hard tomatoes
 

Has anyone had the same trouble as I have this season I am talking about the greenhouse tomatoes having a tougher skin than normal the crop has been good except for the skins being tough

Mine have been quite tough. It hasn't worried me, but my son complained that if he tried to bite the end off, the contents ejected at high speed from the stalk end!

Since I've not grown this variety before (unknown random seedlings from supermarket tom) I've no idea whetehr it's normal or not. Presumably the parent wasn't thick skinned, since supermarket tomatoes usually are not.

hard tomatoes
 

Billit wrote:
Has anyone had the same trouble as I have this season I am talking about
the greenhouse tomatoes having a tougher skin than normal the crop has
been good except for the skins being tough

Tough skin, I believe, indicates cold weather. Was your greenhouse subject
to (prolonged) late frosts? Outdoor tomatoes normally have tougher skins.

Many supermarket tomatoes are hybrids, in which case it would not have bred true. Tomato seeds are cheap, and only need to be bought once. Buy recognised non-hybrid varieties with the properties you want, and then you can keep the seed and grow them again.

hard tomatoes
 

On Sep 14, 4:37*pm, wrote:
Billit wrote:
Has anyone had the same trouble as I have this season I am talking about
the greenhouse tomatoes having a tougher skin than normal the crop has
been good except for the skins being tough

Tough skin, I believe, indicates cold weather. *Was your greenhouse subject
to (prolonged) late frosts? *Outdoor tomatoes normally have tougher skins.

Or drought.

Yes, I know, and you might have seen on another thread I explained why I was growing these, and described the variation in the offspring. I was merely commenting that I too had thicker skinned tomatoes than I normally did, but that because of the origin I didn't know whether this was the variety (as in the variety of the offspring, named variety or otherwise) or the growing conditions.

hard tomatoes
 

Sacha wrote in :

On 2011-09-14 16:34:35 +0100, kay
said:


Billit;936520 Wrote:
Has anyone had the same trouble as I have this season I am talking
about the greenhouse tomatoes having a tougher skin than normal the
crop has been good except for the skins being tough

Mine have been quite tough. It hasn't worried me, but my son
complained that if he tried to bite the end off, the contents ejected
at high speed from the stalk end!

Since I've not grown this variety before (unknown random seedlings
from supermarket tom) I've no idea whetehr it's normal or not.
Presumably the parent wasn't thick skinned, since supermarket
tomatoes usually are not.

This prompted me to remember that, in my childhood, I recall my mother
skinning tomatoes by quartering them and running a knife between flesh
and skin - none of that dipping them in boiling water stuff. My
favourite picnic sandwiches of egg and tomato will always be
associated with that mental picture! I have no idea which variety
they were, except that, as we lived then in Guernsey, I expect they
were the then famous 'Guernsey Toms' ;-) But this makes me wonder
if 'old' varieties had these tougher skins that would allow such
treatment and if they didn't, why bother to skin them? And was that
because they were locally grown in glass houses in a British climate
(even the warmer one of the CIs) rather than the more exotic origins
of tomatoes sold now in supermarkets? This would have been in the
late 1950s, early 1960s.

Parhaps it's a matter of taste and convenience as I have no greenhouse as
such but there is nothing better in the tomato world than the outdoor
variety of cherry tomatoes IME. Gardeners Delight is popular.
They are small enough to eat whole or cut up in a salad, even fried or
juiced. The taste is out of this world.
True they have tough skins but both ends of the thing will be in the mouth
when they eject the contents.
I wonder how cherry toms would do in a greenhouse? Earlier than normal and
with softer skins?

Baz

hard tomatoes
 

Baz wrote:
I wonder how cherry toms would do in a greenhouse? Earlier than normal and
with softer skins?

I grow GD both in and outdoor, and I have to be honest, I've never noticed a
difference in the skin. Taste the same, and sometimes the outdoor ones even
beat the indoor for speed. But the indoor ones keep cropping for longer.

hard tomatoes
 

Sacha wrote in :

On 2011-09-15 17:46:15 +0100, Baz said:

Sacha wrote in
:

We grow Tumbler in hanging baskets for ourselves and for customers who
buy the baskets but we prefer 'real' tomatoes, on the whole. They're
grown in a greenhouse and I wouldn't say the skins are at all tough
but as we only grow them under glass, I have no comparison point.

Sasha,
When you say 'real' tomatoes, do they taste as good as "Gardeners Delight",
or are they just bigger and not so tasty?

I ask this because if I need to I can erect a greenhouse I have (in pieces
to erect as it is reclaimed)

If 'real' tomatoes are so tasty, I have a good reason or 'excuse' to take
up room for it.

If so which varieties for taste, not volume, would you suggest?

Thanks
Baz

hard tomatoes
 

wrote in
:

Baz wrote:
I wonder how cherry toms would do in a greenhouse? Earlier than
normal and with softer skins?

I grow GD both in and outdoor, and I have to be honest, I've never
noticed a difference in the skin. Taste the same, and sometimes the
outdoor ones even beat the indoor for speed. But the indoor ones keep
cropping for longer.

vicky,
How much longer?
I am in 2 minds whether or not to erect a reclaimed greenhouse I have.

Thanks
Baz

hard tomatoes
 

Baz wrote:
When you say 'real' tomatoes, do they taste as good as "Gardeners Delight",
or are they just bigger and not so tasty?

I ask this because if I need to I can erect a greenhouse I have (in pieces
to erect as it is reclaimed)

If 'real' tomatoes are so tasty, I have a good reason or 'excuse' to take
up room for it.

If so which varieties for taste, not volume, would you suggest?

IMHO, as with potatoes, tomato preference has to be via trial and error, as
everyone likes different things. I love GD as a snack, but to put on
sandwiches I like a variety so I can play around with different ones. If I
find a large tomato I like as much as GD I'll increase the number of those I
grow.

hard tomatoes
 

Baz wrote:
I grow GD both in and outdoor, and I have to be honest, I've never
noticed a difference in the skin. Taste the same, and sometimes the
outdoor ones even beat the indoor for speed. But the indoor ones keep
cropping for longer.
How much longer?

Ask me in a month or so. It's been a funny year, but I think they will keep
going for a while yet. Some of the later plants still have flowers, which I
am told to take off at this time of year, but I'm pretty sure there's still
plenty of time to get them to ripe, if they don't get blighted first.

I think probably mid to end of October is when I tend to have the plants
start to give up. I think I've managed to get green ones in November, but
not fully ripe.

But as I say, my memory is flaky, I'll try and keep note for you this year!

hard tomatoes
 

wrote in
:

Baz wrote:
When you say 'real' tomatoes, do they taste as good as "Gardeners
Delight", or are they just bigger and not so tasty?

I ask this because if I need to I can erect a greenhouse I have (in
pieces to erect as it is reclaimed)

If 'real' tomatoes are so tasty, I have a good reason or 'excuse' to
take up room for it.

If so which varieties for taste, not volume, would you suggest?

IMHO, as with potatoes, tomato preference has to be via trial and
error, as everyone likes different things. I love GD as a snack, but
to put on sandwiches I like a variety so I can play around with
different ones. If I find a large tomato I like as much as GD I'll
increase the number of those I grow.


vicky,
Tomatoes are abundant at this time of year and I have tasted other peoples
produce and none of them taste of much. Bland. They all grow GD as well.
I ought to have asked which variety if only to avoid, but I didn't much to
my annoyance, but I still can.

In winter I buy cherry ones from supermarkets rather than the larger ones.
Admittedly it takes longer to make a sandwich and more skin but well worth
the effort.

Thanks
Baz

hard tomatoes
 

wrote in
:

Baz wrote:
I grow GD both in and outdoor, and I have to be honest, I've never
noticed a difference in the skin. Taste the same, and sometimes the
outdoor ones even beat the indoor for speed. But the indoor ones
keep cropping for longer.
How much longer?

Ask me in a month or so. It's been a funny year, but I think they
will keep going for a while yet. Some of the later plants still have
flowers, which I am told to take off at this time of year, but I'm
pretty sure there's still plenty of time to get them to ripe, if they
don't get blighted first.

I think probably mid to end of October is when I tend to have the
plants start to give up. I think I've managed to get green ones in
November, but not fully ripe.

But as I say, my memory is flaky, I'll try and keep note for you this
year!


Thanks vicky,
I will remind you.

The more I think of it I am warming to the idea of putting up this
greenhouse. Just finding the right spot for it and nicking a bit here and
there. It's a squeeze in our quite small garden.

I find that putting green tomatoes in a dark place ripens them, rather than
light or sunlight. I have tried all but dark wins hands down.

Thanks again
Baz

hard tomatoes
 

Sacha wrote in :

Sasha,
When you say 'real' tomatoes, do they taste as good as "Gardeners
Delight", or are they just bigger and not so tasty?

I think the cherry types are a lot sweeter but - to us - not as
tomato-ey.

I ask this because if I need to I can erect a greenhouse I have (in
pieces to erect as it is reclaimed)

If 'real' tomatoes are so tasty, I have a good reason or 'excuse' to
take up room for it.

If so which varieties for taste, not volume, would you suggest?

Thanks
Baz

Oh you'll get a host of answers to that because it's so much a matter
of preference. Ray always recommends Ailsa Craig and I'll ask him
about others. I'm such a tomato freak I'll eat any of them! One of
the girls here grew some Marmande and they were delicious but all
taste better with lots of sun and a chance to soak it up. If you can
manage to keep your greenhouse, I certainly would!


Sacha,
I hear you loud and clear, I am also a tomato freak.

Perhaps what I should have asked is which varieties to avoid, as in bland.

I can't see the point in growing tasteless toms, just because they look
like toms. Are you with me?

Yes! Ailsa Craig are lovely and I remember having them from my uncle years
ago as a lad. He always had a greenhouse full of them and we had them from
breakfast until supper, in season.

My son and I have decided today(just now in fact), because of information
from you and other users of this newsgroup to get the greenhouse up and
glazed before he goes off on his 'course', and before the winds really set
in.

Thanks for the Ailsa C. reminder, I had forgotten.
Baz