Disappointing toms

[Bex2012]

Really disappointed with my allotment greenhouse toms this year, they havent done well at all. Ive got a load of fruit with cracks and splits (ok it happens), but I've also got a load with russeting on the skins, and ive never had that before!

Some ripening fruit seem to have brown, mottled patches on their bottoms, im not sure if its blossom end rot or not, it looks more patchy than big brown circles - dont know if they can be eaten or not!

The only ones that are ok are the red pears, and some random armpit cuttings.

Think next year I'll grow them in the garden again where I can control the conditions easier.

Anyone else suffering?

[Baldy]

^^^ don't get me started...

How do you control conditions in the garden vs (allotment) greenhouse ?

[bario1]

Not happy with mine either... Small, green toms, sickly, slow plants... I blame it on the cool, wet summer we've had.

[Peteyd]

This is the first year I have grown anything without the use of a greenhouse, because we moved house in November 2016 and just haven't got round to getting one yet.

My outdoor grown toms have done really well (also considering they only get the sun from 11am onward)
I've got four plants to see which ones do better where I've got them. I'm trying Alicante, Sungold, MoneyMaker and Gardeners Delight.

[MarkPelican]

Mine seem to be extremely slow to ripen. There's lots of potential fruit but so far only 1.5kg of edible stuff. I went to my daughter's earlier in the week and she has lots ripe on plants that I gave her (however, it doesn't look as though she will get as much weight overall).

Looks like a "not so good" year. Ah well, it happens.

[Small pumpkin]

My tomatoes have been dreadful this year. Very few fruit actually set but Loads of flowers. Now the ones with fruit are starting to ripen the dog or the blackbird are eating them. Depends who gets to them first!

[Bren In Pots]

Picked my first Black cherry tom 23rd July grown on the kitchen window sill those in the GH started a week later, even now I've lots of green toms and not that many turning

[Penellype]

My toms are an interesting mixture of excellent and disappointing. The indoor (house) plants have produced good crops, but with quite a bit of greenback (hard, green area near the stalk) which is typical of fruit that have got too hot. They also ripened nearly all at once, some of them virtually cooking on the plant in the first half of July.

The greenhouse plants have grown well and some are laden with fruit which is starting to ripen. The ones planted later are more greenery and less fruit, and the garden pearl have thousands of flowers very few of which are setting fruit. All of these are in self watering pots and all are big, vigorous and healthy looking plants.

In the growhouse I have a couple of plants on self watering trays but in smaller pots. The top has been taken off the growhouse because the plants are too tall, so the lower parts are protected but the tops are outdoors. These are also big, healthy plants with fruit starting to ripen, although the one plant that is younger has much less fruit (numbers not size), consistent with what I am seeing in the greenhouse.

The outdoor plants are generally disappointing. Comparison with photos from the start of August last year show that the Sungold are a good foot to 18 inches smaller than they were this time last year:

(this year on the left)

The plants look rather weedy and leaves are going yellow at the bottom, but the first fruit was ready about a week earlier than last year. The Mountain Magic (in pots) are doing ok, the Crimson Crush aren't great (I haven't grown these before so I can't compare with last year) and 2 of the 3 Ferline look very sick with only a few fruit:



There are 6 plants here - 3 Ferline on the left and 3 Crimson Crush on the right. The plant next to the hotbin could well be getting nutrients from the liquid that oozes out of the vent at the bottom of the bin, and also more water from the soil under the bin where it has less competition.

My guess is that despite regular watering the plants are mostly suffering from prolonged drought (until recently), although to be fair the leeks in front of the tomatoes near the hotbin are happy enough.

[Jimmy]

I grow my outdoor toms on the south east facing house wall in growbags.
They get full sun from first thing in the morning till soon after mid day.
I think the sun heats up the house wall and they seem to love it.
Done really well, as always. Sungold first to ripen, even before GH ones.
Jimmy

[bramble]

Both my outdoor and greenhouse tomatoes have done really well this year.
I have had a few that split and one with black bottom, but other than that I am really pleased.

[Jay22]

Loads of flowers here...but they have only just appeared... and one or two little green toms! I'm usually left with a lot of green toms at the end of the season but usually have a fair few ripe ones, don't think thats going to happen this year.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Mine are so, so slow!

Healthy as hell! But just so slow!





But I do have fruit forming, and as stated before, if I can save seed this year my job is done!

[ESBkevin]

Greenhouse crop are slow, picked one fruit and two turning (10 mixed variety plants). there is a lot of set fruit above hip[ height but not much low down. I stopped them this week so as to maximise whats there before mid October when there will be insufficient heat to get more.

Outdoor, I stopped them two weeks ago and earlier this week (Tues) noticed mottled blight all over th three areas I'm growing Toms. I picked off what I could but suspect it will be a very short unproductive season with all this warmth and rain. Again only picked one tomato but there is a lot more fruit available if I can hang on to the plants.
All round a less than satisfactory crop, but thems the breaks.

[Chris11]

I'd agree with other comments that this isn't the best year.
Mainly due to poor weather I'd guess. Feels like we've had above average rain and not enough sunshine.

At least a few of my plants are doing very well despite the conditions, so that makes it easy to decide which ones to save seeds from.

[Dorothy rouse]

Yes, mine also a bit rubbish, have grown them outside on top balcony for several years, pounds and pounds, freezer full etc, but this year, very sparce, I even added good quality compost to try and boost them. I wonder if it was that cold spell we had in April, I'm in Kent so not too far from you. Even the tumbling toms are nothing like usual! So won't be making soup or passata this year!