[A Reyt Tayty]

This year, the taste of my Gardeners delight have been a bit disapponting. Normally they are my favourite as they usually have that taste that makes you smile. All my toms have been in the same compost with exactly the same conditions. Same watering, same feeding. The Moneymakers have been the best I've ever tasted as well as being very plentiful and larger than usual. Tigrella have been proloific and lovely tasting as have the San Marzano. So what is the crack with the GD's? I always do toms from my own saved seed. Could the GD's have been cross polinated and given a hybrid? I can't see why the flavour should deteriorate unless this is what's happened.

Any other theories?

[JayG]

Ah - not grown them myself but the 2010 and 2011 tomato surveys based on member's own growing experiences show Moneymaker rating highly in terms of yield but relatively low in terms of flavour (they have been described as the ultimate supermarket tomato which I don't think is meant as a compliment!)

GD scored better for flavour in one survey, the same in the other, although taste is a very subjective quality (and the number of participants was not huge.)

Tomatoes can cross pollinate with others, but not easily because each flower self-pollinates so readily. Unless your "GD's" are visibly different you can only guess as to whether that is what's happened, or possibly just that this year's growing conditions didn't suit them as much flavour-wise as previous years.

Perhaps you should invest in a new packet of GD next year so at least you will know that the variety is "correct." 

[Annen]

I've always been a fan of Gardeners delight too.  This year I have some in the soil in a greenhouse and some in pots in a open plastic growhouse outside.  The ones grown in the greenhouse border are definitely tastier than the ones grown outside, so that makes me think, like JayG, that it might be growing conditions this year.

[gobs]

I also would line up, my GD -which I normally like - were nowhere in flavour this year.

[allot2learn]

I have grown GD this year for the first time and they have out performed everything else in the greenhouse, including F1 elegance which is a grafted tom bought as an experiment to compare with Alicante. It was disappointing. I will save my money in future and stick to the seed raised plants.