Tasty Tomatoes August 8, 2009

The verdict for Best Tomato Taste is now in.
Definitely the best is Sweet Million, a cherry tomato which crops prolifically. We did not plant this variety this year, but will be doing so next year.
Next, Herald: big tomatoes, juicy and well flavoured. No sign of blossom end rot because of the lime we added when the plants were potted.
In last place is Red Alert, the bush cherry tomato. Not only is the flavour somewhat disappointing, but the manner of growth of the plant makes picking difficult. The advice on the seed packet was not to sideshoot. Bad idea. All the sideshoots have grown and trapped the fruit between the branches, resulting in many fruit dropping off while still orange, or ripening in patches.

The lesson is learnt.

Red Tomatoes July 3, 2009

They’ve been orange for a couple of days, and now some have gone red.

Being the first edible tomatoes, some impatience was deployed in picking them, so maybe they were not properly red. Anyway, some flavour was lacking. This is usual in the first tomatoes, of any variety. These ones are Red Alert, which is a bush tomato.

Ripe tomato

Tip: wait until the tomato is really red before picking it. This is so the plant has had the time to make all the sugars and put them in the tomato.

Feeding: while there are still lots of green tomatoes on, which have not achieved full size, carry on feeding every day. Don’t stop until there are lots of red ones on. Then you can stop feeding, and only sprinkle on some water every day to keep the compost moist.

Danger of splitting: Too much water when the tomatoes have reached full size results in splitting. When they are all big, just use a watering can to sprinkle some water in each pot, but not loads.

May the feast commence.

Green Tomatoes June 25, 2009

The tomato plants are covered in green tomatoes. With the weather being hot and dry, the feed is going in daily.
But don’t sit under the plants with your mouth open, hoping. July has to arrive first.

Tomato Flowers June 1, 2009

There are flowers on the tomato plants.

Tomato flowers

The only way to get the camera to focus on the flowers was to insert my bowl gouge, used for turning bowls out of bits of tree.

As the tomato plants are growing fast and the weather is currently hot, the pots are drying out fast. Every day, one and a half pints of pink tomato food has to go in each pot.

There is a handful of lime in the top of each pot  to prevent blossom end rot later. This lime should last all season.

At the point when tomatos start turning red, in about a month, the watering can be reduced. Further details will be posted then.

Feed ‘em! May 11, 2009

Every day, every tomato plant requires 1 1/2, that’s one and a half, pints of pink tomato fertiliser. We use Vitafeed 214, but any proprietary tomato food will do if it comes as crystals and you mix it up in a bucket. Note: Phostrogen will cost an absolute fortune. It is a liquid feed and you will not be encouraged to use it by the price, and your plants will not do well.
Feed your tomatos every day, except on really wet days when the compost is still wet.
Feed them until the fruit comes and you have actual red tomatos. Only then can you stop, and only water lightly or they will split. More of that towards the end of June.
Meanwhile, feed ‘em!

Potty Time April 19, 2009

The tomato plants are 6 inches high: it is time to put them in their huge pots.
Put some pot shards or rocks in the bottom of each pot for drainage. Fill the pot with compost. Make a hole in the middle with the pot the plant is currently in. Then invert the tomato plant and catch it by its compost as it comes out of its pot. It should fit the hole exactly. Then firm up the compost, maybe add a bit more with your hand.
Water the tomato plant.
The temperature at night should be 50F minimum.

Remember to water the plant every day preferably in the morning.  And get the tomato fertiliser ready for use soon.

The pot might appear small: it is actually a ring, with no bottom: the roots come right out and into a bed of peat with lime scattered on it.

Scatter a handful of calcium carbonate lime into each tomato pot and water it in.  This prevents blossom end rot later in the year.

Tomato plant March 25, 2009

Today, the seedlings were carefully dug out of their seed trays, with the fingers, and re-planted – without breaking the roots – in 3-inch flower pots.

I used the same potting compost I used for the seed trays. The temperature must not drop below 50F (10C in Napoleon) even at night, so if the plants are in a greenhouse, it must be heated, ideally with an electric bar heater with a thermostat.

If the plants are to be kept in the house, there must be lots and lots of light or the plants will go all thin and leany like ballet dancers in Swan Lake. This is not good because such plants will be weak. So a conservatory is best: however, it must be heated, especially at night.

Seedlings March 23, 2009

The tomatos are more than 2 inches high in their trays. I’m still having to keep the temperature up to 60F (15C) at night by use of the propagator, but on a sunny day, and this being a greenhouse, the propagator can be turned off to save power.
All the compost has arrived too, including the bags of potting compost and the bag of lime. And the Vitafeed. Because tomato food has to be ordered in bulk: we use an awful lot of it.

WATCH WATER CONTENT! It is very important that you keep the compost moist with the water spray, especially on sunny days.

Seedtime March 5, 2009

Have you got your potting compost yet? Get the really big bags, it works out cheaper. And make sure it is soilless: this is very important. Do not try it with a soil or humus compost like John Innes or everything will all go mouldy. Use peat-based, such as Levington or one of its many clones. (We use Growell, out of Ripley, Derbyshire.
And a bag of lime (calcium carbonate). This is for later, when the compost goes in pots.
Before that, you need the plastic propagator with its own thermostat heater. And some seed trays, if it doesn’t come with them.
You’ll need to shred the potting compost with your fingers to make it nice and fine for the tomato seeds. Just take out any lumps of peat, too. By doing this you avoid paying again for separate seed compost.
The seed sowing date is March 9. Watch this space.

They’re in. Nicely spaced apart in the compost and covered with only a tiny bit of compost, then a black plastic bag until they come through. Then the bag comes off. And they have to be kept warm: 60F (15C in Napoleon) day and night. Should they get dry, a sprinkling of water: we use a water spray to avoid disturbing the compost. In the first few days, look at them both morning and night so you know when they come through.

Tomato seeds January 16, 2009

I know it’s very early in the year but the tomato seeds have arrived from www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk

The catalogue contains at least 17 varieties. Last year, we grew Herald and Sweet Million.

Herald are big red ones, resistant to Cladosporium leaf mould.

Sweet Million are little red ones that seem to come by the thousand, and they are a favourite with kids, who enjoy the sweet flavour.

However, this year, we are trying a new variety: Red Alert. this is a bush tomato and may not need side-shooting (don’t know if I believe that). The fruit are small and numerous, and, the catalogue says, very sweet.

Some older varieties in the catalogue are: Alicante, Ailsa Craig and Gardener’s Delight.