2015 Tomato Growing

Finally

 

A Purple Calabash, AKA 'The Brain'.



And my 'boy tomato' has ripened

 

@Scrungee Please let me know how your purple calabash is. I bought some seeds from Peynard Plants (I think) but managed to kill the few I sowed this year.

 

Biggest 3 tomatoes to date are 606g, 616g and 692g, I'm pinning my hopes for a 2 pounder/907g on this one which is now 17.5" girth. I've not been really going for bigguns by reducing trusses to only one tomato this year, as I'm concentrating on growing seeds out to get fresh stock before my dwindling saved seeds get past it, then next year I'll try some cross-pollination.

I was down to a couple of 5 or 6 year old seeds so used them to get some fresh seeds saved this year, only 2 trusses on a 6 foot plant, one with 3 toms and other shown below, one shown in above post is first to ripen.




Must be time for another ugly tomato pic ....

 

My Garden Pearl are definitely the star performers for me this season. While I like the taste of Sun Gold a little bit better, they took ages to ripen and sulked in the cold weather while the Garden Pearl didn't.
I 've grown 15 Garden Pearl and the plants do vary a little despite all coming from the same batch of seed. I have resisted picking a few fruits on the best plant and intend to save the seed. These fruits are really ripe now but I was wondering if I'm better to leave the fruits on the plant until the basically fall off or should I pick them now? Sure someone much more knowledgeable than me eg @JWK or @Scrungee will keep me right.

 

Garden Pearl (AKA Gartenperle) are non-F1 and saved seeds grow true.

You can leave on the plant until fully ripe, which is beyond what is normal for eating, risking them being eaten by birds and other pests (which for me also includes Pup), or bring them indoors to ripen somewhere away from the ones for eating. Always save from the best plant(s).

When fully ripe squeeze seeds into some water in a small container and leave to ferment for a few days, then skim off crust, pour into kitchen sieve and flush crud through sieve (I use hosepipe outside and have own sieve just for tomato seeds).

I dry them off a bit on some kitchen towel, but be carefully not to leave them on it or they'll stick to it, then ease them off into a small dish and leave somewhere warm to dry thoroughly before packing away. Rub between your fingers often to separate the seeds and prevent them drying in clumps.

Sometimes seeds start sprouting in the water before 3 days is up, so if I don't want to risk losing them all I'll split into 2 and start one off a day later, then check each day for any sprouting and beyond saving then immediately seive the 2nd lot for saving and discard those started 1st.


EDIT: It's not essential to pick ripe tomatoes for seed saving as they can be picked from when the skin starts turning translucent then left to ripen indoors, which is useful with late ripening toms when frosts are threatening, or if picking bigguns for 'heaviest tomato' competitions as they start losing weight as they ripen, so best picked early, kept in fridge until weigh off, then left to ripen for seed saving.

 

Absolute star @Scrungee, thank you very much. I knew about putting the seed in water and waiting till a crust formed but not all the other very useful information. It will be of great use to me and no doubt to others who read it, cheers.

 

I'm very pleased with the crop from my polytunnel grown Suncherry plants. The packets of 6 seed for £3.69 were my 5th free packets on a couple of orders when you could get up to £8.99's worth of seeds from T&M for only £1.95 P&P http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/free-£8-99-t-m-seeds-of-your-choice-for-£1-95-p-p.93642/

Whilst the trusses were smaller than in the illustrations, they produced lots of tasty, sweet, shiny cherry toms, none of them split (as my Sungolds have been doing this year) and they could be left on the vine without deteriorating until virtually the whole truss was ready for picking/cutting.

Definitely one I'll be growing next year, but not at full price of £3.69 for only 6 seeds from T&M, cheaper elsewhere, for example

http://www.simplyseed.co.uk/delivery.html or
http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/garden-shop/seeds/baby-vegetables/tomato-suncherry-premium-10-seeds




And despite being F1 I'll save a few seeds and see how different they are.

 

I was, but I didn't see any, and the seeds were all left on the display stands when I got there. I've been back again for another hit a couple of days ago, but they were all mixed up in boxes. Suncherry, Sungold, Red Alert & Shirley (for showing tomatoes) were on my Wyevale wish list, and I got 6 pkts of Red Alert, 2 of Shirley, 2 pks Cherry Falls http://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Veg...umbling-Cherry-Cherry-Falls.html#.Verb7-t_Zjo plus, in the absence of any Suncherries, 3 pkts of Tomatoberry, normally 7 seeds for £3.69 http://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Veg...umbling-Cherry-Cherry-Falls.html#.Verb7-t_Zjo

 

Got the Blight

 

I'd sprayed twice too, same here with the spuds