Tomato questions

[Green Aura]

I've written before about the short growing season we have u here - due to light levels, rather than frosts etc that usually dictate the growing season.

We grow tomatoes, in the polytunnel, and they do OK but are never heavy cropping. So this last year we decided to try a short season variety called Tamina. In a nutshell it was cr4p - for three reasons.

1) Poor cropping - we got fewer off this variety than any of the others
2) It was fairly insipid - I've bought tastier toms out of season from T***o.
3) They were no quicker to produce fruit than the Marmande, Moneymaker, Black Cherry, Gardener's Delight, Lylia de Cerisette, Chadwick Cherry and a purple mini plum we'd saved seeds from (from that place mentioned before ). All (apart from the Marmande which was disapointing but was quite old seed) surpassed the Tamina. The Black Cherry, which were free off the front of a magazine, were best of the lot!

Has anyone tried Tamina with better results? If so any tips? Can you recommend any short season - we've already got Bloody Butcher and Silver Fern, as well as the usual, longer season, suspects. And any alternatives to Marmande - mainly for bottling. Or should we just buy new seed.

The search continues.

[diggernotdreamer]

I can recommend seeds from Real Seeds. They have a lot of seeds suitable for uk growing conditions. They have a few really good tomatoes that have been bred for short seasons, particularly Latah which I often get my first tomato from around the middle to the end of May and then they keep producing until the others have started going and then they die of exhaustion, I am planning on growing a second lot later on next year, because they are so productive and very tasty. I grow them in large pots so as I can turf them out of the tunnel when they are finished. Latah is a small sized beefsteak sort of tomato, there is also Legend Bush, Urbikany and Aurora, all bush tomatoes but very big and productive and also tasty.

[Green Aura]

I'll have a look at those. Ta.

[Odsox]

Sorry, never tried Tamina.
I can certainly vouch for Latah, as DnD says, they are very early to set fruit and the taste is that sweet/acid tang that I like.
I did recommend them to you last year GA .... http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... 12&t=27534
This year I'm trying Stupice as my early tomato, I shall sow on January !st and grow in the unheated conservatory. You can be sure I'll give you a blow by blow commentary on it's progress.
Stupice is a cordon, where Latah is a sprawling bush, and I like my tomato plants to behave.

[Green Aura]

I thought I'd heard of it before!

I wouldn't recommend Tamina, just in case you wondered.

[ojay54]

Last year,when I had a couple of quid,I bought a pair of indoor LED light boards from Brightlightz.They mean that I can comfortably sow a bit in early Jan,and grow on in the tunnel,(or indoors if you've no outside power).This way your plants will be big old units(keep potting on) before you stick them in the ground.
They're also great for growing Indoor basil in the winter.