A Rare Vintage Tomato

Excellent post John, thanks for that

A pity you lost the outdoor crop to blight. You said the outdoor ones (produced from side-shoots) grew quicker than those in the greenhouse. Could this be because temperatures by that time were more favourable? And maybe side-shoots are more vigorous anyway? Just a thought What was the flavour like with the greenhouse grown? And, overall, how did you rate them?

 

I found my side shoots grew quicker too but as you say Freddy it could be because the temperatures were better at that point. I'll be growing them again next year too, it will be interesting to make a comparison with different growing conditions as it's unlikely we'll get two good summers on the trot!

 

The Manx Marvel sounds like a pretty robust tomato and i think the Yorkshire summers would suit it nicely.....i'd love to give it a go inside and out

 

@Jack McHammocklashing .....Just had a thought Jack,i know you've said of problems you've had with growing tomatoes up your way with the weather...Manx Marvel might be one to try if you fancied it

 

ddddd I missed the Premiere !!!

I grew mine (2) in a mini greenhouse so NO cross pollination, plus the cuttings where grown on the decking outside , but no seeds collected from these.

I found the seedlings to be the smallest I have ever grown from a tomato seed and prone to keeping the seed shell on the baby leafs I lost one plant as it didnt come off.

Taste wise , best way to describe "old fashioned flavor" I didn't find tasteless and not watery like most new varieties , very firm flesh, to be honest I really liked them and have only just finished eating the last ones at the weekend, friends and family loved them, but they had to wait until I had cropped enough seeds.
They didn't suffer any pest or fungus problems through the year, I agree with everyone outside they will perform but had equal if not more success growing in the mini - greenhouse

It has been good fun growing them and chatting about what we were all up to with them

couple of photos I will up load later

Spruce

 

When I started to gather information about MM (Manx Marvel) on the island my leads took me to Dr Sharp. I emailed him at the time, both at the university and on his personal email address and received no replies from either. I assumed from that he was no longer interested in the tomato or the island and has probably moved on with his work.

 

This is a good idea, the only draw back I can see at the moment is locating and getting hold of seed to do this. As you saw in the article, Dr.Sharp found MM in an American seed bank, we of course wouldn't have access to places such as this.

 

manx marvel