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Plum tomato?

2

Posts

  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    My daughter brought me a packet of heritage black tom seeds last year. When I grew them I had normal Tom's, plum Tom's with thick skins, and cherry Tom's, but not one of then was black!
  • ItalophileItalophile Posts: 1,731
    Most seed suppliers buy in seeds in bulk and repackage them for sale. It's not uncommon to end up with stray (wrong variety) seeds in a packet and even crossed seeds (the result of cross-pollination). The strays can be the result of carelessness when repackaging or at source, the original supplier. The crossed seeds are the fault of the original supplier. I've had some weird and wonderful differences from what a seed packet promised.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    As Italophile says, supplier mix-ups are common.  Last year lots of folk bought "Gardener's Delight" seeds which grew yellow fruit:

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Yes I've had that happen with a bought plant last year from a garden centre ,yellow instead of gardeners delight.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I’ve got a few strays in my Jersey Devils this year, you can’t mistake the shape of those! 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • ElizaRoseElizaRose Posts: 121
    Hi all, thanks for the feedback. Just to clarify - I bought the plant when it was small and the plastic label was attached to the pot. I guess they put the wrong seedling/grafted plant in there! 

    I don't know what they taste like because they are still green! (as per the photo) Should be a few weeks before they are ready. Most likely when I'll be on holiday.  :|

    Don't know if I should bother letting the garden centre know about it.  Or the original supplier?
  • ElizaRoseElizaRose Posts: 121
    Also - Monty Don showed his cordoned tomatoes (in the greenhouse) and how he removes the side shoots. I never do this 1, because I'm scared of damaging the plant or taking off shots that contain the flowers (that will develop into the tomato), and 2. I figure the plant needs those leaves to collect chlorophyll. 
    Is it worth removing the side shoots? I didn't cordon this plant because I didn't even realise that it was a cordon plant, so I just tied the main stem with twine to a stick.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    All plants can have the side shoots removed so that they are more manageable , also it puts growth into fruit production instead of leaf. Depends if you have the room to allow the plants to spread, just watch the shoots don't become too heavy and snap.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    Sideshoots (sometimes called suckers) come from leaf axils, flowering trusses grow directly from the main stem:
    Image is from this guide:


    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • ElizaRoseElizaRose Posts: 121
    Thank you Bob the Gardener - that diagram makes it so much easier to understand what to prune.  :)
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