2016 Tomato Growing

The left bottom one looks ok
Don't give too mych water

 

Thanks Tracy!

 

Hi all,
Can I use the wisdom of you expert tomato growers to check the varieties I have here? I was given two cuttings earlier this year. I was told the one on the left was a tumbling tom and the one on the right was a honey drop. They've shot up pretty quickly in this sunny spot but I suspect the person that gave me the cuttings mixed the two up. The shorter, more 'bushy' one looks more like pictures of tumbling toms that I've seen.
So before I acclimatise them for my balcony, wanted to check I put each in the right pots!

Any tips on moving them out also appreciated - both have flowers already and the one on the right already has a teeny fruit.

Thanks and Happy Easter.

 

Hi John and thanks. Good to know it's not just me...

I'm in London and have a south-facing balcony, so not too cold but it can get windy (3rd floor flat!)

 

In agreement with JWK. Those are lovely early plants. The one on the right is almost certainly the tumbling tom. As the name suggests, they like to tumble and form a bushy shape cascading over the pot. You don't need to take out side shoots, but you do need to let the shoots get more light and air. Honey drop, I haven't grown, but the internet says it's a vine/indeterminate type that you should remove the side shoots from. I have well hard tomatoes and mine are hardening off outside already. But, exposure to frost will kill them and exposure to strong wind is really harmful.

 

Anyone tried 100's and 1000's variety, is there much difference in them and tumbling tom, taste or growing?
Also anyone tried Heartbreaker Vita F1, what kind of growing habit does that have? The packet says perfect for pots, on the website it says grows to 2 metres..

Will give them both a go later on anyways . Got Gardener's delight and golden sunrise on the go so far.

 

Thank you! Sounds like the honey drop might be a challenge for a balcony depending on how big it gets but I'll get it a support cage and see how it goes. The person I got the cutting from was growing it in pots though so you never know...

 

Cheers John I love James Wong so will get on to that book soon! I had a lil google about the 2 in question, they both Sutton's so should be ok
100s and 1000s is supposed to be sweet but full of flavour, bit like sungold apparently and the tom's are 'proper cherry size', will stick them in baskets.
With the Heartbreaker one, think your right bigger pot, bigger plant and it's bush form.. from Google it looks good for soup! Couldnt really find anything on taste except for sweet.
I've grown Gardeners Delight for the last 2 years, (on patio in pot, seeds from one of those kids kits) first year was fab, had loads of tangy tasting Tom's but last year was awful, I don't even think it was blight. Only one set of fruit came and they didn't ripen, my other plant was just a flop it grew about 40 cm and withered.. so I started off a load (9 is a load for me) this year but decided I'm going to give 6 to next door instead and going to try a few diff cherry Tom's this year, not fussed on the salad/big ones.
Haven't even ate a golden sunrise tom, so I'm really looking forward to it and I hope we have lots of lovely Sun too!

 

So my tomato plants are now getting huge - is it too early to put them in the greenhouse? I know outside is too early for risk of frost - but I really need to rotate stuff on the only south facing windowsill I have. I also want to take cuttings from the tom plants as I mentioned before but atill not aure what side shoot to cut off?

 

Been away for a week or two & so just catching up - have today sown seed for five types of cherry toms:
Black Cherry
Sungold
Rapunzel
Minibelle
Sun Sugar

- mostly will end up in the greenhouse but the minibelle might end up in the hanging baskets.

Ive also splurged £4 on a grafted plum tom that Ive forgotten the name of, just to see if its worth the money.

Meanwhile, in the greenhouse the cucumbers that I left sitting on the hot bench (20'c +- from a heat mat) have flowered + have little fruit (I think that they are "Socrates" ) - not sure what to do with them, I really need to pot them on & take them off the heat but it might knock them back if I do it this month.