[devonbarmygardener]

Wow they look good!
I've never seen yellow beefsteak types.

I feel my knowledge of Tom varieties is very poor!

[mumofstig]

but..........you are being educated - everyday is a schoolday on here   

[Headgardener22]

Tatiana's database lists over 4,800 different varieties and it looks like she grows hundreds of different varieties every year (wish I had the time, space and no blight).

I'm growing White Queen for the first time this year and I've also go some green ones which are yet to ripen.

[GreyScales]

A lot of my beefsteaks are turning ugly, with rough "scabby" skin. I can only assume it's the wind knocking them about and they're toughening up in response, but it really hasn't been that windy.

My alicante have finally woken up and are making up for the shortfall in beefsteaks being produced, so I'm thankful for that. They're not the happiest looking plants because of some missed suckers, but at least there is plenty to keep us in tomatoes towards the end of summer.

[Lulu]

Well I've decided that my green house is turning into a butterfly house with tomaotes are the primary food source.  I didn't know that caterpillar ( about an inch long) liked tomatoes.  Too make things worse OH says they are probably cabbage whites 

[Headgardener22]

Its probably the tomato moth caterpillar. They're voracious pests and will strip the plants and eat the fruit. I don't think cabbage white eat tomatoes.

Get in there and squash them.

[rowan57]

My Czechs Bush are loaded with green toms, another week or two of decent weather and they should be lovely.

[GreyScales]

An example of the "roughness" I've been finding on a lot of my beefsteaks as of late. They're still perfectly edible, just a bit ugly.

Quick question, anyone know what these marks are?



I don't think it's blight as it doesn't look like the pictures, but still something of concern nevertheless.

[JayG]

Your tom looks fine (OK, not perfect, but looks aren't everything, except for supermarket buyers!  )

The leaves look typical of slightly tired tomato leaves - it's not blight but you can still cut them off, there's plenty of them which is not necessarily a good thing at this time of year when the days are shortening, and fungal spores are looking for somewhere to party. 

There is a possibility of a trace element deficiency, probably magnesium, but it's getting a bit late to worry about things like that now - they won't be producing any more new leaves unless there is something very unusual about the Wirral climate!

[GreyScales]

Thank you for the advice, I'll certainly give them a snip at the next opportunity 

[compostqueen]

Mine are like that so I gave them some Epsom salts mixed with a dose of seaweed liquid. Didn't help at all so I chopped the manky leaves off this morning 

My toms are just beginning to get their act together and ripening is happening at long last    I harvested my first beef tom this evening, it's not as big as that though Greyscales 

[TheWhiteRabbit]

Harvested 2kg of toms yesterday and another 2kg on Monday. Going great guns now!

Some of mine are very knobbly to a point where a couple have grown little tomato 'ears' ...any ideas what's happened? It's happened on my Latah toms, grown outdoors - I get some perfect ones off the same plant and then some that are crazy shapes 

[Headgardener22]

Catfacing?

Caused by low temperatures when the fruit are setting. Particularly common with some beefsteak varieties (Black Krim for example) and because its temperature related some fruit might get it others not.

More of my earlier varieties seem to have it to some extent than usual, probably because of the cold June.

[devonbarmygardener]

Have decided that I love 'Sweet Million' toms :happy:

They are the best cherry toms' I've ever grown - totally tasty

I have stopped my toms now - I saw a clip of MD at the end of Gardeners World before the race started last Sunday who suggested it was a good idea.

[gobs]

The first year ever for me, that some tomatoes started to ripen at the end of June/in the beginning of July.