Tomato mystery
 

Hi - this is my first post. I'm growing tomatoes for the first time this year - I'm not a gardener! The assistant at the garden centre suggested I buy Red Alert because they do not need staking or picking out. However when I got home, after I had planted my three plants in the grow bag, I realised from the labels that I had picked up a Shirley variety by mistake. My problem is that I cannot tell which one this is - they all look the same to me. Is there any tell tale signs. Or do I just wait for the Shirley one to die given it needs to be grown under glass? It's very annoying because I'd like to replace the Shirley with another Red Alert and put the shirley in my porch instead.

"whistler-alison" wrote
Hi - this is my first post. I'm growing tomatoes for the first time this
year - I'm not a gardener! The assistant at the garden centre suggested
I buy Red Alert because they do not need staking or picking out.
However when I got home, after I had planted my three plants in the
grow bag, I realised from the labels that I had picked up a Shirley
variety by mistake. My problem is that I cannot tell which one this is
- they all look the same to me. Is there any tell tale signs. Or do I
just wait for the Shirley one to die given it needs to be grown under
glass? It's very annoying because I'd like to replace the Shirley with
another Red Alert and put the shirley in my porch instead.

(with the help of T & M's Catalogue)

Red Alert......Bush (Determinate). A superb flavoured, outdoor bush tomato
which is very early maturing and heavy yielding. The fruit are smaller than
average but have a vastly superior flavour and you can expect weights of
4-51b (1.8-2.25kg) per bush. Easy to grow with no supporting or side
shooting needed, in fact the perfect choice for an outdoor tomato. Red Alert
should not have its side shoots removed


Shirley......Cordon (Indeterminate). A popular early maturing, heavy
cropping variety for cold or slightly heated greenhouses with excellent
quality fruit. Recommended for growbag culture with an open growing habit
and resistance to TMV, Cladosporium ABC and Fusarium 1 and 2.



You won't tell which is which until they have grown a bit, the Shirley will
make a strong stem but will have side shoots and the Red Alert will tend to
bush more and have a less robust leader, fruit will be different too. With
two Red Alerts to one Shirley it should be obvious idc.

Your biggest problem is that whilst Red Alert won't need any pinching out as
it's a determinate, Shirley will as it's an indeterminate and needs growing
straight up with all side shoots pinched out, also needs it's growing tip
pinched out after 4 or 5 trusses have set fruit.

If it's a sunny sheltered spot and we have a good summer then you will
probably find the Shirley will do OK.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

Thanks for the advice, Bob. I don't mind having ago at the pinching out etc - I just didn't want to waste a plant which wasn't supposed to be grown outside. It is in the corner of my patio, which is bordered by my house and a fence so quite sheltered and approximately south facing, so hopefully it might just survive as you suggest. If it does peg out, can it be replaced at any point during the summer with a new plant or is there a point where it would be too late. Or I suppose once it becomes evident which one it is I could just replace it then - I have a warm spot in my porch for the Shirely.

One more question - it says to feed one the first fruit has "set". What does this mean - when it has first started to grow?

"whistler-alison" wrote

Thanks for the advice, Bob. I don't mind having ago at the pinching out
etc - I just didn't want to waste a plant which wasn't supposed to be
grown outside. It is in the corner of my patio, which is bordered by my
house and a fence so quite sheltered and approximately south facing, so
hopefully it might just survive as you suggest. If it does peg out, can
it be replaced at any point during the summer with a new plant or is
there a point where it would be too late. Or I suppose once it becomes
evident which one it is I could just replace it then - I have a warm
spot in my porch for the Shirely.

One more question - it says to feed one the first fruit has "set". What
does this mean - when it has first started to grow?


Personally I would just leave the Shirley where it is, the spot you have
them in sounds better than a porch. We have grown all sorts of Toms out on
our allotments in the open.
"Set" means when you can see tiny fruit taking growing from where the
flowers were.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

The message
from whistler-alison
contains these words:

Hi - this is my first post. I'm growing tomatoes for the first time this
year - I'm not a gardener! The assistant at the garden centre suggested
I buy Red Alert because they do not need staking or picking out.
However when I got home, after I had planted my three plants in the
grow bag, I realised from the labels that I had picked up a Shirley
variety by mistake. My problem is that I cannot tell which one this is
- they all look the same to me. Is there any tell tale signs. Or do I
just wait for the Shirley one to die given it needs to be grown under
glass? It's very annoying because I'd like to replace the Shirley with
another Red Alert and put the shirley in my porch instead.

Don't worry. Shirley will grow perfctly adequately outside, and I prefer
the flavour of the tomatoes on outside-grown ones.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:

Your biggest problem is that whilst Red Alert won't need any pinching
out as
it's a determinate, Shirley will as it's an indeterminate and needs growing
straight up with all side shoots pinched out, also needs it's growing tip
pinched out after 4 or 5 trusses have set fruit.

I used to grow Shirley commercially (on a small scale), and I never
pinched out the tip. True, the plants reached seven feet, but cropping
wasn't adversely affected - indeed, quite the reverse.

However, my greenhouse was treated in the winter with several
hundredweight of goat and rabbit manure...

If it's a sunny sheltered spot and we have a good summer then you will
probably find the Shirley will do OK.

Hope so - I've five outside already.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Thanks for your help and reassuance. At least I'll have a bit of variety now anyway.