Good outdoor tomato plants

Thinking of next year, I'm looking for tomato plants that can be planted out fairly early in the year (in the South of England), a good cropper (obviously), a determinate is preferred, and having good-sized and good tasting fruit (again, obviously!). I'm mainly interested in getting them outdoors, and in the ground, as soon as reasonable.

I grew 'Alicante', for the second time, this year but have been disappointed. Mind you, the weather was bad and I held them back too long.

Can anyone suggest a plant that might be the best for me to try next year, please?

 

I grow tomatoes outdoors in Perthshire Quaedor. I grow them in pots standing against a south facing wall.
The ones which do well for me are
Tigerella, Red Cherry and Ilde.

 

Over the years I have grown Marmande, Alicante, Moneymaker, a strange collection of seed I purchased from an American seed company, plants grown from supermarket fruit and this year a free packet of Harbinger from T&M.

I think basically all toms are as hardy as any others and the key lies in the hardening off before planting out.

You always get better tasting fruit from outdoor toms, and the less feeding and watering the better.
The ripening times are dependant on the summer weather, so its out of our hands, I tend to feel.

 

Hello to you both and thanks for your replies. I apologise for not replying before. I asked the question because there's a man on the allotment next to me who's always growing far better tomatoes than I ever can. He plants them out far too early (according to all the books and the seed packets!) and never has any trouble. He plants out Alicante, as do I, but the difference in our crops has to be seen to be believed. He says that he just takes a chance on the weather and frost but I'm not as lucky as he is!

I've grown the same varities as you have, Pete, but never the ones you do, Alice. My tomatoes are grown on a very flat and windy allotment, in Sussex - and, because of theb wind, the chill factor is high. Next year I might do what I did several years ago - put a curtain around the plants to cut down the wind.

The reason for my question was that I wanted a tomato plant that, perhaps, had been cultivated to cope with the early British weather and where I wouldn't have to risk losing them due to frost. I know my luck, and it's not good!

Again, thanks for your replies.

 

Hi Quaedor. yes, it could be good idea for you to rig up some kind of windbreak for your tomatoes. As I said my garden is very sheltered and I grow against a south facing wall.

If you're looking for a tomato which was bred to withstand colder weather and poor light levels then you could try Sub Arctic Plenty. It's said to do the job but I can't vouch for it.

 

Thanks Alice, I have decided to use a "curtain" as that will cut down the wind and the chill factor but will look into the "Sub-Arctic Plenty", as you suggest.

 

Being in a rush to get the building site into a garden this spring, I picked moneymaker, not realising its a greenhouse tomato.

The one I grew in a pot on the window sill in february & then put out is cropping (with plum sized fruit) Just brought a fist full in.

The ones I planted out have got much bigger fruit (or is it a berry ?) They are just showing signs of ripening.

Am growing a low privet hedge around the plot to give a bit more protection next year.

 

Good luck with your Moneymaker Ziggy. I'm sure they will do well in a greenhouse for you.
Somebody on here said the variety doesn't matter, they will all do equally well outdoors.
Not my experience, Moneymaker did diddlysquat outdoors for me in the same year as other varieties did great.
Keep us posted and show us the pics.(I'm a bit weird about pics of veggies if you saw my other posts.)

 

I've got a couple of 'Moneymakers' growing outdoors and they're doing OK here in Kent. I don't think I'd win any prizes but they're not bad for my 'stick in a pot and hope' method. The first fruits are just ripening now. Alice, this is for you!!!



The Gardener's Delights aren't doing badly outdoors, either:-

 

Aw Thank you Clara Lou. You're tomatoes are looking good.

 

I'm growing Octavio, Gardeners Delight, and Garden Pearl (bush cherry type) in pots and baskets outside.

All doing well, and finally starting to ripen too.

I've also decided not to bother growing toms from seed any more. You can pick up ready-grown plants from markets etc for as little as 20p, and since I only ever do half a dozen or so, it's far cheaper. And saves some space on my crammed windowills in spring.

 

I've grown Garden Pearl outside Andrew and they did very well so you should get a good crop.
I agree with you about just buying plants if you only want a few and you can find the varieties you want.

 

Indoor,Outdoor varieties? I was harvesting a good two weeks from "glasshouse" tomatoes planted outside before any of the same growing in my greenhouse! I don't distinguish between glasshouse and outdoor varieties, with our climate it's just not worth it. Plant some in and plant some out, works for me everytime and the outdoor ones definitely taste better