[Mrs Bee]

I'm loving the James Wong book that's all about veg flavour and top tips- ' Grow for flavour'  I got it from the library but ordered one from Amazon today for 6.99.  It says stick in soil, use a molasses feed and salt water!  Low nitrogen is needed and commercial feeds boost yield by pumping them with water    Also cool and light is best (ie not greenhouses)

So am I but I am not sure about the salad leaves that are supposed to taste like salty roast beef. Maybe they will taste better when they grow bigger.

[green_lolly]

Try Epsom Salt. I've read this tip on a lot of online gardening blogs. Either sprinkle on the soil or dilute and water in.

[Growster...]

We're convinced that a liquid fertiliser made from 6X is great for outdoor toms, but not so for greenhouse ones, as it pongs too much. They just motor away with the stuff!

The outdoor ones on The Patch also have a great dollop of farmyard manure around them, and they also had an initial handful of BFB to get them away fast. Now, they'll get liquid comfrey/nettle and 6X combined tea every week. I'm trying to get some Marmande and Black Krim to look like they're grown in the South of France, as Jambop describes here - http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=120386.30

The GH ones get regular Tomorite and an occasional blue Miracle gro cocktail - as will some others in long trays just outside the door...

(So will the cucumbers actually)!

(And the peppers)...

[Snoop]

What do you want from a tomato? Many of the new varieties have far too much sugar and that taints the acidic tomato twang I like.  You just need to find the right variety.

Seconded.

I once tried Shirley and thought they were utterly useless but lots of people quite like them. I've even got a neighbour who likes Moneymaker whereas I wouldn't bother with them even if they were the only seeds available.

Me, I'm a cuor di bue girl. Just love 'em, peeled, chopped, drizzled with oil and sprinkled with just a little salt (ideally flakes for extra crunch).

What kind of tomato flavour do you and your OH like? I bet people on here could come up with a variety your OH would readily scoff!

[Goosegirl]

Thanks all for your useful advice. In the past I have tried to select those that are best for taste including Gardener's Delight but the only ones that were any good taste-wise were Roma. I have Tomorite and Miracle-Gro blue crystal feeds so will try that regime. All I need now is some warm weather!!! Modified for Snoop - my OH likes the old-fashioned taste (as do I) so not too sweet.

[Tom Parrot]

However you grow the tomates keep chickens away from them.
This year I have had to resow my tomatoes three times before I realised it the chickens nipping of the tops.
So I'm about two or three months behind.
Bought a small cucumber plant last Tuesday, left it in some water following morning the top was off.
Could be roast chicken this Sunday for dinner.

[Mrs Bee]

 

This reminds me of our very first chickens. We let them have extra space in the garden behind a moveable fence. I love the girls but not enough to let them loose in the flower beds.

We had a real character called Nutty. She was an escape artist and kept getting into the main part of the garden and all the others would follow her.

While hanging out the washing I realised they had all got out and were happily milling around by my feet, all except Nutty who had spotted the tomatoes on the plants and was happily helping herself.

I was really sad when she died.

[Headgardener22]

All I need now is some warm weather!!!

What we need is sunshine!! Tomatoes don't mind it in the mid 60's but won't work without sunshine.

[LotuSeed]

I like that old time tomato tang as well. I like my cherries to be sweet but not my regular toms. I generally stick with heirloom varieties for just that reason. A lot of hybrids don't get the sweet/acid combo right.

[SusieB]

Don't put in the fridge.  And choose your variety. 

Rosada great acid/sweet combo.  I also grow Sungold and Suncherry Premium.  I have never tasted anything comparable from the supermarket.

[azubah]

The best tasting tomatoes are grown in a sunny warm dry year outside.

[Baldy]

We're convinced that a liquid fertiliser made from 6X is great for outdoor toms, but not so for greenhouse ones, as it pongs too much. They just motor away with the stuff!

I nearly had a heart attack - as much as I like tomatoes I do believe I like 6X more  http://www.6xale.co.uk/home6X.html

Thankfully I remembered that I'm on an allotment gardening forum and you were referring to http://www.6-x.co.uk/

I'm going to have a pint of comfrey tea and head to bed methinks... 

Pip pip,
Balders

[Growster...]

Ha ha ha, Balders!

Aw, Wadsworths 6X! It's a marvellous pint!

The last time I had several (six) pints of that, was in a pub in Andover, which has sadly now disappeared..:0(

ps don't drink comfrey tea, you'll get worms..;0(

[SusieB]

Now, I have never found Gardener's Delight that tasteful, yet a lot of people grow them.  I always thought it was maybe the fact they are reliable croppers as well.   With greenhouse toms I go for taste/taste/taste only, not worried about crop size as I have a good amount of space.

[JayG]

NA NA NA NA NA (fingers in ears time!  )

Why?
Growing Gardener's Delight for the first time this year having given up trying to stop the otherwise delicious Sungold from splitting. 

Researching tomato taste is a particularly good way of wasting lots of time, partly because it's a highly subjective subject, partly because growing conditions influence flavour, and partly because very few seed retailers are prepared to advertise their tomato's flavour as 'average'! 

For the record, here are John's thoughts on some of the varieties he has tried:

http://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/tomato/taste-tomatoes.php

(If you've got even more time you want to waste, try gurgling details of cultivation techniques for the varieties you are growing - I've read articles about Inca and Gardener's Delight suggesting they be grown as bush, cordons, or sometimes a combination of both! )