Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Kirpi on August 25, 2012, 10:13

Title: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: Kirpi on August 25, 2012, 10:13
I am considering some outdoor tomatoes next year where I would have put my early maincrop - I'm sick of digging up blight ridden slimey spuds and at least if tomatoes get blight you just pull them up.  We also eat more tomatoes than spuds and they are more epensive in the shops so it makes sense.

The question is - do they all tend to mature at once so you get a glut or is there a method by which I can spread the harvest over a longer period of the year?

I am in Cornwall - any suggestions for best varieties please?
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: DD. on August 25, 2012, 10:20
No tomatoes mature all at once, they start from the bottom and work up.

My staple tomato is "Shirley" I find that given the right season, they grow just as well outside as inside, albeit a little later. With your climate, you should have no problems growing outside.

For a beefsteak tomato, try "Brandywine".

Have a look at this link on avoiding blight:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=56717.0
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: rao on August 25, 2012, 12:44
Over the years I have grown, outdoors, many different varieties of tomatoes.
From an interest point of view I now only grow varieties from which I can save the seed from the best plants. These saved seeds are used for the following year and the selection process repeated.
The three varieties that I would recommend, for flavour and yield, are two bush tomatoes, Latah and Urbikany and one vine tomato called Harbinger, which is a heritage variety.
Latah and Urbikany crop very early and Harbinger is main crop that ripens well into October.
Latah and Urbikany seeds are not generally available but I got seed from "The Real Seed Catalogue"  (www.realseeds.co.uk)
Ferline has apparently shown impressive blight tolerance but I'm not sure that any tomato variety is blight resistant and anyhow I have decided to grow only for flavour.
I have also grown and can recommend Tomato 'Sungold' ,an F1 Hybrid, which produces very sweet fruit but saved seed does not come true.
In passing, I have tried spraying my tomatoes with a solution of sodium bicarbonate (10gms to 1 litre of water) in order to minimise the blight problem.  It certainly seems to help.
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: mumofstig on August 25, 2012, 14:27
Red Alert, a bush tomato, is reputed to be one of the first to be ready. At any rate it usually crops early enough to miss the blight...........this year was very bad and I don't think anything would have escaped, resistant or not  :(
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: fatcat1955 on August 26, 2012, 07:45
Remember that Tomatoe's are the same family as potatoe's and as such can get blight just as easy.
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: Kirpi on August 26, 2012, 09:25
Hi FatCat. Yes they are, agreed, but they are 1) more expensive than potatoes to buy in shops and 2) easier to grub up if they get blighted and easier to see what the actual crop is doing.

I am thinking of growing 1st earlies (Lady Crystal) and 2nd eartlies (Kestrel) as they make good storers and both seem to do better against blight. Cara were terrible and also were more susceptible to slug tunnelling. Orla were ok but tasteless in my opinion.

My other reason for this is I suffer Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and too much digging or forking will bring this on worse so I prefer to plant out with a trowel and have nothing to have to turn the soil for.
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: New shoot on August 26, 2012, 09:40
I only grow earlies and still had Anyas in the ground when blight struck our plot.  They resisted it really well and had produced some great tubers.  They are a pink fir apple cross so taste great as well  :)  Can't comment on the storage qualities as I only had a few plants and we ate the crop up very quickly.  Note to self to plant lots more next year  :lol:


Could you grow spuds through black plastic on your lasagne beds Kirpi ?  One of my plot neighbours did earlies like this on a raised bed and got a decent crop with very little digging  :)
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: Kirpi on August 26, 2012, 19:33
I had thought of laying my seed potatoes on top of the lasagne bed and then covering with straw and grass mowings to block out the light.

If next year is as wet as this one has been I imagine the slugs would love it under black polythene. I need to use a no-dig method next year though.
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: angelavdavis on August 26, 2012, 21:30
If next year is as wet as this one has been I imagine the slugs would love it under black polythene. I need to use a no-dig method next year though.

Might be worth using nematodes if this is the case?  I am going to try (just for potatoes as I don't really have massive issues with slugs underground).  Some sprinkle a few slug pellets in with the seed potatoes at planting time too.
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: New shoot on August 27, 2012, 07:17
I hoard all the ash from my open fire (I only burn wood) and put a good layer of that in with my spuds.  It really seems to help with keeping slugs away :)

Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: Kirpi on August 27, 2012, 09:21
I also burn wood only at home and could try the ash idea and a few organic slug pellets.

I would try the nematodes but they are so expensive; could end up cheaper to buy potatoes from the shops.
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: Yorkie on August 31, 2012, 19:30
In passing, I have tried spraying my tomatoes with a solution of sodium bicarbonate (10gms to 1 litre of water) in order to minimise the blight problem.  It certainly seems to help.


Members sometimes discuss making their own pesticides or uses for commercial products beyond those they are licensed for. Whilst not wishing to stifle free speech, this site does not suggest or condone the illegal use of pesticides and would suggest members consider this article:

http://www.allotment-garden.org/grow-your-own/home-made-pesticides
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: oldcow on September 01, 2012, 10:01
Choose an inderterminate variety instead of a bush one if you want plants that fruit more gradually instead of having most of the tomatoes ripening at the same time.
Have at least some cherry tomatoes, since they will ripen earlier and hopefully avoid blight. My favourites are Sungold and Gardener's Delight - taste lovely and I always got plenty of tomatoes before the blight struck.
If you want some bigger tomatoes, I like Costoluto Fiorentino and Ailsa Craig. The Albenga tastes great, my favourite, but looks like they produce very few fruits per plant.
Personally I hate the taste of the one I grew (Black Krim), but some of the black russian tomatoes do very well in cold weather and ripen early.
Title: Re: Considering some outdoor tomatoes next year
Post by: Kirpi on September 01, 2012, 13:11
Thank you oldcow - that's what I'm looking for. Looking forward to a new tomato project next year!