Plant Profiles: Tomatoes

Photo of sungold and indigo rose tomatoes ripening on my windowsill
Some of last year's 'Sungold' and 'Indigo Rose' ripening on my windowsill. 

 Every year I have a tussle with myself about growing tomatoes. Home-grown have the best flavour by far, but as I only have space to grow them outdoors, it's a much riskier venture. Too often the summer weather is indifferent, or blight wrecks them at the point of ripening. As a result it can be the most heartbreaking of crops.

 But then comes along a summer like last year and I fall in love with growing tomatoes all over again.

 Tomatoes are one of the mainstays of our salads and to get anything remotely like a good flavour in the shop-bought line means buying them on the vine. This makes them an expensive buy, so home-grown makes good sense both in terms of taste and wallet. In a good year.

 My internal wrangling means I always miss the prime time for sowing seeds. I could just about get away with sowing them now, but it would mean a later crop and an increased risk of blight annihilation. Besides, my windowsills have reached groaning point already without the added burden of tomato plants. 
Photo of 2008's total harvest - one solitary cherry tomato
2008's total harvest

 My local garden centre always comes to my rescue in April by having a too-tempting range of tomato plants on special offer. The variety available in any UK store is restricted compared to what's available from seed, but I'm more than happy with my 'Sungold' and 'Gardener's Delight'.

 As I've mentioned blight a few times, you may be surprised I'm not growing any resistant varieties. I thought those I've tried so far were lacking flavour, but I'm looking forward to trialling some of the new supposedly blight conquering 'Crimson Crush' when they arrive courtesy of Sutton's.

 I'm having great fun reading James Wong's latest book, Grow for Flavour* at the moment. His science-based approach in this volume really appeals to me, so I'm looking forward to trying some of his tips. I'll be giving my plants a molasses feed, spraying with dilute aspirin and restricting the number of tomatoes per truss. I'll also be using salt water a couple of times - a tip I also learned from Alice Doyle after her talk at Bath University Gardening Club last year.

 * = NB this book's styling makes it more suited to print than e-reader. Full review to follow...

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Cultivation notes


There are several choices to make before choosing your specific varieties to grow:
  • Indoor or outdoor? There's a wider range of varieties available for indoor growing and higher temperatures means there's usually a much earlier crop. Blight problems often arrive later in the season too. However, not everyone has a greenhouse or other suitable indoor space, so outdoor growing may be the only option. Outdoor plants should be hardened off and planted out after the risk of overnight frost has gone - late May in my case
  • Variety? Small cherry tomatoes for salads and snacking; huge beefsteak for stuffing; or in between the two for sauces and an all-round-ish option. I prefer the cherry types as they are sweet and delicious in our salads. In good years I have enough to make our favourite pasta sauce from these too
  • Indeterminate (aka vine or cordon) or determinate (aka bush) or in between? This is the way the plants grow and determines how you look after them. Bush plants generally need less care and attention, but they are shorter plants so may not have such a large harvest. See the RHS's general page on tomatoes for full details on how to deal with each type
  • Growbags, pots, or ground? When I grew tomatoes on the allotment, I found I never had to feed them. Container-grown plants need regular feeding as well as bought-in compost. This can make home-grown cost more than shop bought, though of course they should still be far superior flavour-wise  
Photo of green tomatoes outdoors
Tomatoes hail from South America, so they prefer warmer, drier summers. A sunny spot is needed to ensure the ripening of fruit. I've found leaving green fruit to ripen on my kitchen windowsill extends my home-grown season long after I've cleared away the plants in the autumn. 

Cherry tomato harvest of various varietiesEven temperatures and water supply are preferable, otherwise fruit can develop problems such as blossom end rot or splitting. Last year I grew my plants in some self-watering pots and my thin-skinned 'Sungold' still split. I also saw 'catfacing' for the first time, so fluctuating temperatures must have been the cause.

When the weather's dry, gently tapping the flowers helps the fruit to set, as does a light misting with water. Always water around the roots of the plant to prevent the spread of fungal spores. I 'plant' a flower pot next to each plant and I water into this instead.

My main pesky pest on tomatoes is aphids, which I simply wipe away and let the birds, ladybirds and hoverflies have a feast. There's a ton of problems associated with tomatoes - too many to mention here. See the links below for helpful information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Further References


You may also like

  • Grafted tomatoes et al. - one of my most popular posts ever and there's also my follow-up post on my trip up north to find out how grafted plants are produced
  • Salad Days: Tomato 'Indigo Rose' - my report on my trial of last year's new variety. It makes a better salsa than a salad and later harvests had marginally more flavour. Alice Doyle mentioned in her talk there are loads more varieties in the IndigoTM family pipeline, which should have a better flavour
  • On Blightwatch - news of a blight monitoring service that's worth subscribing to if you grow tomatoes or potatoes
  • Naomi's post on the tomatoes she'll be growing this year. We chatted about our favourites with Sally at The Edible Gardening Show last month
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plant Profiles is sponsored by Whitehall Garden Centre. It's also where I bought my tomato plants last week.



Note to readers:
Sponsorship goes towards my blogging costs; the words are my own :)
There are no cookies or affiliate links associated with this post.

Comments

  1. Eight by Six8 April 2015 at 14:02

    I think I will grow Sungold again this year, I haven't started anything yet. I plan to start the broad beans this weekend, the veg patch was dug over weeks ago!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP10 April 2015 at 07:28

      Yes Amanda it's a busy time on the plot!

      Delete
  2. CJ8 April 2015 at 20:48

    Sungold always do well for me, everything else seems to be a bit of a lottery. I grow Ferline every year, and always try some new ones as well - this year Maskotka and Totem. I've had lots of failures, but some successes as well. Last year Golden Sunrise did well. All of mine are grown outside.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP10 April 2015 at 07:30

      Ferline is one of the blight resistant varieties, but it didn't do thst much for me taste wise

      Delete
  3. Anna8 April 2015 at 22:32

    I'm reading James Wong's book too at the moment - most interesting stuff. I noted his comments on 'Gardener's Delight' with some dismay! I'm trying to cut down on seed sowing this year but don't think that I can resist when it comes to tomatoes so a few seeds will be soon forthwith.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP10 April 2015 at 07:31

      Very interesting Anna. James has put details of lots of the research papers he used as source material up on his website. They're well worth looking at too

      Delete
  4. Anonymous9 April 2015 at 06:07

    Good luck with your tomatoes this year. I have grown them the last two years and some I keep in the conservatory and some outside. The first year was more successfull, but this year will be even better - here is hoping:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP10 April 2015 at 07:32

      I like the sound of your conservatory :-)

      Delete
  5. Anonymous9 April 2015 at 08:30

    I'm trying 7 new varieties this year plus my trusted Brandywine. A while ago I watched a programme with Raymond Blanc about tomatoes, the look on his face when he tried grow-bag grown ones was hilarious. As he said, they get a lot less nutrients, minerals all the stuff that is in soil, so can never have the same taste. I honestly don't see the point of grow-bags if one has soil, many people seem to use them in their hot house, why not use the soil that is there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP10 April 2015 at 07:36

      I grew 5 varieties last year and that was too many for my space. I'd love to be able to grow 8 like you. That was possible when I grew them on the allotment, but blight has made that impossible these days.

      Delete
  6. colleen9 April 2015 at 09:00

    Every year I think I won't bother again because of the inevitability of blight. And every year I give in. It will be bought plants for me again - and what I grow will depend totally on what's available. Makes for an interesting life!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Flighty9 April 2015 at 14:37

    Surely it's not too late to sow seeds now for planting out early June. Despite blight usually affecting our site I generally end up with a worthwhile crop.
    I'm growing my usual Gardener's Delight and Golden Queen, along with the bush variety Red Alert for the first time. Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP10 April 2015 at 07:40

      Ah, but you're in London Flighty where there tends to less blight and higher temperatures than I get here in the south-west. If we swapped places, I'd risk sowing some... If I could find some windowsill room!

      Delete
  8. Anonymous9 April 2015 at 20:57

    I grow them here in Scotland where the weather is not ideal. But I always get something. Most of them have to go outside though I keep a few in pots in a plastic growhouse. Even if they don't ripen outdoors, they do eventually when I bring them inside. My favourite at the moment is San Marzano which is an Italian plum tomato. Last year they were amazing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP10 April 2015 at 07:42

      You've reminded me of a fascinating talk I went to given by Paolo from Franchi seeds - San Marzano was one the varieties he mentioned. Great for sauces if I remember correctly.

      Delete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from you and welcome thoughtful conversations :)

Comments aiming to link back and give credence to commercial websites will be composted!

Your essential reads

That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide

Image
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it
Read more

Jack Go To Bed At Noon

Image
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl
Read more

Red Nose Day - Gardening Jokes Anyone?

Image
The nation goes ever so slightly bonkers on Red Nose Day - hurrah! Previously, it's been very easy to join in - usually via a dress down day at work plus lots of people up to mad things at the station and in the office. Everyone smiling for once - it's a real feel good day and all in a good cause. This year's different - every day's a dress down day for me now - my friend L suggested yesterday that perhaps I could have a dress up day instead and whilst that's a good idea, I confess that ballgowns and tiaras don't really feature in my wardrobe: scruffy student's always been my favourite look. So my Red Nose Day contribution for this year is to compile a list of gardening related jokes. For each one (clean ones only please) you leave in the comments below, I'll make a donation of 50p to the cause. Here's a few for starters just to get you warmed up: Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled. Q What did the grape
Read more

Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

Image
I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on. The idea is to grow as many of the Tried and Trusted lettuce varieties last year's Salad Challengers helped compile, then provide a visual guide and as many lettuce facts as I can muster. So far I've found around half of those listed**. Then naturally whilst I was out searching - because such is the way with seeds - a number of other varieties found their way home too ;) A couple of weeks ago I sowed 22 varieties***. Just the simple act of sowing them has me intrigued. Why are some lettuce seeds black and others white****? They split into about half white to half black in my sample and as far as I can tell it's nothing to do with whether they're a type of cos, iceberg, or whatever. I sowed them indoors and popped them into a propagator on the windowsill. The soil's too cold outside for sowing
Read more

VPs VIPs: Derry Watkins of Special Plants

Image
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Derry Watkins at her home, garden and nursery - the acclaimed Special Plants - just a few miles along the road from me. I first met Derry at one of her open garden days last year and was keen to find out more about her wonderful garden and running an independent nursery. She specialises in tender perennials and regularly goes on plant hunting trips to find new treasures, particularly in South Africa. As well as running Special Plants and opening her garden under the NGS scheme , Derry holds day courses at her nursery, hosts Special Tuesdays from April until September, lectures and has written a couple of books. How did you find your way from Connecticut to the UK? I'd started a biodynamic vegetable garden in Connecticut and we used to have people come along at weekends to help out. A particular young man turned up: he returned many times and at the end of the summer I married him. So it was all down to love? Isn't that the
Read more

#mygardenrightnow: heading into summer with the Chelsea Fringe

Image
Ahhhhhh, that's better! I love walking through dewy grass in bare feet, not that there's much in the way of grass on my back lawn this weekend. My wild and woolly lawn has morphed into meadow of sorts this month, which even NAH admits looks attractive*. It's also proved a great source for my Flowers for mum project so far, yielding self-sown perennial cornflowers, lamb's ears, and lemon balm in addition to the blooms you can see. These originated from elsewhere in the garden, the ox-eye daisies must have blown in from the A350 nearby. * = he got very stroppy about the weeds aka self-sown foxgloves in the lawn one year, so he's come along a bit since then. Skimble's demanding to say hello to you too. He does enjoy the patio when it warms up. If the embedded video doesn't work try this link instead. The Nectaroscordum are a revelation. I planted the bulbs around 2 years ago, but it's only this year they've bloomed properly. The bee
Read more

The Resilient Garden

Image
  Part of Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court I've been pondering VP Gardens a lot lately. Last year's drought conditions set me off initially, then our harsher than usual winter combined with this summer's flip and flop weather means the thinking continues. It's a huge topic which I freely admit I'm struggling to get my head around. Tom Massey's Resilient Garden  at Hampton Court recently  tackled this topic brilliantly and was a timely interlude which gave me much food for thought. There he encapsulated the detailed research he'd found which informed both his show garden and book of the same name. I think it's one of the most important show gardens I've ever seen. It's clear the way I garden needs to change so that I have my own resilient garden. I haven't worked out the exact details yet, but Tom's book plus a couple of others (see below), alongside the rainwater management handout from the show garden's  sponso
Read more

Testing Times: Tomatoes

Image
  I've run a couple of tomato trials this year. The first is a revisit of the biochar trial with Oxford University I attempted some years ago (with a different organisation this time), and the second is a trial of a water gadget called Plantsurge which I was given to try at Malvern Spring Show earlier this year. Most of you have probably heard of biochar already and the claim that this inert, carbon-rich material can help soil fertility and plant health. The RHS information in the above link says results can be mixed, with reduced effects found in alkaline soils. This may help to explain the lack of difference I found in my previous trial as VP Gardens is on a lime-rich soil. Plantsurge is a different beast altogether. It's a strong magnet which is attached to a hosepipe as shown in the photo above. It's claimed that it softens water, with the result more like watering with rainwater. The higher nitrogen found in rainwater is thought to be beneficial to plants. Gardener
Read more

Chelsea Fringe 2014: Shows of Hands - Episode I

Image
The gloves NAH used to build the raised bed . The effects are L to R, top to bottom:  Original photo, Warhol, HDR, Green tint, B&W, Posterize, Boost, Cross process and Sepia Welcome to Shows of Hands - my Chelsea Fringe project for 2014! As you can see I've been having a bit of a play around in Pic Monkey for my first contribution. You're welcome to join in between now and 8th June 2014. The idea behind this year's project is to highlight the tool most precious to a gardener: their hands. How do I take part? It's simple. All you need to do is take a photo of hand(s) in a gardening context and then share it via your blog or other social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), then make sure I know you've done so. I've set up Mr Linky below for your blog contributions. The Chelsea Fringe photo on the right sidebar links to this post, so you can easily find it again when you're ready to add your contribution. If you share your photo on Twitter,
Read more

Make Use of Mildew

Image
On my garden patrol this morning I spotted some powdery mildew on a couple of my new Verbena bonariensis plants. I suppose it was almost inevitable as I prefer to grow my plants hard - this means no water for them unless they look absolutely desperate. This approach means plants root themselves more deeply and have a better chance of survival during spells of dry weather like we've had lately. However, it also means I run the risk of problems like today's, especially with any garden newbies planted late in the season. We've had a good drop of rain overnight, so this should help my plants survive. I'll mulch them later today to help lock in the moisture as it's water stress which encourages the mildew to take hold. I've also removed the infected leaves and sprayed the rest with a milky drink.* I'm also pleased to find there's a use for my infected leaves. Oliver Ellingham at Reading University has started a PhD - sponsored by the RHS - researchi
Read more