Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Growing in Greenhouses & Polytunnels => Topic started by: adri123 on April 23, 2016, 11:59

Title: Tomato Sweet Olive - Bush or Cordon?
Post by: adri123 on April 23, 2016, 11:59

Confilcting info on the internet.  Is F1 Sweet Olive a Bush or Indeterimate Tom?

Ta

Adri

Title: Re: Tomato Sweet Olive - Bush or Cordon?
Post by: mumofstig on April 23, 2016, 13:21

RHS trialled it and gave it an AGM, so they should know.....

Quote

tomato (plum) 'Sweet Olive' Award of Garden Merit (H1c) 2004
Status of name: Accepted name (Solanaceae)
Botanical name:  Solanum lycopersicum 'Sweet Olive' Award of Garden Merit
Type of plant: Vegetable
Trial information:  F1 hybrid; very early. Very high yield from vigorous, healthy, determinate plants. Small, red, round to plum-shaped fruits, a little difficult to pick, but of good flavour
Description:  Very early and very high yield from vigorous, healthy, determinate plant. Small, red, round to plum shaped fruits, a little difficult to pick, but having a good flavour.��Determinate plant, height 170cm. Date of first pick 8 July. Fruit shiny, red; average size 2cm diameter, 2.5cm long. Average weight of a single fruit 9g. Average of 546 ripe fruits per plant.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/agm/Award3.asp?ID=293985

It grows very tall for a bush  :ohmy:

An American trial says

Quote

Sweet Olive is a determinate type that bears its harvest early. It is a great choice but you may want to also include an indeterminate type in your garden to extend the harvest season a bit.
..............With the exception of Sweet Olive and Elfin, most grape types are indeterminate

https://www.texasgardener.com/pastissues/janfeb05/tomatoes.html

I think the 2 trials are probably more reliable than the seed suppliers tbh

Title: Re: Tomato Sweet Olive - Bush or Cordon?
Post by: adri123 on April 23, 2016, 23:27

Thx Mum.

My quandery is whether to put into the beds in the PT with the usual indeterminates or to put into large pots as I did with Red Alert last year.  I think I'll do half and half and see how it goes.

Still with all the info you've given not sure whether to pinch out or not...

Suck it and see I suppose.  I didn't know there were varieties that were somewhere inbetween.

Adri

Title: Re: Tomato Sweet Olive - Bush or Cordon?
Post by: SusieB on April 27, 2016, 23:01

Thanks for pointing this out to me.   I have some Sweet Olive seedlings.  I have only ever grown cordon tomatoes.  Do I grow the Sweet Olives in pots, do they need support?  Do I pinch or not (although I realise you're not sure yourself on this).

I grew them as a cordon last year, so would like to do better this year, as they were very tasty.

Title: Re: Tomato Sweet Olive - Bush or Cordon?
Post by: wapello on May 18, 2016, 05:48

 I would  go for the bush  type, much  better flavour  and i think you get  more for your money in produce,,