I was catching up on missed editions of Gardener’s World last night, listening to Monty Don bemoaning the fact that his outdoor tomatoes, although blight free, were stubbornly refusing to ripen. I could not help feeling a tiny bit smug (which is awful I know) as our tomatoes have been bountiful this year. We are not blessed with Longmeadow’s acres, or a particularly sunny vegetable plot, but we do have a south-east facing wall that has proved to be perfect for growing tomatoes.
Until recently grafted plants have been the preserve of commercial growers, the cutting and splicing technique being beyond most amateurs. (The last time I grafted anything was at university and I recall it was not a success.) However, using a powerful rootstock to fuel a thoroughbred F1 hybrid creates a stronger, hardier plant more resistant to disease. It makes sense – you wouldn’t use a Fiat 500 engine to power a Ferarri would you?
Nevertheless, alternating grafted plants with seed-grown ones I struggled to spot a difference in vigour. All the plants were incredibly heathly, so much so that I barely bothered to feed all season. Removing side shoots was a never-ending task, although it’s one I enjoyed. Pinching out is quite therapeutic after a long day in the office and there’s nothing like the sharp scent of tomato leaves on your fingertips.
We have been picking tomatoes since the middle of August. Sod’s law, just as we are about to go on holiday the harvest it at its most plentiful. Him Indoors has been making sauces and chutneys as fast as I can pick the fruit. We haven’t needed to buy an anaemic tomato in the shops for 5 weeks, and with a fair autumn the plants should keep cropping well into October.
How the varieties have performed:
Tomato F1 ‘Elegance’ (grafted) – purports to be a standard-sized tomato (whatever that means), which has proved to be anything but true. Each plant has carried fruit from cherry-sized tiddlers to beefsteak giants. They have struggled to ripen fully outside but are easily finished off indoors. Not as tasty as a cherry tomato but great for slicing. Every tomato has been perfectly formed.
Tomato F1 ‘Orange Paruche’ (seed grown) – this one’s the real deal and I’d definitely grow it again. Sweet little fruits which were the first to ripen. Not many made it as far as the kitchen! The only tomato that I had problems with splitting – the skin of this variety is particularly thin.
I’d love to know which tomato varieties you’ve had success with outdoors this summer and if you have any tips for getting your fruit to ripen.
