrived yesterday and will be sown today once I have a new tyre on the car and have completed my other household chores!! (day off work today, lots of jobs to do) I'll also be potting on my Tigerella, Gardeners delight (which have rocketed, they're about 8" tall and I can see small side shoots!) and tumbling toms. Busy day ahead...

[moggssue]

I'm trying Ferline this year, after my disaster with blight last year. Also have a few Sub Arctic just pushing through the soil (never could resist a freebee!!)

[Cutecumber]

I hope everyone who is banking on Ferline knows that it can still get blight and is not a dead cert.

I have grown it several times and when blight has struck it has been affected as much as other varieties. I would suggest that you don't put all your eggs into one basket when it comes to growing tomatoes.

Anyway, we may get very little or no blight at all this year, who knows!

[Tam]

I always thought that Gardener's Delight was the best tasting tomato, until I tried Sungold.
Some have never tasted these at their best, because they overwater them. I always dig out last year's compost and use it elsewhere (to improve my heavy soil) I then put in plenty of garden compost and then fill up the greenhouse borders with th contents of about twenty growbags. I water in the young tomatoes and that is all the water they get, unless we get an exceptionally dry summer (like 1995 for instance). The tomatoes always taste superb!