Tomato adventures
wildbill
Posts: 2
I have just joined this forum thanks to a great thread I found with extremely helpful comments from obviously lovely people about tomato leaf diseases and problems! Not that I have any this year yet, fingers crossed. I am a keen vegetable gardener in the Bristol area with a particular fondness for tomato growing (greenhouse and outdoors).
For several years now I have been growing outdoors a fantastic variety that I found by chance following a camping holiday in Sardinia. My wife and I found some great tasting cherry type tomatoes in a supermarket so of course I dried a few seeds out and brought them home. That was how it all started......Today my "Sardinians" as I call them are supplied to all my friends and neighbours who also appreciate their amazing flavour and strong growing qualities. I lost my saved seeds this Spring but found some from 2014 -- of course they all germinated as usual. They are hardier than Gardeners delight, last longer, taste at least as good and don't split so much in wet weather. And the seeds are free.....just squeeze out the seeds into a sieve, wash and dry on the window cill and plant next year.
This year I am growing Alicante, Rosella, Sardinians, Sweet Baby, Sweet Aperitif, Tesco vine tomatoes (large) and Lidl small tasty vine tomatoes. I don't know of course if the 2 unknowns will grow true but I will have fun finding out. I realise that if they are F1s they wont but am guessing that on a commercial scale F1s would be too expensive for growers. Maybe they're not. Does anyone know about this? I am also assuming that if I buy a tomato I own it and therefore have the right to plant its seeds in my garden. Any lawyers disagree? Not that I care too much.
With the crazy prices of seeds out there are there any more gardeners who like to experiment with "found" seed? Of course there might be failures (none yet) but I enjoy the excitement of seeing what turns up. At my age it's as much fun as I can manage apart from a few beers with my mates!
As you can tell I grow many toms so a few failures are acceptable. Incidentally I agree with the view "treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen as far as tomatoes are concerned anyway. Well vented greenhouse, water occasionally but well from the base, feed early but not too much and keep the leaves dry specially at night. Outdoors they have to fend for themselves apart from staking and an occasional feed.
Posts
Thank you for this information. It encourages new Gardner like myself. I'm trying 6 tomato varieties this yeas (my first year). I'm hoping all goes well; I follow your approach of treating them mean and bottom watering.
I tried 4 last year for the first time ever. San Marzano, sungold, yellow Pear and tomatoberry. With exception to the san marzano I had great success. The bushes got in a bit of a mess but that's what tomatoes like to do. Had a sunmer of loads of fresh tomatoes salads and sauces. Great stuff!
I've got yellow pair and sungold growing again this year, and a few more tomato plants that I have no idea where they came from. I found some growing in with my dahlias and thought I would keep them.
Lol. Just this second worked it out
I used some of last year's tomato soil to put my dahlia tubers in, must of been dropped seeds in the soil from last year.
This is great to see, everyone I've talked to about tomatoes only grow one or two varieties each. My father thought I was crazy trying 4 varieties last year (haven't mentioned that I've got 7 this year!)
Mine are all grown outside, get water when they look like they need it but I do regularly feed. It's so expensive to buy all these different types of tomatoes in farm shops and markets and the supermarkets are hit and miss so why not.
last summer I enjoyed sitting with my tomato laden dinner in the garden nearly every night....
im happy to see some fellow tomato lovers
Why don't you try Real Seeds next year. They positively encourage people to save seeds. Look at their site.