I have to say that I am having the best crop ever of Gardeners Delight
toms, especially the ones in the greenhouse, they are so sweet and cropping
heavily. The 'spares' I planted outside are nowhere near as tasty and are
obviously behind the greenhouse ones.

I grow the greenhouse ones in pots in gravel trays, watering from the
bottom, (rain water only) then feed weekly from the top. The outside ones,
along with the other veg, are watered from the tap on a watering system,
apart from when it rains. I personally feel that the rainwater is the
secret of the taste, but maybe others have different opinions on that?

Regards
Ros



Chichester
West Sussex, UK.

In message , Pam Moore
writes
On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 22:57:12 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

I'm the least likely member of this group to discuss food growing but has
anyone else noticed that tomatoes are watery and flavourless this year? Our
are grown in large pots in a mix of soil and compost, in a large glass
house. Each year, until this one, they have tasted sublime. This year they
ripened late, cropped poorly and taste of nothing much at all. ;-(

Mine are delicious!! Grown in the open on my allotment, but this year
I am cuttiing them green, and ripening them on trays at home because I
am so worried about blight, which has not yet srrived! As soon as a
truss begins to colour I pick them. Today I even picked some quite
green.
The skins are slightly tough, but this is because they have been grown
hard, and not had as mucn water as previous years,9 because I can no
longer drive and rely on lifts). The flavour is excellent. (assorted
varieties)
Cannot compare with those grown under glass as I have no greenhouse.

Pam in Bristol

I've not grown toms before this year, and am quite happy to treat this
as a learning year and not get much crop. As part of that I think I may
have lost a couple of plants due to blight. Are the symptoms blackening
leaves and the fruits go black from the bottom upwards? I also lost a
couple of plants, but that was my fault for using too small pots :-(
Live and learn. Next year growbags. :-)

--
Mike Buckley
RD350LC2
http://www.toastyhamster.freeserve.co.uk
BONY#38

"Tracey" wrote in
:




This year is the very first time I've grown my own veg and my
tomatoes, grown outside in our allotment, taste wonderful. I'm
particularly pleased with the Gardener's Delight crop. Maybe they
taste so good because I'm used to supermarket toms!

Tracey



Just to add to the catalog, 10 hanging baskets, 5 Tom Thumb (superb), 5
Tumbler (not as good, only ripening now). I think the rain was just right
for the hanging baskets which tend to dry out otherwise. Yes, I'm a lazy
tomato grower! Only secret ingredient is homemade Comfrey liquid feed.

Geoff

In article , mike.
buckley writes
I've not grown toms before this year, and am quite happy to treat this
as a learning year and not get much crop. As part of that I think I may
have lost a couple of plants due to blight. Are the symptoms blackening
leaves and the fruits go black from the bottom upwards? I also lost a
couple of plants, but that was my fault for using too small pots :-(
Live and learn. Next year growbags. :-)

You may also have blight, but what you are describing is bottom end rot.
That is not a disease, but an outcome of irregular or erratic watering.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

In message , Alan Gould
writes
In article , mike.
buckley writes
I've not grown toms before this year, and am quite happy to treat this
as a learning year and not get much crop. As part of that I think I may
have lost a couple of plants due to blight. Are the symptoms blackening
leaves and the fruits go black from the bottom upwards? I also lost a
couple of plants, but that was my fault for using too small pots :-(
Live and learn. Next year growbags. :-)

You may also have blight, but what you are describing is bottom end rot.
That is not a disease, but an outcome of irregular or erratic watering.

Aha, another lesson learned, hopefully with growbags next year they
won't dry out so fast. The spot they're in now gets so hot in full sun
that the pots can dry out while I'm at work.

--
Mike Buckley
RD350LC2
http://www.toastyhamster.freeserve.co.uk
BONY#38