Wabby: I tried Shirley this year but they are large and pillowy, not smooth at all. I got them from that strange little garden center who mis-sold me 'Big green' as something else. Maybe the person who labled them all up was having a joke or something. I've just returned this evening from the local gardening club autumn show (I'm a steward on the vegetable section). The judge happened to mention that Shirley were the variety most likely to win against all others - as long as all five are identical.
Maybe right with the wrongly labelled seeds as my Shirleys are nice and smooth, taste yummy too (just enough juice) .
This is my first year and hoping for a few shows next year. I had a few identical fruits this year ... but if I'm honest I was just messing about with it really.
This year I've had a really good prolonged harvest of tomatoes. Juicy, thin skins, and full of flavour. I did try, out or curiosity growing some out doors too; they have not done well (slugs mainly).
Look at last weeks Beechgrove Garden prog I agree with Jim, Shirley is still the standard tom by which all others should be judged. You will see what they should look like smooth thin skin as Wabby says.
If I can make a recommendation, of the varieties grown, next year try Garnet. They're red cherry, slightly dark green on top. Not only are they sweet but have that X factor in taste where you just can't taste just one without picking again.
Have great faith in alicanti myself and grew it for many years but this year returned to an old variety Moneymaker because my grandaughters brought the seed for me, and ended up with my best crop ever, why that was i dont know i didnt grow them any different to how i normally grow them.
i wonder if the people who had such trouble with blight were growing them outside where weather conditions were ideal for attacks of the disease.
To old compost
Agree entirely about your comment that it would be cheaper to buy from the supermarket but its the satisfaction one gets from growing them yourself and like you i love making up my own composts,
i have had an allotment ,or part of an allotment , in various parts of the country, for nearly eighty years, from working a piece of my dads allotment way back in 1938, when i was five to the 10 rod i have now in mid sussex.
The peace, contentment and the satisfaction of seeing something you have grown on the dinner plate is so rewarding that it cant be explained.
Agree it's lovely to see the end product from a little seed. I have given pounds of tomatoes away, every year, and every year I say I'm not growing so many next year, what do I do, 15 as usual.
I like to try different ones every year, my dad always grew the old fashioned ones, GD, Alicante, money maker etc.
I do grow Roma every year for cooking, will do the Jersey Devils again, but the others will be different.
I grew Sweet million this year, but far too many fruits, so will give that one a miss next year.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I don't have a greenhouse so I grow harbinger outdoors. They are an old variety that unfortunately isn't widely available.
How well they do in terms of ripening depends of course on the weather in August though the good thing about this variety is they ripen well off the plant if kept in a dark place. So far maybe a third have ripened well so I might have to employ this method at the months end to get the rest to ripen.
cant see how you go wrong with Harbinger ,it was introduced round about 1910 and been with us ever since, so has got to have a lot going for it.
i still think its the best outdoor tomato to grow seems to withstand blight better than most but like everything in gardening its all down to personal choice.
Posts
8lb of Shirley F1 and Moneymakers
Wabby: I tried Shirley this year but they are large and pillowy, not smooth at all. I got them from that strange little garden center who mis-sold me 'Big green' as something else. Maybe the person who labled them all up was having a joke or something. I've just returned this evening from the local gardening club autumn show (I'm a steward on the vegetable section). The judge happened to mention that Shirley were the variety most likely to win against all others - as long as all five are identical.
Maybe right with the wrongly labelled seeds as my Shirleys are nice and smooth, taste yummy too (just enough juice) .
This is my first year and hoping for a few shows next year. I had a few identical fruits this year ... but if I'm honest I was just messing about with it really.
All from wanting to grow a few chillies.
Now im hooked.
This year I've had a really good prolonged harvest of tomatoes. Juicy, thin skins, and full of flavour. I did try, out or curiosity growing some out doors too; they have not done well (slugs mainly).
Look at last weeks Beechgrove Garden prog I agree with Jim, Shirley is still the standard tom by which all others should be judged. You will see what they should look like smooth thin skin as Wabby says.
If I can make a recommendation, of the varieties grown, next year try Garnet. They're red cherry, slightly dark green on top. Not only are they sweet but have that X factor in taste where you just can't taste just one without picking again.
Have great faith in alicanti myself and grew it for many years but this year returned to an old variety Moneymaker because my grandaughters brought the seed for me, and ended up with my best crop ever, why that was i dont know i didnt grow them any different to how i normally grow them.
i wonder if the people who had such trouble with blight were growing them outside where weather conditions were ideal for attacks of the disease.
To old compost
Agree entirely about your comment that it would be cheaper to buy from the supermarket but its the satisfaction one gets from growing them yourself and like you i love making up my own composts,
i have had an allotment ,or part of an allotment , in various parts of the country, for nearly eighty years, from working a piece of my dads allotment way back in 1938, when i was five to the 10 rod i have now in mid sussex.
The peace, contentment and the satisfaction of seeing something you have grown on the dinner plate is so rewarding that it cant be explained.
good on yer Old Compost
Agree it's lovely to see the end product from a little seed. I have given pounds of tomatoes away, every year, and every year I say I'm not growing so many next year, what do I do, 15 as usual.
I like to try different ones every year, my dad always grew the old fashioned ones, GD, Alicante, money maker etc.
I do grow Roma every year for cooking, will do the Jersey Devils again, but the others will be different.
I grew Sweet million this year, but far too many fruits, so will give that one a miss next year.
I don't have a greenhouse so I grow harbinger outdoors. They are an old variety that unfortunately isn't widely available.
How well they do in terms of ripening depends of course on the weather in August though the good thing about this variety is they ripen well off the plant if kept in a dark place.
So far maybe a third have ripened well so I might have to employ this method at the months end to get the rest to ripen.
cant see how you go wrong with Harbinger ,it was introduced round about 1910 and been with us ever since, so has got to have a lot going for it.
i still think its the best outdoor tomato to grow seems to withstand blight better than most but like everything in gardening its all down to personal choice.