Forum home Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Tomatoes in greenhouse

I apologise in advance if this is this an ignorant question.  

If I grow two different varieties of tomatoes in my (un)heated greenhouse, will they cross pollinate therefore not necessarily come true to type?  I grew a variety of beef tomato (Gourmandia) together with my usual Gardeners Delight.  I certainly had some larger Gardeners Delight than usual, although no smaller Gourmandia ones.

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited May 2023
    The way cross-fertilisation works is that it is the seeds of the cross pollinated fruit that will in their turn produce fruit that are an amalgam of the two varieties. 

    So, in a nutshell, the fruit of your Gourmandia will be true Gourmandia, and the fruit of your Gardeners Delight will be true Gardeners Delight … but if you save the seeds from them, the resulting plants will not. They’ll be a mixture. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • CollareddoveCollareddove Posts: 173
    Thank you @Dovefromabove, that is so helpful and clearly explained.  I was, as I feared, displaying my ignorance!
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Glad you found it helpful
    @Collareddove  … You don’t know what you don’t know … and, unless you ask, you remain ignorant … now that really would be foolish wouldn’t it? 😝 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I believe there are some problems with Gardeners Delight now - in that it seems to have gone a bit haywire and isn't coming true to type at all.
    A lot of people on the forum have mentioned it over the last few years. I don't know the reason, but you may be able to find it by using the search facility.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sign In or Register to comment.