What are the best Tomatoes to grow?

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DD.

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #15 on: December 30, 2012, 17:38 »
My staple is Shirley, but like the others I grow several other varieties as well, not neccessarily the same each year.

The only one thing I can say for sure is don't bother with Moneymaker, because if you try any of those mentioned, you won't bother with them again!
Did it really tell you to do THAT on the packet?

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New shoot

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #16 on: December 30, 2012, 18:28 »
The ones that sell the most at work (garden centre) are Shirley and Gardener's Delight.  People come back for them year after year.

If you have not grow many before, I would say go one of each and then add in a couple of wildcards each year until you find your own favourite mix.  Moneymaker are dull so avoid those and if you want different varieties, buying plants can work out cheaper than lots of seeds  :)


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Babstreefern

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #17 on: December 30, 2012, 18:30 »
Not been on for quite a while now as everything I grew outside got wiped out.  But did REALLY REALLY well in the greenhouses.  Especially tomatoes.  I always grow, for standard, Vanessa, got really heavy crops, and I always do an exotic, which this year was tigerella, and again, I did really well. 8)

And just to say, glad to be back.  Have had a bad year this year, not only with the plot (and I still haven't dug it all yet because of the rain).  I'll probably grow a rainforest next year, should do well in this climate :blink:
Babs

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Trillium

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #18 on: December 30, 2012, 19:29 »
Nice to see you back, Babs. Many had total failures with their toms and other crops this past summer.  Perhaps hydroponics is the answer?  :lol:

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Babstreefern

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #19 on: December 30, 2012, 22:11 »
Thanks Trillium.  I just hope we do well next year.  It was totally disheartening.  Although the farmers here haven't done well either, so I feel a bit better.  I was thinking it was me :blush:

I think you are correct with hydroponics though :D

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Kristen

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #20 on: December 31, 2012, 12:23 »
My bankers are Gardeners delight, Sungold and Shirley too - interesting that two other folk have posted the same.

I have 18 Tom plants in the greenhouse, for the last umpteen years I've grown 6 of each variety.  This year I am growing two plants of each of 9 different varieties so that the family can have a tasting test and then settle on some preferred varieties for the next umpteen years :)

In the past I asked the question "which tomato varieties are you NOT growing" which might help in avoiding some varieties that folk have tried and given up on
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=70957.0

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Kristen

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #21 on: December 31, 2012, 12:27 »
Perhaps hydroponics is the answer?

:lol:

Even harder to "feed" correctly using hydroponics than soil, I reckon. When I was a lad!! I worked for a commercial Nutrient Film Technique Tomato grower and they had a full chemistry lab to analyse the nutrient and adjust the "concentrate".  The plants would completely strip nutrients from the hydroponic solution at various stages of their growth.   We got huge yields though, compared to commercial growers using grow-bags, and the like, at the time. Mind you, that was 35 years ago, back then 100 tonnes per acre was considered impressive, its probably way more than that now.

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Ema

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #22 on: December 31, 2012, 12:37 »
I had 100s of time from gardeners delight this year. However I thought they tasted mild to say the least. In 2013 I'll try some specific outdoor varieties that will be a little more tasty for growing along my garage wall

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Growster...

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #23 on: January 01, 2013, 21:57 »
Kristen, you make some very interesting points, thank you!

I've never grown Sungold (I think), so will now give them a go this year, and we highly recommend Shirley and G. Delight.

DD introduced us to Heritage toms, and Black Krim have a superb flavour and texture, and not to be left out of the collection now!

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Auntiemogs

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #24 on: January 01, 2013, 22:03 »
I've never grown Sungold (I think), so will now give them a go this year, and we highly recommend Shirley and G. Delight.
Oh Growster, you don't know what you've been missing! :ohmy: 

For me this year it will be:-

Cherry - Sungold
For sandwiches etc. - Alicante
For saucing - San Marzano 2
I would rather live in a world
where my life is surrounded by mystery
than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it...✿~ Harry Emerson Fosdick

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DD.

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #25 on: January 01, 2013, 22:16 »
My selection this year include:

Shirley
Black Krim
Cherokee Purple
Scotland Yellow
Brandywine
Brook’s Special
Darby striped red/yellow
Dark purple beefsteak

Plus some no doubt lurking in the bottom of the tin.

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Growster...

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #26 on: January 02, 2013, 07:27 »
I'd forgotten about Alicante, Moggie!

We had pounds and pounds of them two years ago, and lapsed last year somehow in a weak moment (cheap seeds), into Moneymaker, which all died from blight...

One of our favourite lunches is Bruschetta, and you really need a lot of toms for it, and the flavour is always going to be altered with the myriad of toppings, so a fairly bland base is OK if there are plenty of them!

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BabbyAnn

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #27 on: January 02, 2013, 09:16 »
I had 100s of time from gardeners delight this year. However I thought they tasted mild to say the least. In 2013 I'll try some specific outdoor varieties that will be a little more tasty for growing along my garage wall

Too much rain and lack of sunlight are the 2 main reasons why tomatoes can taste bland so don't be put off Gardeners Delight because of a poor year.

My fave toms are San Marzano and Roma - I don't like raw tomatoes but do make bucket loads of passata (2012 being the exception)   

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Spana

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Re: What are the best Tomatoes to grow?
« Reply #28 on: January 02, 2013, 10:45 »
.

The only one thing I can say for sure is don't bother with Moneymaker,

I would have agreed with that this time last year.

Last year tomatoes in the greenhouse were my only real success.
I grew Shirley from a bought packet of seed,  Moneymaker from  free seeds off a magazine  and 100s and 1000s which were part of a photo competition prize on here. :happy:
I would normally  grow  just Shirley and Sungold.

I  get to see quite a few visitors here through the summer months so did lots of taste tests and of the two larger varieties Moneymaker came out top, but the 100s and 1000s was the most liked of the three.

My greenhouse  is very hot and it could be that Moneymaker performs better in heat, if fact some of them are still  fruiting now so dont write them off completely. :happy:



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