The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...

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Growster...

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #15 on: April 18, 2017, 07:23 »
Good choice of name there, Sunny!

Those penguins are thriving thanks to decent weather these days!

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Growster...

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #16 on: April 18, 2017, 07:34 »
A bad germination record for my Crimson crush so far this year. Managed a germination of 5 from 14 sown in a heated propagator on 23 March. Since I have sown another 18 seeds in modules in a sunny cold greenhouse on 3 April, and so far only 3 have germinated. Not very good at all. Am going to do a last sowing today/tomorrow in the heated propagator in different compost to cobble together a viable outside sauce crop. Very very poor attrition rate this year, when last year virtually all seeds germinated.
At least I'm confident that these reliable monsters will provide some sort of crop that makes it through the blight to my freezer. With a bit of basil/onion, they'll be great and outshine most shop sauces.  I only hope I have somewhere to plug my freezer in when the time comes.  :D

You may get a bit more from germinating on a sunny window sill, Victoria (not you of course, the seeds)!

Our greenhouse is only frost-free, and they take ages getting going there - proof of this is that another small 'rogue' has appeared where least expected and after a couple of weeks...

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victoria park

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #17 on: April 19, 2017, 16:45 »
Another 5 have popped their heads up in the greenhouse, so that's cheered me up.
Fussy prima donnas at the start of life, perhaps, but tough as old boots come the blight.  :)

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victoria park

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #18 on: May 24, 2017, 20:41 »
My first 6 crimson crush have been planted outside today. I have another 10 to put out in a week, 3 of which are armpit cuttings.
Looking forward to properly controlling and cordoning these plants this year. I have great hopes for a reliable blight resistant outside crop this year to complement my greenhouse luvvies. I have faith in this F1 variety, and am looking to catch some seed from any plant that performs the best.

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Growster...

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #19 on: May 25, 2017, 07:12 »
I planted out a dozen CC down at The Patch yesterday, which is where they'll be exposed to blight from the other plots.

(They had some chums with a couple of Gardener's Delight and a Country Taste as well, just to keep them happy and the party going...)

I'm also interspersing one or two everywhere at home to, like in the greenhouse, just outside the greenhouse on a concrete slab path, out the front of the house ettc, and will see what occurs in all these places!

Absolutely no science involved (although I did get 72% in Chemistry at GCE level), just a lot of eprime... exporimen...TRYING to see what might happen..;0)

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juvenal

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #20 on: May 25, 2017, 10:52 »
I've just put out a dozen CC plants on an allotment (total 110 plots) where no one else grows tomatoes outside, due to blight.

I'll report back on how well or ill they did!

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sunshineband

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #21 on: May 25, 2017, 17:09 »
Mine are in spread between a block planting of nine plants, and slightly random places around the two plots as well. No sorting into CC or penguins, just as they came off the tray. There are several other varieties planted outside too, so will certainly test the blight situation.

All looking decent plants, so let's hope they stay that way!
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victoria park

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #22 on: July 24, 2017, 21:42 »
Well, after a slow start, my crimson crush are beginning to look like the thick trunked monsters they can be. I've been a bit remiss in rubbing out the side shoots and have consequently added a few bamboos to prop up two headed monsters. It won't help the air flow, but I'm confident in their ability to do the right thing.
Everything looking good, and am confident of success now we are entering the real blight period.
Any news on your own seeded plants growster ?
« Last Edit: July 24, 2017, 21:43 by victoria park »

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juvenal

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #23 on: July 24, 2017, 22:53 »
My dozen plants of CC are hale and hearty so far, on a Bournemouth area allotment only too familiar with tomato blight. Trusses have green fruit up to 2" across.

As the blight season approaches it's fingers crossed time. I will report back.

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Growster...

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #24 on: July 25, 2017, 06:17 »
Timely reminder to keep in touch, Juvenal, thank you!

All ours in the various positions are thriving, and most of them look the same this year, with an odd branching of the main stem which I'm using to have up to two trusses per branch where I can see them!

Some fruit is quite big, others marginal, but at least still there!

Touch wood there's no blight anywhere so far, but we had a Hutton message yesterday...
« Last Edit: July 25, 2017, 09:05 by Growster... »

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sunshineband

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #25 on: July 25, 2017, 08:53 »
Our CCs are doing well outside and have plenty of fruit setting. The Gen2e lot (aka The Penguins) are very varied in appearance with one plant have potato-style leaves and a coule having differently shaped fruit too, which is interesting.

I have kept them fairly well pruned and supported on canes, which means I can actually see fruit and leaves to compare

Not as far on as they were this time last year, but they went in later, so looking forward to fruit expansion still. Optimistic!

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victoria park

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #26 on: July 28, 2017, 18:55 »
The pic down below shows my crimson crush a couple of days ago. They are in great health and some are just starting to turn colour and of course, some are looking very large. I think why I took to crimson crush last year, after having been mainly a greenhouse tomato grower is that I have confidence they will give me a crop despite the worst of blight. That n itself makes it worthwhile growing them, even if they do eventually succumb in late September.
I have sixteen of the monsters and this week's weather is the first real blight test. I have a couple of sacrificial sungolds outside and one might just be showing a bit of trouble, but hopefully not.
crimson crush.jpg

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Growster...

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #27 on: July 28, 2017, 19:13 »
Good looking plants there Victoria! Super looking fruit too!

The stems are similar to ours, great thick things, which gives me hope, as the fruit presumably demands a decent stalk to hang from, if I'm not mistaken!

Fingers crossed anyway, we had a Hutton note the other day, but so far, so good...

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juvenal

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #28 on: August 19, 2017, 17:51 »
I've just put out a dozen CC plants on an allotment (total 110 plots) where no one else grows tomatoes outside, due to blight.

I'll report back on how well or ill they did!

No signs of blight on Crimson Crush. I've harvested and eaten a dozen fruit so far, with good size tomatoes aplenty ripening day by day.

I'm not home and dry yet, but my dozen plants are thriving so far...

The neighbouring plot grew a few Alicante? Moneymaker? are all were blighted. She scrapped them last week.

I'll come back with a final report as the season progresses

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Growster...

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Re: The Great Crimson Crush Experiment - year two...
« Reply #29 on: August 19, 2017, 18:38 »
Juvenal, this is all good news!

I brought home a dozen from The Patch, and while they are great ugly brutes, I don't mind a bit!

Mrs Growster wasn't in the least bit interested, as she'd just prepared, de-skinned and arranged and frozen five big bags from the garden, and didn't want to look at a tomato again for several years...

I'll sort them tomorrow, and expect a huge fight!

I can't do any comparisons, as there is no blight on any of the allotments, or at home - thank goodness!



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