2016 Tomato Growing

Fading Tumbling Toms showing the ravages of appreciative eager beavers.


Trigger pulled - it was time for the last harvest.


Basic foundations for the bumper crop.




The warm weather and the general health of the plants could have sustained ripening of the fruits for atleast another two weeks but I decided to pull them as they were looking a bit untidy.

Yield has been fantastic this year. I personally took home 6.4kg of ripe or almost ripe (dark orange colour) tomatoes, the remainder was left for other members and inquisitive passers-by to harvest.

Total yield from seven plants is about 10kg at a conservative estimate. This does not include a few handfuls of slug damaged fruits and windfalls that were squashed under foot.

Overall, I am very happy but I think I can improve on it next year.

 

@Sargan Are you growing all/some of those in a greenhouse?

I would also consider blight resistance and perhaps swap the Shirley for Mountain Magic, which is similar but blight resistant and grows well outdoors.

 

It was this time last year that I scrapped all of my tomatoes because of blight. It was heartbreaking. Also only my second year and previous year probably only had 2 plates of toms from about 6 plants.
This year, I have produced more than we have needed from 6 different varieties. Details to follow due to memory loss. Ha ha. It has really encouraged me for next year. The taste from this years crop has really turned me on to them again after all the bland supermarket 'varieties' that all taste the same. Still loads to pick and eat. I'm easily pleased.

 

Tomato seed saving is in full swing, only these 2 bigguns and some Black Cherries left to do, plus I might try saving some F1 T&M Suncherry seeds just to see what they turn out like.




Going to do something saucy with these later today

 

Not done anything saucy for ages

 

Let yourself go!

 

Still getting some good plums

 

Apart from a few Tumblers from the back garden, this might be my last picking of toms this year. Left to right: the last few of various beefsteaks (apart from a single Bulgarian in the middle, I'll be growing more of those next year as they're great for stuffing), a few Shirley, and a load of cherry toms (mainly Suncherry) which always seem to last the longest



6 Degrees C is forecast for the nearest town early next Monday and it'll be several degrees below that at my outskirts of village plot, hoping that there's be a few more cherry toms from the trusses up in the roof of a polytunnel before the plants ether die or stop producing.

 

Still getting plums from the greenhouse