Tomato varieties - case for the prosecution

[Alison]

Good tasting toms are also a personal taste so just cos I think something is really nice doesn't mean that everybody (or even anybody!) will agree!

Of interest, this year I decided to grow more outdoor varieties and have been impressed with Red Alert as they have seemed very easy and ripened earlier than any others (inc those in the greenhouse) despite only being sowed in mid April which was a the last of any of my sowings. Only small fruits but nice and sweet and great for my lunch box!

[sewer rat]

I fully agree with the comments before. I have 11 varieties this year, 240 plants in total and they include heritage, F1 and standard varieties, with cherry, standard, oxheart and plums included.
Due to lack of direct sun for most of this summer they are only now beginning to ripen but are doing so rapidly.
My own two favourites are Ailsa Craig - old but must be good to have stood the test of time and the challenge of so many new varieties, and Golden Sunrise, as Ailsa Craig. Both of these varieties may be looked down on by some tomato snobs as both are common as muck everyday toms - but maybe they are popular because they are so good.

[Cutecumber]

Loads of interesting information... thanks for taking part in the thread, everyone.

I have been starting to make a list of varieties for next year, so I am really keen to hear what everyone has on their "always" list, and what their decision making involves.

I think I will try some of the popular varieties that I haven't yet attempted - I am particularly interested in Alicante, for example. Along with that, it's definitely time to try Bloody Butcher as it seems to get wide applause for its flavour.

My first (very late sown) Gardener's Delight are ripening, and the Sungold (bless 'em) are still going...

So, it looks like I'm not so much a tomato snob as a liar!
(I'll put that down to memory loss, though! )

[valmarg]

Since reading this site I've been looking at the tomatoes we have grown this year.

We seem to have grown mainly beefsteak - Supersteak, Brandywine, Costoluto Fierentino Mortgage Lifter, Mountain Pride and Ferline. We have been growing all these varieties for several years, but I think the Costoluto (based on crops) is going to get the order of the boot. Other than that, usually get good crops of very well flavoured tomatoes from the other varieties.

Plum tomatoes, we have grown San Marzino and Olivade. Have never done much with San Marzino, but Olivade is fantastic, can thoroughly recommend.

We have also grown Bloody Butcher, and for the first time this year Stupice. I agree with piglet, BB are the earliest tomatoes we grow, and taste very good.

Cherry varieties - Idyll, Golden Sunrise, Golden Gem, Sugar Pearl and, of course, Gardeners Delight. Have grown Idyll for the first time this year, and whilst it is cropping well, some of the tomatoes are as small as currants. All the others are tried and tested and would recommend.

We have grown one bush variety for the first time this year Red Cap. Based on this year's harvest would recommend.

Piglet, where do you get your seed of Bloody Butcher? I originally bought a packet of Suttons 'Heritage' seed. When that ran out, have since been saving our own seed, simply because I couldn't find it anywhere on the web, not that there is anything wrong with our own saved seed.

valmarg

[sewer rat]

One final point on the commercial growing side of things - other than vine tomatoes, for which you pay an extortionate premium in the supermarkets (although they are better tasting than others you will find there), is that almost all the varieties listed as common or garden are available to commercial growers. The reason a lot of supermarket tomatoes are described as tasteless is that they are picked whilst green and ripened artificially off the plants - losing lycopene and vitamins and taste as they go.

[rustylady]

I like to try new varieties each year, but still make sure I grow the ones I know I like. Gardner's Delight is an absolute must. This year, however, has been an absolute disaster. Even the greenhouse toms got botrytis, and I've cut all the fruit and brought them indoors to riper (or not)

[pigletwillie]

Valmarg, the bloody butcher came from

http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/cata...eywords=bloody

[Paulottie]

How are you getting on with the ones I sent CuteC. The French grandmaman's got 'le mildew'. She's asking me for seeds now

All my interesting beefsteak and plums outdoors have got blight...bit disappointedly really. In the greenhouse I have Ping pong, Shirley and sungold. Nothing out of the ordinary -though i'd say the ping pongs have tasty fruit.

[bramble]

I grew a few new varieties this year (i mean new to me) One in particular called Kimberley was a great producer and a very early variety. Don't ask me where to get seeds as i don't know, was just given a few by a friend, but i would recommend it. Has anyone grown this one?

[valmarg]

Thanks Piglet, I've added nickys seeds to favourites - not that I needed another seed company, but I do find them irresistible!!

valmarg

[Flummery]

I'll second Alison's recommendation for Red Alert as an outdoor bush tom. We grew it for several years when we had an allotment - beautiful taste and an early ripener.

Does anyone else grow Green Zebra?

[terrier]

A few years ago, a professional grower friend asked me what variety of toms I was growing. I told him 'Moneymaker', to which he stuck his nose in the air and said "waste of time". He gave me some Shirley F1 hybrids and told me to try a 'superior' type. That year I grew half Shirleys and half Moneymaker. The Shirley F1's cropped much better than the others but were thick skinned with a poor flavour and couldn't match the Moneymaker texture or flavour. Maybe I'm being unfair as that was only a one off trial, but at the time I knew which ones I would have reccomended.

[hils]

Pigletwillie, please, a word of advice. I have grown Bloody Butcher this year and the wretched plant has only managed 3 fruit. Now, admittedly it has been grown outside; does it need greenhouse/polytunnel conditions in order to thrive?

Many thanks

[pigletwillie]

Hi Hils,

I grow the vast majority of my tomatoes under cover as every year my outside ones die of blight (this year before I even picked a fruit). This summer has just been atrocious weather wise and will not have helped your cause whatever tomato you grew.

Personally I find that even tomatoes lauded for being suitable for outside cultivation only do well in a good summer and do infinitely better under cover. Please try them again, they are very early and taste grand.

[mrskp]

A word of warning - when you decide to grow several varieties "to see what happens", try and learn when enough is enough.

I have 14 varieties this year (30 plants) and some plants are still in their 5 inch pots... on their fifth truss of fruit. I ran out of space... several times.

My resolution is to grow fewer tomato plants next year.

With you all the way here Cutecumber. I have 14 (or possibly 15 - i lost count) varieties this year and 40 odd plants. Far too many to give anywhere near the correct attention to. My toms have suffered as a result so next year I'm consolidating and using the "less is more" approach.

For the record, my tumbling toms have been the first to ripen. Picked about 10 wee ones yesterday. Gardeners Delight has been the most prolific in the green, but not managed to pick one ripe one yet.

I have still got a few plants in their bottom of milk bottle pots and they are looking no worse than the others tbh. They just dry out far quicker.

Legend is showing promise though, as is Ferline, as long as the frosts hold off.

Last year (my first) I only grew Totem and Gartenperle, both of which proved much better than this year (but then we have had the weather to contend with). So I've bought a packet of Totem and will try those again. I think I'm better suited to bush. Cordon is so much of a faff !

I've been fairly lucky with blight however, so minimal wastage and the compost bins will be properly stacked when I give up on all of them entirely and cut them down. So not a total waste of time but defnitely some lessons learnt.