THE TOMATO GROWING THREAD 2018

that's where I am lucky I start and keep mine in the conservatory until May so no heating costs
Only LED lights. By the time I put my January sown plants into the greenhouse they are in their final pots usually with about four trusses on.

 

Tomatoes are fine but the bloomin' birds have taken my ripe figs ! If I picked them 2 days ago I think I would have got in first . Ah well!

 

Picked my first Shirley this morning. They are really slow to ripen this year, sure I had at least 6 red ones this time last year.

 

At least the birds are happy JWK.

 

I have very grateful work colleagues and neighbours and family! I freeze as many as I can. I freeze them whole and just use as needed for soups etc. I’m also eating lots of cheese and tomato toasties!!

Btw - 45kg now!!

 

My Russian cherries seem a little on the large side



Only a couple of plums set in the greenhouse, too hot for them.

 

What variety is that?

 

Russian cherry, you should see their beefsteaks

 

I grew 'Black Russian'. They were/are big, misshapen but absolutely delicious and some of the early ones had BER. The yield isn't great but I think that's because they got too hot in my south facing greenhouse and because of the heat in late June through July and into August the flowers didn't properly set. I'll be trying them again next year, even saved some seed.

 

Is it just us, or does anybody else think their tomatoes grown under cover are starting to taste better since they've had a bit of a rest from the heatwave?

I'm only growing polytunnel tomatoes, apart from 5 outdoor Crimson Crush plants that have only produced 3 ripe tomatoes this year, so insufficient for a comparison.

 

I thought my Tumbling Toms were decidedly mediocre when the 1st lot ripened during the heatwave (grown in the greenhouse as not really viable to grow tomatoes outside here unless you get a summer like this 1!). Now things have cooled down considerably they seem to taste better so I would tend to agree with you @Scrungee. No idea as to whether there is a reason for this. Certainly all my tomatoes pretty well stopped growing when it was so hot. My cucumbers on the other hand...… got completely out of control