Introducing - This Year's Tomatoes

Once again I'm growing a variety of different of different tomatoes this year. I started them off about a month ago in a propagator at home and now they've been potted on and moved into the greenhouse at the allotment.

Purple Ukraine is a large purple vine tomato. They grow on tall plants which set trusses of really large, deep purple plum tomatoes the size and shape of a goose egg.

Costoluto Fiorentino is a vine tomato which produces large red ribbed tomatoes. Its is from the gardeners of Florence in Italy and is similar to the Costoluto Genovese from Genoa.

Gardener's Delight (Supersweet Irish Version) is a cherry vine tomato with a very sweet flavour. It is smaller than real "Gardener's Delight" but supposed to be very good none the less!

Both Pink Plum and Plum Lemon were seeds that came in my selection from the Heritage Seed Library. Pink Plum is supposed to do exactly what it says on the packet! Plum Lemon was originally obtained from an elderly seedsman at the Kalitnikovskiy Bird Market in Moscow. It  is supposed to do particularly well in cooler climates and shorter seasons

Amish Paste  is a giant plum tomato from the Amish community. It produces nice red fruit about the size of an apple that can weigh up to 1lb each.

Finally, Scattolone is an Italian plum tomato similar to San Marzano, which I have grown in the past. It is perfect for cooking, especially in pasta sauces.

I really like growing tomatoes - can you tell? The greenhouse is certainly going to be very crowded this year... And if you haven't planted any yet? Don't panic as you will still have time if you get them in before the end of the month. I'll keep you updated with how mine get on as they grow.

Comments

[Kevin Howcroft]

Hi nice lens, I thought you may like to take a look at mine about growing Big Veg at: http://squidoo.com/fixerkev and if you are interested you may like to join my mailing list, email me at kjhowcroft@gmail.com

[Matron]

I share your passion for growing tomatoes. This year I don't have enough space. Sungold, Noir du crimee, chocolate cherry, cream sausage, Ildi, sub Arctic plenty, and lots more!

[Matron]

Gardeners Delight is one tomato that I will always come back to if I have space. A brilliant taste and lots of them. I love growing different and unusual tomatoes in the garden. I am growing 'anything but red' this year, purple, chocolate, golden and cream!

[Dan]

Nice mix of tomatoes. I like the sounds of the Amish paste. Keep use posted on its cooking quality. I went a little crazy this year with 12 different varieties, mostly one of each. Should be an exotic tomato year.

[Simon]

Sounds great - but you've hit on one of the advantages of being down south - up here greenhouses are life threatening (because of the winds). I want to get a poly tunnel but somehow cant bring myself to believe the manufacturers promises that they'd survive. I mean we lost a friggin Nissen hut to winds in the autumn - how could a polytunnel fare any better?

[Jo]

You've got a good selection there. I also like to grow tomatoes. I'm only growing one salad tomato this year, Ferline, and the rest will be cherry tomatoes. I find that the cherry tomatoes go quicker here.