Got Tomatoes??

[SailorBold]

On 5/4/2021 at 2:48 PM, UK_Palms said:

Such a disappointing spring here this year. Temperatures have been WAAAAAAY below average to the point that April was actually my coldest ever April on record, in terms of the lowest average minimum on record and the most overnight frosts ever recorded. And that's going right back to the late 1700's. That's how crap the weather has been lately. 

Despite the record cold spring, it has also been my sunniest and driest April on record too, which explains all the nighttime radiation frosts and record low averages. And May has started off exactly where April left off, with temperatures still way below average. On top of that we had a big storm last night with 55mph winds, which has wrecked havoc. This spring is a total write-off. 

Consequently, I have still got all my tomato, pepper, cucumber, melon and tropical seedlings indoors under cover. These are just itching to get outdoors now for some sun, but the winds have been too strong and daytime temps have been too low with a risk of overnight frosts ongoing. I'm expecting a low of 2-3C tonight after a high of 14C today. This time last year it was 25-26C by day and 13C at night. I had all my stuff outdoors already. So what a difference a year makes...

 

 

I have put a new cover on my polytunnel and will plant out a bunch of tomatoes in there this week...

Wowzer...  that is impressive..   Im not growing tomatoes this year.. sadly...  I have too many projects going on that and between work etc..   Ill grown them next year.   I was just reading some stuff about using Hydrogen Peroxide as being beneficial for the plants for fungus etc..    Have you ever used H2O2?

[Teegurr]

Lots of nice fruit on this one...don't know the variety though.

 

[Tracy]

Same plant that I planted over a year ago.  I'm using the inflorescence of the Dypsis plumosa now to twine the vine through.  My new pup has also discovered that playing with the tomatoes can be fun.  My 9 year old dog, which in previous years ignored tomatoes, followed suit, except she is a little more discerning.  She likes to eat the ripe ones now and leaves the green ones alone.  Who said you can't teach an old dog a new trick?

[Gonzer]

The one spot in the back that is sacred ground. Nothing shall be planted hither lest the Tomato Gods wrath be induced. (space reserved exclusively for 'maters)

[RyManUtah]

On 6/5/2021 at 1:44 PM, Gonzer said:

The one spot in the back that is sacred ground. Nothing shall be planted hither lest the Tomato Gods wrath be induced. (space reserved exclusively for 'maters)

Do you plant them in the same spot yearly? I was curious about this.

I’ve heard horror stories of ailments etc from the practice. 
I ask because a permanent location would suit my needs nicely.  

[Gonzer]

19 hours ago, RyManUtah said:

Do you plant them in the same spot yearly? I was curious about this.

I’ve heard horror stories of ailments etc from the practice. 
I ask because a permanent location would suit my needs nicely.  

The same area (8' x 10') is used yearly due to space limitations. Although the notion of crop rotation is appealing what can ya do? I average about 30 Mason jars of 'maters, some years more, some a bit less. Nothing to add to those horror stories. I live near many commercial farms in the back of our city and many grow tomatoes exclusively, year after year after year. Whether the soil is treated annually with fungicides I couldn't tell ya but they grow shi*loads of good looking fruit. Personally, I think it's mainly heirlooms that are the recipients of the various ailments we hear about caused by same-area planting. I always prep the soil with organics, use liquid humic acid, and deep-water from micro heads once a week.

[UK_Palms]

On 5/22/2021 at 6:18 AM, SailorBold said:

Wowzer...  that is impressive..   Im not growing tomatoes this year.. sadly...  I have too many projects going on that and between work etc..   Ill grown them next year.   I was just reading some stuff about using Hydrogen Peroxide as being beneficial for the plants for fungus etc..    Have you ever used H2O2?

Sorry for the late reply again man. I'm going to try and be more active in this tomato section again now, since my season is properly up and running now. The spring just gone was abysmal, the worst ever in my lifetime. I am about 3 weeks behind where I was this time last year. Since my tomato plants had to spend ages indoors due to the record cold spring here, they are smaller and less vigorous than last year, only just producing their first flowers in mid June. Last year I had the first flowers in mid-late May. In previous years I have planted my tomatoes outside in late April, or early May. This year I had to wait until late May before the temperatures picked up. So I am a good 3-4 weeks behind schedule really. Still, I am determined to make up lost time and get some bountiful harvests.

I can't say that I ever have used H202 on tomatoes, or plants in general. Other than small palms when treating a spear pull. Maybe it's something I should look into, should blight rear its ugly head. I didn't have any blight last year, but I got hammered the year before. There's a good chance I will get it at some point this year, given the number of toms this year. Probably about 60-70 plants in total. Here's a few pics from the garden and allotment. First pic shows Gold Star, Roma, San Marzano, British Mutant, Chocolate Stripes, White Currant etc...

 

About 2/3 of my plants were started from seed in March/April, but the biggest ones are store brought ones that were already a decent size, like the Gold Star... 

 

Green Zebra, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Cherokee Green, Cherokee Chocolate and Cherokee Purple. Tumbling Tom yellow in the hanging basket. 

 

I've got Cherry Falls x 2 in baskets as well (somehow a sunflower seed snuck into the compost)...

 

Tomato overload this season, can't even be bothered to name this lot here...

Post trim tonight...

 

Black Krim, Brandywine Black, Brandywine Orange and White Tomesol. All beefsteak varieties. I'm heavily pruning these so they don't branch out at all. 

 

Sungold flying out the blocks as always, compared to the rest...

 

Artisan collections - Blush Tiger, Green Tiger, Pink Tiger / Pink Bublebee, Purple Bumblebee, Sunrise Bumblebee. Some late start peppers in front of them...

 

The beefsteak battle is under way in the polytunnel now as well - Ananas Orange, Black Krim, Black Russian, Cherokee Purple, Pink Brandywine and Brandywine 'Suddeth'. The best of the 6 best beefsteaks. The Brandywine 'Suddeth' strain is out of frame in this photo. 

 

 

They're still small, but the allotment plot is loaded. Interesting to see how my San Marzano plum x Crimson Blush beefsteaks come out in a few months time. There's about 30 plants here and about 20 different varieties...

 

The peppers are steaming out the blocks this year. Weird, since everything else has been so slow and behind schedule. Peppers and bananas have fared okay strangely. Tomatoes, palms and most other exotics have really struggled and been slow to grow this year. Peppers and bananas though don't know that we had the coldest spring on record...

 

Big Poblano pepper plant at bottom on frame and a Black Krim tomato plant in bottom right corner, next to Bird of Paradise. 

 

Nighttime shot of some super hots, including Reaper Red, Reaper Burgundy, Reaper Choc, Bhut Jolokia White, Brain Strain Yellow etc. 

 

After 3 weeks of decent, warm, dry weather in the 75-85F region, we have had a run of bad, wet, cool weather now. Clouds, rain and highs of just 60-65F. Lows staying above 55F at night though. The tomato plants should still double in size over the next 2 weeks though. The weather should warm up later on next week. Back into the 80's F by next weekend hopefully. Crap weather for summer solstice though. Tomorrow could be my coldest June day in 4 years and my coldest summer Solstice since 1950's. It will warm up quite a bit later in the week though.

[Tracy]

Green tomato.  Some sort of strange hybrid I think

[spike]

First cherokee purple of the year, nice and colorful! It's not too big but big as it's gonna get in my poor soil. 

[UK_Palms]

First week of June and summer in this part of the world. Progress has been alright, but it could also be better, although it is certainly better than this time last year.

 

A hailstorm absolutely decimated all of my outdoor tomato plants foliage. It’s just cosmetic damage to the leaves, which will be trimmed off anyway as the plants grow bigger. It does look pretty ugly though.

 

The outdoor cacti trough is in bloom again

 

Hopefully blight stays away from the toms this year too. This summer has to perform for us, especially July & August. No idea what the next 4 months will bring given it is a La Niña summer. By the law of average, it cant be any worse than last year. The next week is going to be colder than average though. It was 24C / 75F yesterday and 21C / 70F today, but I am only expecting a high of 18C / 64F and rain tomorrow. Not great for June. 

[UK_Palms]

Yesterday evening I harvested my first tomatoes of the season. Sungold is always the first to crop and one of the tastiest. Early, prolific, very tasty & relatively disease resistant. It’s easily one of the top 3 tomatoes you can grow in my opinion. Of course these first ‘early’ ones to come home were also grown under glass, hence the early ripening.

Lots of other toms are growing out in the open with tomatoes forming now. Probably another 3-4 weeks away from harvesting the others though. Cucumbers have already been very prolific this month as well with 2 plants producing 10 cucumbers. These photos were taken at 10pm last night lol. This close to the solstice at this latitude it isn’t properly dark until 11pm.

[JLM]

Mine are not happy with me at all after they ended up drying out in 100F. 

[emeramocco]

I've never needed tips for tomatoes. I always buy ready-made tomato seedlings at the farmer's market. I plant 3 rows of tomatoes every year.

[emeramocco]

On 10/19/2022 at 5:25 AM, emeramocco said:

I've never needed tips for tomatoes. I always buy ready-made tomato seedlings at the farmer's market. I plant 3 rows of tomatoes every year.

Of course, I take care of these vegetables. I've set up a system for watering vegetables, especially tomatoes and sometimes cucumbers, zucchini, and watermelons. I used to bring my sons, who carried buckets of water for watering tomatoes before. When the fruits of tomatoes become heavy enough, we strengthen the bushes with sticks and threads, so they don't fall to the ground. If a tomato touches the ground, it can rot even when growing. Tomatoes are easy. But it's useful for me to read potatoes growing tips. Every year I want to grow large potatoes, not something the size of a chicken egg.

[dalmatiansoap]

Where do you guys buy quality seeds? I lost my old source and need to find a new one.

[realarch]

First time noticing this thread, interesting and entertaining. Boy, growing tomatoes in my micro climate is a challenge, I’m guessing from all the rainfall and off the charts humidity. Commercial seedlings start off like gangbusters but quickly decline, wilt, and die. These are always grown in pots with new soil, the end result is the same. Cherry tomatoes however, seem to thrive forming a ground cover, but because rat lung worm disease, which is prevalent on our island, the ripe little cherries are more of an appetite suppressant. Twenty miles south of here where it’s drier and sunnier, friends grow beautiful Beefsteak like varieties with relative ease. Nice to invite friend for dinner when they bring you fresh tomatoes.

You guys growing tomatoes are putting in the work for delicious rewards.

Tim

[UK_Palms]

I haven't updated this thread with my 2022 tomato harvest and boy what a season it has been. It probably rivals the 2020 tomato season, which was also fantastic. Anyway, I will rate my best tomatoes in order so people can see my top 10. There were some disappointments this year, but far more successes and surprises than last year, which was abysmal.

 

Some honorable/worthy mentions first...

Sungold - always performs, quick ripening and excellent taste. I will grow it every year, although it is getting a bit boring now.

 

Honeycomb F1 - similar to Sungold but with a honey like taste. It did grow well but it wasn't stand out and I may not bother with it again next year. That is a forest fire raging in the background of this photo during the 40C heatwave in July. I was going to harvest everything in case the fire swept through but helicopters contained it.

 

Kilates - a good, tasty plum variety but it was susceptible to blossom end rot quite a bit. It probably won't return again next year.

 

And now onto the top 10...

10.) Dwarf Shadow Boxer - I wish I did better with this plum type as I didn't give it enough sun, attention or nutes. I still got a nice, tasty, unique crop however. I will try again.

 

9.) Crimson Blush - a staple in my grows for its consistently large tomatoes that are resistant to blight. Not the tastiest, but it will be returning next year, as always.

 

8.) Gourmandia - another staple in my tomato grows every year now. Always reliable and it produces delicious tomatoes with fantastic shape, colour and texture.

 

7.) Crimson Cherry - blight resistant and huge plants loaded with pretty large cherry tomatoes. This will be returning next year for sure.

 

6.) Black Krim - first time growing after hearing lots of good things, however I found it lacking in flavour. Very watery. Some big beefsteak toms but it probably won't return next year. I may bring back the Cherokee Purple again next year, which I took out for Black Krim this year. I learnt my lesson here.

 

5.) Moonglow - first time growing this one as well and it performed better than Black Krim in the flavour department. Small yields though. I may grow it again next year.

 

4.) White Tomesol - first year growing white beefsteaks. This one far outperformed the other (Great White) in the taste department, plus it ripened earlier too. 

 

3.) Brown Derby - not quite beefsteak size but still big enough to fill a burger. Very tasty too and definitely returning next year.

 

2.) Apero F1 - a fantastic, vigorous cherry plumb tomato with good resistance to blight and diseases. These also last for ages on the vine without splitting too. I had so many that I couldn't keep up with the harvests and had to let many die on the vines. Fantastic tomato!

 

AND THE WINNER OF THE 2022 BEST TOMATO COMP...

1.) Cornu Des Andes AKA 'Andes Horn' - a big juicy plum type that is great for canning. It also doesn't get blossom end rot like most plum types. The plant in the greenhouse performed unbelievably, although I had another plant in a pot that dried out when I went away on holiday to Cornwall. 

 

Now for the biggest under-performers of 2022...

5.) Ananas - a top performer in previous years only to come out crap this year. Maybe it was dodgy seeds or different climatic conditions. Either way it sucked this year.

4.) Pink Brandywine - winner of 2020 comp, but dreadful this year. Lack of flavour, deformed tomatoes and just not same quality as previous years. Biggest disappointment of season.

3.) White Currant - vigorous with decent taste, but they are so small that you barely get anything from them. You need to eat loads to make it worthwhile. A pointless tiny current.

2.) Crimson Crush - super prone to blossom end rot. About 75% of crop effected, which is a LOT. Ones that weren't effected still tasted crap as well. Off the list for next year!

1.) Chocolate pear - a real lack of vigour, it takes ages to ripen and the taste was crap. Some mould issues too. By far my worst tomato of the season! Never again!

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by UK_Palms

[UK_Palms]

Okay so this summer has been crap here this year, especially July, but I have the tomatoes coming still. Ripening has been a struggle this summer, compared to last year, due to the lack of heat and sunlight in recent weeks. Still I make do. It’s like I’m running a tomato laboratory out of my garden…

Starting with Sweet Million…

The ‘black’ anthocyanin tomatoes are the star of the show…

Rebel Starfighter Prime - not ripe yet…

Black Beauty - getting there…

Brads Atomic Grape… a few more days…

Queen of the night - the ultimate black tomato, turning red form ripeness. Proper show stopper…

 

Groupshots…

 

Blood Moon taking forever to ripen (supposed to be black as well)

Buffalo Steak… a big daddy of a tomato

 

Buffalo Pink… his little sister…

Some big Mama’s ripening. I have 3+ pounders on the vines. The weather needs to pick up ASAP…

 

Sungold always produces and is uniquely tasty, but is dropping further down on my list every year now…

 

Apero F1 - one of the best cherry tomatoes hands down…

Sunset Torch - looks amazing but doesn’t taste great, likely due to lack of sun or heat during mid-summer…

Lucid Gem - looks better than it tastes due to the crappy weather (not enough heat and sun).

Shimmer - this is really a salad or sauce tomato. Not one to eat straight off the vine. Tastes decent though…

 

Honeycomb F1 in the greenhouse…

 

This was supposed to be Brandywine Suddeth strain but it hasn’t got the typical potato’s leaves and looks different. Kind of deformed almost. Hopefully it tastes good…

Crokini (blight resistant)

Hands down the best tomato so far this season has come from a self-seeded volunteer plant in the greenhouse, which is either Sungold F2, Honeycomb F2, or a hybrid combination of both… either way it tastes amazing!

This is only a fraction of the tomato’s that I have growing here. Like 1/3 of what I have. More to follow. I haven’t really showed any of the beefsteaks yet…

Edited August 5, 2023 by UK_Palms

[UK_Palms]

Better late than never, but here is my 2023 tomato rankings after growing quite a lot. I have far too many to include, so I am going to do a ‘top 15’ list with the main varieties that are on show…

16.) Lucid Gem - despite such a stunning appearance outside and inside, this was really lacking in taste and won’t be grown again next year. I was very disappointed when I finally tasted it.

15.) Brads Atomic Grape - quite an appealing plum variety with its black antho colouring, but also not the best tasting. I probably won’t grow this one again. Once is enough.

 

14.) Afternoon Delight - another stunning looking tomato that is badly let down by its taste profile. Some people swear by this variety however, but it did not taste good enough for me. I’m not sure whether it has earned its place in my garden next year. Probably not. It had some problems with disease as well on the vine with entire tomatoes rotting.

13.) Blood Moon - These took quite a long time to ripen and had a bit of a strange taste. They were nice, but not on par with many of the other varieties. I was expecting a lot more from it frankly. I am tempted not to bother with it again next season.

 

12.) Buffalo Sun - this is a variety that I felt I could have done much better with. It yields pretty decently and when fully ripened the big yellow/orange tomatoes look amazing. I will try to give them more sun and airflow next season.

 

11.) Crimson Blush - not the tastiest beefsteak but these will still be returning next year, as always, just for their big size and tough blight resistance. They always perform for me and probably have the best blight resistance I have ever come across.

10.) Sart Roloise - a real showstopper with dark antho shoulders and a white/cream underbelly. Unfortunately this is another case of ‘looks better than it tastes’. I probably won’t grow this again next year and rather do another antho variant of this white type instead.

9.) American Blue - these done much better than I was expecting. They actually tasted pretty good, although the skin was a little tough. The jury is out still on whether they return next year. Probably not.

8.) Sweet Million - this makes it here just for the insane productivity. A huge plant with hundreds upon hundreds of cherry tomatoes. Not the best tasting, but more productive than just about anything I have ever grown. I may try a different type next year however.

7.) Uluru Ochre - a member of the dwarf tomato project, this plant still produced some very, very tasty beefsteak type tomatoes. Unfortunately it also yielded fairly low (as expected with dwarf varieties) so I may not bother with it next season.

 

6.) Pink Delicious - this produced some massive beefsteaks well over 2 pounds in weight. The taste wasn’t anything to write home about, but still pretty impressive size nonetheless. I am unsure whether to bring it back next year, or try another big variety in its place…?

5.) Green Doctors Tomato - contrary to their green, tart appearance, these are actually very sweet and good to eat straight off the vine. Quite unusual to see green cherry tomatoes that are sweet in a salad bowl. These will be returning next year.

4.) Brown Derby - while not as tasty as the previous year, they were still pretty decent. I will do them again next year for the 3rd year in a row. That tells you all you need to know.

3.) Taiga - produces nice big oxheart shaped beefsteaks that taste amazing! Definitely returning next year for me. I think I can do better with the production next time as well.

 

2.) Ananas Noire AKA ‘Black Pineapple’ - one of the best tasting tomatoes of the season by far. Although the exterior looks aren’t that great, once sliced the interior colours are simply stunning! Almost as good as the flavour itself. A must grow for anyone.

1.) Winner - Rebel Starfighter Prime - this won the whole competition by a country mile this year. While it took a while to ripen, the tomatoes looked stunning on the vines with their purple, black and eventually red colours. They are almost marble like in appearance and taste equally stunning. A real champion for 2023.

I am now looking forward to the 2024 tomato season!

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by UK_Palms

[Barry]

3 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

Better late than never, but here is my 2023 tomato rankings after growing quite a lot. I have far too many to include, so I am going to do a ‘top 15’ list with the main varieties that are on show…

16.) Lucid Gem - despite such a stunning appearance outside and inside, this was really lacking in taste and won’t be grown again next year. I was very disappointed when I finally tasted it.

15.) Brads Atomic Grape - quite an appealing plum variety with its black antho colouring, but also not the best tasting. I probably won’t grow this one again. Once is enough.

 

14.) Afternoon Delight - another stunning looking tomato that is badly let down by its taste profile. Some people swear by this variety however, but it did not taste good enough for me. I’m not sure whether it has earned its place in my garden next year. Probably not. It had some problems with disease as well on the vine with entire tomatoes rotting.

13.) Blood Moon - These took quite a long time to ripen and had a bit of a strange taste. They were nice, but not on par with many of the other varieties. I was expecting a lot more from it frankly. I am tempted not to bother with it again next season.

 

12.) Buffalo Sun - this is a variety that I felt I could have done much better with. It yields pretty decently and when fully ripened the big yellow/orange tomatoes look amazing. I will try to give them more sun and airflow next season.

 

11.) Crimson Blush - not the tastiest beefsteak but these will still be returning next year, as always, just for their big size and tough blight resistance. They always perform for me and probably have the best blight resistance I have ever come across.

10.) Sart Roloise - a real showstopper with dark antho shoulders and a white/cream underbelly. Unfortunately this is another case of ‘looks better than it tastes’. I probably won’t grow this again next year and rather do another antho variant of this white type instead.

9.) American Blue - these done much better than I was expecting. They actually tasted pretty good, although the skin was a little tough. The jury is out still on whether they return next year. Probably not.

8.) Sweet Million - this makes it here just for the insane productivity. A huge plant with hundreds upon hundreds of cherry tomatoes. Not the best tasting, but more productive than just about anything I have ever grown. I may try a different type next year however.

7.) Uluru Ochre - a member of the dwarf tomato project, this plant still produced some very, very tasty beefsteak type tomatoes. Unfortunately it also yielded fairly low (as expected with dwarf varieties) so I may not bother with it next season.

 

6.) Pink Delicious - this produced some massive beefsteaks well over 2 pounds in weight. The taste wasn’t anything to write home about, but still pretty impressive size nonetheless. I am unsure whether to bring it back next year, or try another big variety in its place…?

5.) Green Doctors Tomato - contrary to their green, tart appearance, these are actually very sweet and good to eat straight off the vine. Quite unusual to see green cherry tomatoes that are sweet in a salad bowl. These will be returning next year.

4.) Brown Derby - while not as tasty as the previous year, they were still pretty decent. I will do them again next year for the 3rd year in a row. That tells you all you need to know.

3.) Taiga - produces nice big oxheart shaped beefsteaks that taste amazing! Definitely returning next year for me. I think I can do better with the production next time as well.

 

2.) Ananas Noire AKA ‘Black Pineapple’ - one of the best tasting tomatoes of the season by far. Although the exterior looks aren’t that great, once sliced the interior colours are simply stunning! Almost as good as the flavour itself. A must grow for anyone.

1.) Winner - Rebel Starfighter Prime - this won the whole competition by a country mile this year. While it took a while to ripen, the tomatoes looked stunning on the vines with their purple, black and eventually red colours. They are almost marble like in appearance and taste equally stunning. A real champion for 2023.

I am now looking forward to the 2024 tomato season!

 

Very nice selection and report. My area is winter season growing, just now producing fruit. Probably 4 weeks away from any harvesting. But looking forward to them. I probably have 10 or more varieties planted this year.

[aztropic]

Better than average crop this year due to a warmer than normal winter so far. Only 6 starter plants of 'celebrity' planted mid August,first ripe fruit mid November, have continued to supply fruits for us,friends,and neighbors. Still over 100 green fruits waiting their turn to ripen! 🍅

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[SailorBold]

Truly amazing UK.. and inspiring.... im in awe..   im going to try this year..but going to try directly northern exposure see how that goes..

Wow!

[aztropic]

Once they start producing, we,and surrounding neighbors just can't keep up with them...🤷‍♂️ 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona