Is it just me with tomatoes?

[MKG]

We bought a little greenhouse just for tomatoes a few years ago. We planted them with great excitement and waited with bated breath. And then we got the same old boring English toms, tasteless, acidic. We've done it, with different varieties, up until this year but now we've decided to stop disappointing ourselves and grow peppers and aubergines instead.

Is there such a thing as an exciting tomato which can be grown in England?

[MINESAPINT]

I remember when I was a kid (52 now) being sent for a pound or two of tomatoes to someone who grew more than they needed for their own purposes and sold the surplus. I put them into the saddle bag on my bike and could just reach behind me as I was cycling home to pinch 1 or 2 or 3 or 4. By the time I got home I had just about eaten the lot! Irresistable!

Was it my juvenile taste buds or those old varieties (whatever they were) are just not available anymore?

MINESAPINT

[Martin]

my Dad had a nursery on which I spent my early years - in the 50's and early 60's "Moneymaker" had just put in an appearance.........almost at a stroke, nearly all growers switched to growing them because they gave much higher yields than the "older" ones. Luckily, the old man had the sense to taste the ruddy things - his comments were totally unprintable.......they are ghastly, great heavy "cores", and nearly completely tasteless........and he continued growing the "old faithful" - "Ailsa Craig" - which is still obtainable!
You won't get the same yields as you would from the dreadful Moneymaker, or it's derivatives (Alicante etc).....but you will get tomatoes that taste like tomatoes!

[MKG]

Right, then ... that's we Wrinklies setting up the challenge. C'mon smooth-skinned ones - name the tomato worth growing (I have to debar anyone not living in the UK from this, because I'll go arse over tit for a Mediterranean tom).

[Martin]

Ailsa Craig!

[MKG]

Yeah - you said that. There are surely many more varieties???

[Millymollymandy]

Gardeners' Delight. I can't grow any non cherry tomato anyway.

[red]

gardeners delight

a lot get eaten in the greenhouse... and dont make it to the house...


Also the plum variety 'inca' - when they are fully ripe the flavour is wonderful.

allowing the fruit to ripen on the vine makes a lot of difference.

[Bluemoon]

I'm allergic to tomatoes sadly, but grow them for the family and the most popular is one called 'Harbinger'. It just looks like a bog-standard round, red, medium sized tom, but everyone from my 71 year old Mum to my 19 year old daughter loves them. My mum says they taste like toms used to when she was a girl.

[Thurston Garden]

Tigerella - have grown it for years and loved it.

This year I am mostly growing Principe Borghese for normal use and San Morzano for pulping and making into sauce for storing.

[JR]

Marmande and Tigerellas are fantastic!

I have also planted fantasimo's this year. Will let you know how they go. The med ones seem to turn out ok to be honest and are less acidic. I have gone for some outside at home and some on the plot. I have some in growbag greenhouses too in case of the dreaded blight like we suffered last year. It might hold it off long enough to get the fruit off.

[Mal]

I'm trying Odessa and Latah from Real Seeds this year, but I have my doubts about being able to report back as it's my first year on tomatoes and they're looking frankly poor already! Probably not a great advert for the varieties, but likely just a worse advert for my green fingers!

[Cassiepod]

My dad swears by Marmande and I've just bought some seed from Lidl to give them a try. He's also posted to me (not very successfully though ) some subarctic plenty whihc are also very good apparently (hopefully they'l live to tell the tale)

[red]

Marmande and Tigerellas are fantastic!

I have also planted fantasimo's this year. Will let you know how they go. The med ones seem to turn out ok to be honest and are less acidic. I have gone for some outside at home and some on the plot. I have some in growbag greenhouses too in case of the dreaded blight like we suffered last year. It might hold it off long enough to get the fruit off.

yup I'm trying fantasio this year too.

[JR]

Sorry yes fantasio, not fantasimo! Hope I havent written the pot labels incorrectly too.