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.
Categories: Fruit and Veg, Plants, Practical Advice
I suppose there has to be some advantages to living in London! Too far north to grow tomatoes outside, but they’re ok in the polytunnel. Success varies with variety and the quality of the summer – last year was brilliant, this year not very good. Black Russian is the outsanding performer – fantasic flavour, but I’m still searching for a good small/cherry tomato. We grew Luciola with great success but I’ve not been able to find any seed recently. Our tomatoes are ripening slowly but as the days shorten I’m getting reday to make industrial quantities of green tomato chutney!
Well it’s much better than wasting them and somewhat inevitable with our summers sadly. I’ve had Black Russian recommended before do must take heed of your advice next year. When I went to Russia back in 1991 all I can recall eating is tomato, cucumber, some sort of schnitzel and imported fish paste. It was not a gastronomic experience!
Remarkable job, I hope they are as tasty as they look. It’s rather mean to tell you I suppose, but we can have two crops in South Carolina by starting fall plants as soon as the summer ones come to fruition.
Show off 😉 how was your UK trip? Have you been over yet?
The Princess of tomatoes from Oz will respond tomorrow In detail !! Am so impressed TFG. They look sensational on that back wall. For us here, it is all about the flavour. (Same as potatoes) I have been trialing all sorts and mixing hybrids and heritage. No comparison. Heritage reign every time. So many taste test tests, and heritage win every challenge.
Let me know your faves Helen and I will get seed for next year! Remember this is England though 😉
So glad you mentioned the smell of tomatoes after touching . . . there’s something uniquely fresh and pleasing about that scent. The Black Cherry tomatoes have been fantastic here this year, as has my local favorite — the Arkansas Traveler.
Lucky you! My tomatoes didn’t do that well this year. Lots of foliage, not so much fruit. But it swings in roundabouts…..
I am going to have to move my tomatoes next year otherwise they will have been in the same spot for three years running, which isn’t ideal. Trouble is, they won’t get as much sunshine so I am not sure how they will do. As you say, swings and roundabouts!
The tomatoes look great! Like England, my part of Australia has short, cool summers, and there is only one spot that is suitable in terms of sunlight and wind/cold protection – so I just grow them in large pots in that same spot every other year…problem solved 😉
Pots are a really good idea and might be the way to go for us too. I can’t keep planting them in the same patch. As the weather has turned cooler the blight has struck so I need to yank them all out and make get Him Indoors on the chutney production line!
I live in North Lincolnshire and have great success with the variety Stupice. I only grow it outside and unlike other tomatoes that I have tried the plants are always healthy and the crops early (mid July)and plentiful.
That’s a fab recommendation Rachel, thank you. I’ve looked it up and it sounds perfect. I’ll be trying it out next year for sure!
You may have to change the name of your blog and take ‘frustrated’ out. 🙂 Your tomato plants and crop look spectacular. We had such blight this year the plants looked dead all summer long. We harvested a lot and they tasted delicious but they were not a pretty sight. And, I’m sorry to say my tomato season has been over for a couple of weeks now. Enjoy yours.
Your summer is so short Judy! I am sorry to hear about your blight. I understand it’s quite prevalent in the UK too, but thus far it hasn’t discovered our garden. I am wondering what we will find when we get home. I am hoping it will be a good few ripe ones! Glad your crop was edible though. That’s the main thing.
The photos of the larger tomatoes looked fine. Your cherry tomatoes are definitely on the green side! Orange Paruche, when ripe, are practically NEON orange. Perhaps you have a color blind gene (many men do). Next time why don’t you wait about 2 more weeks before picking the cherry toms. You wouldn’t believe how sweet Orange Paruche is when eaten in the ripe phase instead of green.