Tomato Growing 2024

I make Delia Smith green tomato chutney every year as have both surplus green toms and lots of cooking apples. Just do a search for Delia and green tomato chutney. I don’t always have raisins so substitute sultanas which work just as well. I don’t bother to chop up the tomatoes but most of the ones I grow are the cherry type, maybe you would need to if using beef type.You do need to keep a beady eye on it towards the end of the cooking time as it is easy for the chutney to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn if you don’t keep stirring fairly frequently. It improves with age and I have jars which are now 2 years old which will be delicious.

 

Thank you @hailbopp, I will check it out.

 

Looking good. I note as with mine the ripening seems patchy up the plant. With some ripe at the top even before all the lower ones have ripened, not sure if this is usual, as those at the top will have set much later than the lower ones.

 

I get that too @Allotment Boy , although I've never really thought about it to any extent as it seems to be the norm for me in any year. Just glad to have some toms to eat!

I expect it's like many plants though - they don't always read the info...

 

My first tomato has finally started to turn colour. Cocktail Crush. Lots of fruit set now, also lots of flowers, I will probably end up cutting the trusses and hanging them upside down in the conservatory to ripen, eventually. I don't hold out much hope for the beefsteaks

 

My tomatoes ar eripening all over andnot all at once. Some at the bottom, some in the middle and some at the top. Contrary lot..

Flavour is not wonderful this year either - lack of sun? They've had lots of food and enough but not excessive water.

 

Snap re the ripening @Obelix-Vendée . Flavour has been as good as usual on the Sungolds but the others have been somewhat iffy. One neighbour was delighted with the Choc cherries but another not so thrilled. Personal and/or changing taste comes into it but even so...........??

 

@Philippa We like red and yellow pear and now grow it each year but the flavour is less pronounced this year. However, black cherry has been good. Orange Banana fine, Moonglow feeble. Mixed bag for the big beefsteak types.

Oh well, I may get enough for a couple of pots of passata and there's always next year........

 

That's interesting about the Black Cherry @Obelix-Vendée I always liked them but have been unable to get the seed the last couple of years so went for the Choc cherry as an alternative. Not as good IMO.

So many new varieties appearing and each have to be tried out to see whether or not they suit so another season gone if they aren't much good.

 

It poured with rain at my home in Dordogne, France, on Friday, Saturday morning and Sunday and was quite chilly.

When I went for a last wander round my garden on Sunday before leaving for the UK on Monday the tomatoes suddenly had blight. I picked the last few good ones, mostly Ananas, the big orange ones, and chopped up and cooked all my remaining veg in the fridge, a courgette, mushrooms, half a leek, half an onion and a few runner beans, with them with basil and rosemary. We had some for dinner and the rest I put in the freezer.

Now I'm in OH's cottage in Norfolk where we don't have a vegetable garden because we spend more time here in winter and more time in France in summer.

 

Our supermarket cherries are ripening now, nearly ready to sample. Also the Burlesque beefsteak, three or four are at the orange stage and some just beginning to turn. I haven’t tried them before so fingers crossed they have a good flavour. The other beefsteak toms are still resolutely green and about the size of chicken nuggets at the moment