Tomato varieties

[grahamhobbs]

I said I would report back on the varieties I grew, well we've had a couple of sessions tasting them. The results are a bit variable, one day people like this one, the next time they prefer another variety. Tastes change and the tomatos change. Texture also seems to be important. I have to explain I don't eat tomatoes so the comments on their taste is secondhand from family and friends

Anyway the tomatoes I've grown (in a polytunnel, this year with little attention or feeding) are as follows. I've also included some of the tomatoes I've previously grown but don't now bother with

Standard red varieties
Ailsa Craig Pretty much everyone agrees this is the best flavoured standard round red tomato and for me is nice to grow
Tigerella Actually has kind of yellow streaks on it. It's ok, nothing special

previously grown
St Pierre The standard french red round tomato. Good all round
Money maker Standard tomato, no great flavoour
Mission Dyke Tendency to split

Cherry tomatoes
Golden Gem Good flavour, small orange fruit, good crop
Black cherry Real good tang, not so prolific
Gardener's Delight Red cherry, good taste, good all round
Floridity F1 Small red pointed fruit, variable response to taste, one time someone couldn't stop eating them, another time considered by most not great. Very spindly growth and not that prolific

previously grown
Golden cherry Round yellow fruit, delicious direct from the plant but otherwise lost its flavour
Garden Pearl Bush variety. Not that tasty

Yellow tomatoes
Golden sunshine Lemon yellow standard size tomato. Good looks but lacks taste

Black tomatoes
Black Russian Largish ebony coloured, distinctive flavour. Early but tendency to split and to get leaf curl
Black Krim Very large fruit, distinctive flavour and juicer than the Russian.

Pink tomatoes
Pink brandywine Very large pink tomatoes, distinctive flavour

Beefsteak previously grown
Big boy F1 Large red fruit
Marmande Large red fruit

Plum or Cooking tomatoes
San Mazano Best flavoured plum tomato
Roma Bush variety, otherwise very similar to San Marzano
previously grown
Inca F1 Nothing special

[MKG]

I grew Big Boy for the first time this year (but I spent a bit more time watering and feeding ).

To be frank ... huge tomatoes, big crop, marvellous taste.

Guess what I'll be growing again next year.

Mike

[123sologne]

Whoa, what a selection of tomatoes!! Where did you get them all from? I don't think I can find all those in my local garden centres... Do you order on line or on a catalog?

[oldjerry]

San Marzano every time.Gardeners delight cos the kids will eat them like fruit,(but I'm not sure I'd call them a cherry tom)and F1 Shirley to sell.

[Millymollymandy]

I've grown a number of varieties this year and after a while with the taste testing I think they all start to taste the same. When you are eating tomatoes every day, twice a day for 3 months and doing 'things' with tomatoes, then living amongst tomatoes ripening on the living room floor it's probably not suprising!

However I can report that both Red and Yellow Pear (cherries) have a horrid floury texture, split easily (like every single fruit ) and taste is nothing special.

Marmande - a beef tomato - taste nothing special compared to the big normal sized ones I grew. Still better than supermarket tomatoes though! And they split quite easily too. But very easy to propagate from side shoots so I got several new plants from the original and even the one just shoved in the ground in August has produced some big toms, albeit still green.

I'll come back to this later after I've remembered some of the names and made some more coffee!

[bonniethomas06]

San Marzano every time.Gardeners delight cos the kids will eat them like fruit,(but I'm not sure I'd call them a cherry tom)and F1 Shirley to sell.

I must have done something very wrong this year... my San Marzano's were horrid - really pithy and bland and didn't ripen enough on the vine, just fell off when they were a sort of pale pink . Were yours in a greenhouse or polytunnel? Not sure our polytunnel got hot enough, or let in enoguh light.

But my 'red pear' were lovely, great depth of flavour and roast very well. And Tigerella - nice middle size, not quite cherry, not quite big tomato.

[oldjerry]

I reckon thats just the poxy UK summer, Greenhouse only in Shropshire,( grow outside like weeds in Basilicata).

[Odsox]

Thanks for that Graham, very interesting.

Do you get greenback on your Ailsa Craig ?
I used to grow that years ago but then switched to Craigella, a supposedly greenback free lookalike, but haven't even grown that lately either. When I say not lately, I haven't grown it here and I have been here now 16 years.
I may well try A.Craig again now you've reminded me of it, that might be OK under diffused plastic roof.

My varieties this year were;
Black Russian which I found ripened rather late, unlike yours, but nothing special.
Brandywine, reasonably good taste but misshapen fruits, many folded back in deep creases.
Tommy Toe which was so-so taste, despite the Australian hype.

Potted ones;
Garten pearl which surprised me as being quite tasty and well behaved in 6" pots
Totem which I have on the go all year round, again well behaved in 6" pot and reasonably tasty

My experiments for the coming winter are successionally sown Totem, one with marble sized fruit at the moment, two about a foot tall and another two a couple of inches tall, with more to be sown next month.
Plus I have two Gardeners Delight and one Tigerella in the hydro, which are also just starting to show marble sized fruit.

I also have a somewhat interesting situation.
I had a lot of self sown tomato seedlings come up in amongst my Mange Tout pea row, which I couldn't weed out without damaging the peas (just goes to show what a crap composter I am). When the peas had finished the tomato plants were a fair size and starting to crop.. so I left them.
Now they are just stating to ripen and I have an odd assortment of shapes, colours and tastes. One in particular is bright green when it's ripe but deep red inside when you cut it open. It has a nice acid tang to it and I'm debating if it's worth taking cuttings to over-winter or not. I can't see it being much use as you can't tell when it's ripe apart from squeezing each one but it is certainly a curiosity.

[Millymollymandy]

It depends where you are in the UK, from what I hear most people had drought, heat and 'the best summer they could remember in many a long year' (apart from the hard work of all the watering)!

Anyway I remember my normal sized tomato Fournaise - very tasty and good.

All my cherries apart from the pears were excellent but Sungold always comes out tops purely because it's the first to start cropping and when it gets to the top of the stakes and I pinch it out, I let side shoots grow and usually get more fruit that way.

I've always grown tomatoes outdoors even in England and never had a problem with them ripening (it was in London though where it's pretty hot at times).

[grahamhobbs]

Replying to a couple of questions, I have had to seek out the varieties based on peoples recommendations but Nicky's seeds sell a good selection. I grow most of the tomatoes in a polytunnel and some in a very open (many windows missing) greenhouse, I do this not because of the weather but to avoid blight - its very disheartening to see your whole crop ruined just as they are coming ripe.
Odsox, I've not had trouble with greenback with Ailsa Craig, about 5 or 6 years ago we did have a bit of a problem on some with greenback but it wasn't with Ailsa Craig. Interesting what you say about the Black Russian, with me it is always the first to ripen (2nd week July), but it maybe you are growing some really early varieties, I only sow mine 1st week of March. People like the taste, rich slightly smokey, but it splits - obviously sensitive to my inconsistant watering, but Black Krim which is bigger was preferred for a similar flavour by slightly juicier.
But what I've found conducting taste trials is how inconsistant it is and difficult for people to describe the taste - although people are usually very clear if it is tasteless or the texture is not right.
Thanks MMM for reminding me of Sungold, I grew that a few years back and was liked although I think it was another of those that lost its flavour quite quickly once picked.

[123sologne]

Thank Graham for Nicky's Seeds. I only had a quick look at what they have and it is very impressive to me! They are book-marked for next year. Can we fast forward a little so I can do my shopping?

[Odsox]

Interesting what you say about the Black Russian, with me it is always the first to ripen (2nd week July)

Just looked at my diary Graham, I sowed Black Russian, Gartenpearl & Brandywine seeds on the 11th of March and picked the first G.Pearl on the 17th of June, the first B.Russian on the 25th of July and the first Brandywine on the 31st of July.
Wonderful thing a garden diary when your memory is shot to pieces

[Millymollymandy]

I sowed my Sweet Million in the first week of May and they obviously ripened later than the ones I bought from the garden centre, and even the side shoot propagated ones caught up and overtook the plants that I grew from seed. We've been eating them for quite a while now but they still have tons of trusses of green tomatoes on although they are ripening from the top. It's a larger than normal cherry and very tasty so if I ever get a chance to sow seeds earlier (blame holidays!) I will do so, as they are hugely prolific with enormous multi trusses. It's hard trying to keep them upright (some have up to 3 stakes now and they're still leaning precariously!).

The prize for the most tomatoes on a truss goes to Mirabelle Jaune - a teeny weeny slightly oval shaped little yellow cherry - quite a sweetish taste but pan fried for a minute or so and they are quite a delight (but even worse than peas for trying to eat with a fork! ). They must have thousands on one truss alone and each truss has 4 or 5 branches. Of course not all of them even flowered as there were too many. I wouldn't choose to grow this one again though but if anyone does I recommend it for a pot as the lower two trusses were trailing in the ground and had to be propped up on all manner of things.

Overall I think the best taste was APERO which resembles that oval red cherry we talked about from Lidl. A tangy taste, less sweet than the other cherries I grew. Not that I have a problem with sweet tasting ones either.