Tomato Growing Thread 2012

I think I might take the opportunity to have a go at 2-each of several varieties. I normally grow 18 plants ... so that makes 9 varieties

I've started a new thread for rating the varieties you have grown:
http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/rate-your-tomato-varieties.46207/

 

My plants just had blackend patches on the stem without any of the usual leaf die back associated with blight (which is normally what I notice first). The only effect on the leaves was wilting caused due to stems being so rotten, in fact some unsupported upper stems collapsed before any of the leaves on them showed any sign of damage. Never seen blight do that before.

 

My outside Gardeners Delight and Harbinger have all suffered badly with this "black stem rot"/ "blight" but continued to grow and flower. The San Marzano planted out with them only showed minor symptoms and considering the poor summer we've had, are not doing too badly.

It's a puzzle?

 

Here they are, my little beauties ;

Ildi


Red Pear


Alicante


Roma

 

ooooh,
love the Roma,
bella amore,
Jenny

 

Whatever you have been doing this year - in probably the most challenging year ever - keep doing it.

 

Nice one Bilbo.. i grew Roma last year.....they took forever to ripen but when they did i put them in the freezer then when i was ready to use them i ran them under a warm tap....the skin peeled off perfectly....then into a pan with a bit of water ...heated through....perfect with a fry up

 

Time to practice your funny sideways-walk perhaps? !!

 

Well, all of my outdoor tomatoes had this disease to a greater or lesser extent, so yesterday I had the lot out. A pity, as it now looks like my greenhouse toms will be coming to an end in the next couple of weeks. Still, I'm already looking forward to next year, got some ideas

Cheers...Freddy

 

Gardener's World (this weeks episode) showed Monty's greenhouse stripped of leaves post-blight to try to rippen the fruit, but that the blight was starting to attack the fruit so he had not got away with it (not sure I'd head of that method before, but I expect Monty thought he was in with a chance). He was sanguine about his comments only a week or so earlier about the health of his Toms this year!
No doubt it will be on iPlayer for a few weeks if you missed it. It was about 1/2 way through.

 

Hiya John.

I tend to agree, it's like blight in slow motion. I've only been growing toms for a few years, and on each occasion that blight has struck, it's all been over in less than two days. Fingers crossed for your Ferline John. I imagine they must be close to ripening?

 

A strange type of blight? all my black stem rot thingy occurred for a month or so but since then the plants have put on loads of growth and I have an abundance of fruits higher up the infected stems, maybe our plants are developing an evolusionary resistance to blight?

 

Blimey, that's a nice thought