I'm making my 1st attempt at growing tomato's this year. I bought
moneymaker & tumbling tom (seeds were going cheap in a well know DIY
shop).

Are these 2 varities any good , I have seen that moneymaker is thought
by some to lack flavour , what about tumbling tom ?

I will be growing in a propagator , potting on in the conservatory and
then planting outside.

Hi Colin
Tumbling Tom are happiest in baskets or a container. Flavour O.K.
Good Luck.
Grannie Annie
"Gardening_Convert" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm making my 1st attempt at growing tomato's this year. I bought
moneymaker & tumbling tom (seeds were going cheap in a well know DIY
shop).

Are these 2 varities any good , I have seen that moneymaker is thought
by some to lack flavour , what about tumbling tom ?

I will be growing in a propagator , potting on in the conservatory and
then planting outside.

"Ann Heanes" wrote in message
...
Hi Colin
Tumbling Tom are happiest in baskets or a container. Flavour O.K.
Good Luck.
Grannie Annie
"Gardening_Convert" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm making my 1st attempt at growing tomato's this year. I bought
moneymaker & tumbling tom (seeds were going cheap in a well know DIY
shop).

Are these 2 varities any good , I have seen that moneymaker is thought
by some to lack flavour , what about tumbling tom ?

I will be growing in a propagator , potting on in the conservatory and
then planting outside.

I grew moneymaker last year,but found them to be a bit bland in taste.A good
grower though.I wouldnt grow them again ,but you should as they are sure to
grow and crop well.This is a good start if it is your first time growing
them.
Cheers Keith

In message .com,
Gardening_Convert writes
I'm making my 1st attempt at growing tomato's this year. I bought
moneymaker & tumbling tom (seeds were going cheap in a well know DIY
shop).

Are these 2 varities any good , I have seen that moneymaker is thought
by some to lack flavour , what about tumbling tom ?

I will be growing in a propagator , potting on in the conservatory and
then planting outside.

Moneymakers are very easy to grow and get very big. They were the first
tomatoes I grew forty years ago. They are also very watery and
tasteless - a huge disappointment after much hard work. Tumbling tom
are OK and are nice in a hanging basket. If you have only just started
gardening, you may find tomatoes from seeds difficult and decide to buy
plants. OTOH, you may just have green fingers and all will be well. In
either case, good luck.
--
June Hughes

June Hughes wrote:
In message .com,
Gardening_Convert writes
I'm making my 1st attempt at growing tomato's this year. I bought
moneymaker & tumbling tom (seeds were going cheap in a well know DIY
shop).

Are these 2 varities any good , I have seen that moneymaker is
thought by some to lack flavour , what about tumbling tom ?

I will be growing in a propagator , potting on in the conservatory
and then planting outside.

Moneymakers are very easy to grow and get very big. They were the
first tomatoes I grew forty years ago. They are also very watery and
tasteless - a huge disappointment after much hard work. Tumbling tom
are OK and are nice in a hanging basket. If you have only just
started gardening, you may find tomatoes from seeds difficult and
decide to buy plants. OTOH, you may just have green fingers and all
will be well. In either case, good luck.

I don't think he'll have any difficulty in germination: no real need for
a prop in a cosy conservatory -- in fact, I'd avoid letting them get too
warm; but I would cover them with a bit of polythene or something. I
used to use peat pots to avoid root disturbance; but that's not
necessary.

As June says, Moneymaker's an encouraging one for a beginner, though not
a tasty variety: but a neighbour of mine used to grow them for sale
every year in well-manured garden soil in a greenhouse, and his were
better than their Dutch supermarket cousins. I gather they'll do
outdoors. I've never seen them get big, though: were your
forty-years-ago ones on steroids, June?

--
Mike.

In message , Mike Lyle
writes
snip
Moneymaker's an encouraging one for a beginner, though not
a tasty variety: but a neighbour of mine used to grow them for sale
every year in well-manured garden soil in a greenhouse, and his were
better than their Dutch supermarket cousins. I gather they'll do
outdoors. I've never seen them get big, though: were your
forty-years-ago ones on steroids, June?

No My father-in-law was one of the best gardeners I had every met
and he nursed me through their growth. They got big and fat but were
mainly water. He had warned me to try something else but I didn't
listen. Alongside them, he grew Ailsa Craigs, which were perfect in
every way. He was a lovely man. With his big sausagey fingers, he could
thin out a bed of leeks whilst I, with my long skinny efforts, was still
thinking about it.
--
June Hughes

Mike Lyle wrote:
June Hughes wrote:
In message .com,
Gardening_Convert writes
I'm making my 1st attempt at growing tomato's this year. I bought
moneymaker & tumbling tom (seeds were going cheap in a well know DIY
shop).

Are these 2 varities any good , I have seen that moneymaker is
thought by some to lack flavour , what about tumbling tom ?

I will be growing in a propagator , potting on in the conservatory
and then planting outside.

Moneymakers are very easy to grow and get very big. They were the
first tomatoes I grew forty years ago. They are also very watery and
tasteless - a huge disappointment after much hard work. Tumbling tom
are OK and are nice in a hanging basket. If you have only just
started gardening, you may find tomatoes from seeds difficult and
decide to buy plants. OTOH, you may just have green fingers and all
will be well. In either case, good luck.

I don't think he'll have any difficulty in germination: no real need for
a prop in a cosy conservatory -- in fact, I'd avoid letting them get too
warm; but I would cover them with a bit of polythene or something. I
used to use peat pots to avoid root disturbance; but that's not
necessary.

As June says, Moneymaker's an encouraging one for a beginner, though not
a tasty variety: but a neighbour of mine used to grow them for sale
every year in well-manured garden soil in a greenhouse, and his were
better than their Dutch supermarket cousins. I gather they'll do
outdoors. I've never seen them get big, though: were your
forty-years-ago ones on steroids, June?

I am a fan of Tumbling Tom. Last year I sowed (in a propagator) too
soon. After I planted them on into pots on the garage windowsill, they
caught a chill and died. Could not find any new seeds locally, so
resorted to money maker, got a decent crop, but not a tasty!

--
Please do not reply to this Email address,
as all Emails are deleted before opened.

Mike Lyle wrote:
June Hughes wrote:

In message .com,
Gardening_Convert writes

I'm making my 1st attempt at growing tomato's this year. I bought
moneymaker & tumbling tom (seeds were going cheap in a well know DIY
shop).

Are these 2 varities any good , I have seen that moneymaker is
thought by some to lack flavour , what about tumbling tom ?

I will be growing in a propagator , potting on in the conservatory
and then planting outside.


Moneymakers are very easy to grow and get very big. They were the
first tomatoes I grew forty years ago. They are also very watery and
tasteless - a huge disappointment after much hard work. Tumbling tom
are OK and are nice in a hanging basket. If you have only just
started gardening, you may find tomatoes from seeds difficult and
decide to buy plants. OTOH, you may just have green fingers and all
will be well. In either case, good luck.


I don't think he'll have any difficulty in germination: no real need for
a prop in a cosy conservatory -- in fact, I'd avoid letting them get too
warm; but I would cover them with a bit of polythene or something. I
used to use peat pots to avoid root disturbance; but that's not
necessary.

As June says, Moneymaker's an encouraging one for a beginner, though not
a tasty variety: but a neighbour of mine used to grow them for sale
every year in well-manured garden soil in a greenhouse, and his were
better than their Dutch supermarket cousins. I gather they'll do
outdoors. I've never seen them get big, though: were your
forty-years-ago ones on steroids, June?

I wondered about that ? My old man used to use plenty of manure in
raised soil beds but nowadays a lot of people buy those plastic bags you
cut holes in that usually contain just compost of one sort or another.
It might be worth doing a test using both on the same tomato type.

Is it something akin to what Victor Lewis-Smith stated in one episode of
Bygones concerning kidney soup and it being the urine that helped the
flavour ? My parents used to joke about that all the time.


Richard.


--
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea --
massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a
source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect
it." Gene Spafford (1992)

"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message , Mike Lyle
writes
snip
Moneymaker's an encouraging one for a beginner, though not
a tasty variety: but a neighbour of mine used to grow them for sale
every year in well-manured garden soil in a greenhouse, and his were
better than their Dutch supermarket cousins. I gather they'll do
outdoors. I've never seen them get big, though: were your
forty-years-ago ones on steroids, June?

No My father-in-law was one of the best gardeners I had every met
and he nursed me through their growth. They got big and fat but were
mainly water. He had warned me to try something else but I didn't
listen. Alongside them, he grew Ailsa Craigs, which were perfect in
every way. He was a lovely man. With his big sausagey fingers, he could
thin out a bed of leeks whilst I, with my long skinny efforts, was still
thinking about it.

I was about to say Ailsa Craigs were my favourites when I used to grow
standard tomatoes - reliable and a good flavour IMO - but you beat me to it.
More recently, I've stuck to The Amateur bush variety, which is dead easy.

"Gardening_Convert" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm making my 1st attempt at growing tomato's this year. I bought
moneymaker & tumbling tom (seeds were going cheap in a well know DIY
shop).

Are these 2 varities any good , I have seen that moneymaker is thought
by some to lack flavour , what about tumbling tom ?

I will be growing in a propagator , potting on in the conservatory and
then planting outside.


Moneymaker produces a large crop but as you say is bland and lacking in
flavour.

I used to experiment with growing different types of tomatoes about 25 years
ago and test them on friends and relatives.

The best reactions I ever got were in relation to the Ailsa Craig variety
which were regarded by all as having an exceptionally good flavour.

It depends what you're after though quantity or quality.

If you you're going to the trouble of growing them yourself then I
personally believe quality to be paramount.

After all you might as well just buy them otherwise.


Stephen

In message , BAC
writes

"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message , Mike Lyle
writes
snip
Moneymaker's an encouraging one for a beginner, though not
a tasty variety: but a neighbour of mine used to grow them for sale
every year in well-manured garden soil in a greenhouse, and his were
better than their Dutch supermarket cousins. I gather they'll do
outdoors. I've never seen them get big, though: were your
forty-years-ago ones on steroids, June?

No My father-in-law was one of the best gardeners I had every met
and he nursed me through their growth. They got big and fat but were
mainly water. He had warned me to try something else but I didn't
listen. Alongside them, he grew Ailsa Craigs, which were perfect in
every way. He was a lovely man. With his big sausagey fingers, he could
thin out a bed of leeks whilst I, with my long skinny efforts, was still
thinking about it.

I was about to say Ailsa Craigs were my favourites when I used to grow
standard tomatoes - reliable and a good flavour IMO - but you beat me to it.
More recently, I've stuck to The Amateur bush variety, which is dead easy.


Haven't tried that. Must look out for it although with things as they
are at present (labrador has decimated garden) until I get some sort of
attractive-looking fence, I am rather limited to the tiny greenhouse.
--
June Hughes

Richard Brooks wrote:
Mike Lyle wrote:
[...]
I wondered about that ? My old man used to use plenty of manure in
raised soil beds but nowadays a lot of people buy those plastic bags
you cut holes in that usually contain just compost of one sort or
another. It might be worth doing a test using both on the same tomato
type.

I've never done parallel trials, but I suspect the mucky ones would be
better than the growbag ones. I certainly _want_ to believe it, anyhow.


Is it something akin to what Victor Lewis-Smith stated in one episode
of Bygones concerning kidney soup and it being the urine that helped
the flavour ? My parents used to joke about that all the time.

Bloom's breakfast kidneys in Ulysses come to mind! I'd rather my
tomatoes didn't remind me of their, er, "earthy" origins with every
mouthful!

--
Mike.

Stephen Stewart wrote:

I used to experiment with growing different types of tomatoes about 25 years
ago and test them on friends and relatives.

The best reactions I ever got were in relation to the Ailsa Craig variety
which were regarded by all as having an exceptionally good flavour.

I'm attempting a similar thing this year, with different "styles" of
tomato. I have Ailsa Craig, Alicante, Olivade (a plum type), Gardener's
Delight, Sultana and Santa (all cherry types).

Some I'll plant out and some I'll keep in the greenhouse -- the ones I
had outside last year were very successful. I've also had quite good
results in the greenhouse using plastic 5l containers (used for oil,
washing up liquid etc.) with the tops cut off as pots for tomatoes,
peppers and suchlike, so I'll be trying that again this year as well as
"normal" growbags.

Just need to finish putting the glazing in the new greenhouse this
weekend. It's a second-hand 12x8 I got for very little cash, but it
needs 35 new panes of 24"x18" glass that I'm picking up tomorrow.

James

Mike Lyle wrote:
Richard Brooks wrote:

Mike Lyle wrote:

[...]

I wondered about that ? My old man used to use plenty of manure in
raised soil beds but nowadays a lot of people buy those plastic bags
you cut holes in that usually contain just compost of one sort or
another. It might be worth doing a test using both on the same tomato
type.


I've never done parallel trials, but I suspect the mucky ones would be
better than the growbag ones. I certainly _want_ to believe it, anyhow.

It's worth a go anyhow! I've found that Moneymaker still tastes more
tart than anything bought in the supermarket so a big pile of poo might
do wonders.

Is it something akin to what Victor Lewis-Smith stated in one episode
of Bygones concerning kidney soup and it being the urine that helped
the flavour ? My parents used to joke about that all the time.


Bloom's breakfast kidneys in Ulysses come to mind! I'd rather my
tomatoes didn't remind me of their, er, "earthy" origins with every
mouthful!

I used to get a bit like that with home-grown salad vegetables and all
the tiny piles of poo in the middle. Were they washed properly ?



Richard.



--
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea --
massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a
source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect
it." Gene Spafford (1992)

"James Fidell" wrote in message
...
Stephen Stewart wrote:

I used to experiment with growing different types of tomatoes about 25
years ago and test them on friends and relatives.

The best reactions I ever got were in relation to the Ailsa Craig variety
which were regarded by all as having an exceptionally good flavour.

I'm attempting a similar thing this year, with different "styles" of
tomato. I have Ailsa Craig, Alicante, Olivade (a plum type), Gardener's
Delight, Sultana and Santa (all cherry types).

Some I'll plant out and some I'll keep in the greenhouse -- the ones I
had outside last year were very successful. I've also had quite good
results in the greenhouse using plastic 5l containers (used for oil,
washing up liquid etc.) with the tops cut off as pots for tomatoes,
peppers and suchlike, so I'll be trying that again this year as well as
"normal" growbags.

Just need to finish putting the glazing in the new greenhouse this
weekend. It's a second-hand 12x8 I got for very little cash, but it
needs 35 new panes of 24"x18" glass that I'm picking up tomorrow.

James

It's amazing sometimes what you an do on the cheap.

I built my first greenhouse from scrap wood and polycarbonate sheeting.

Very cheap and also effective.

I was only a kid at the time and hadn't much money to spare so grew the
tomato plants from seed.

I bought dilutable tomato feed as it was cheap and planted them directly in
grow bags instead of pots.

I know it's not recommended to do it this way but if you're stuck it's
amazing what you can get away with and still get pretty good results.

If I hadn't had so much fun experimenting back then then I probably wouldn't
get as much enjoyment from gardening as I do today.


Stephen