[mumofstig]

I find a lot of the very small, eg gartenpearl, 100s&1000s sweet millions are just too sweet for me....dun lik'em

As tomatoes usually self pollinate you can save seed from your own as long as they are not f1...I've never hand pollinated them! I just dry the seeds in the kitchen on some tissue and then pop them in an envelope.(It doesnt matter if they dry stuck to the tissue, just cut the tissue around them to sow )
Make sure you keep them dry, and not too hot and they should be ok

[Glosterboy]

Has anybody tried the tomato variety Ferline? I know it is a F1. But, it is suppose to have good levels of blight tolerance? Can this variety be grown both indoors and outdoors?

[andtiggertoo]

thanks mumofstig, am going to try this assuming i get any fruits 

Only one variety I'm growing is F1 so will just buy in some more if i really like em.

[gardgydja]

Are tomatoes self polinating?  All those days of crawling around with my bum in the air and my pollinating feathers aloft! An old fella on our site said that if I kept the toms in the mini tunnels with the plastic closed then I would have to pollinate them myself, as the insects canīt get in to do the job.

He must have been having a great laugh watching me hahaha

[tosca100]

I have never helped tomatoes along, if they can't manage on their own...tough. It has never even occured to me! Usually have good crops.

[gardgydja]

Once I open the plastic in July I leave them to it; I thought they needed bees. It was only the first flowers that I helped along in my ignorance ha!

[chris23005]

I have just bought a copy of Kitchen Garden mag (which I am enjoying reading) and there were 3 packets of seeds with it, one of which was tomatoes (Garden Pearl). hadn't thought about planting small cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets but might have a go with these as an extra. What do they taste like? Are they worth the bother?

[Ivor Backache]

As tomatoes usually self pollinate you can save seed from your own as long as they are not f1...

I have grown Bambinos F1 which produce a massive crop of small toms with an intense taste. Several allotment neighbours are asking for plants but there are only 12 seed in the packet. I bought a 'packet of tomato seeds' with only 4 seeds in it! so be wary.
Why can't I save the F1 seed?

[JayG]

F1 seeds are produced by carefully crossing 2 different parent plants (hence the expense) and therefore the next generation of seeds (i.e. from the F1) will have various combinations of the attributes of its parents rather than only those of the F1 seed itself.

Hope that explains it.

[unconcerned]

I tend to give the plants a little shake when they are in flower to help pollination...either I am just a horticultural sadist or someone wise must have told me to many years ago.

[mumofstig]

No sadist ...that's the right thing to do.
I was always told to tap the canes/strings. It makes the flowers release their pollen so they can pollinate themselves