Friday, 30 May 2008

Tomato Varieties This Season

I normally grow around forty plants each season which includes about fifteen different varieties.
However, earlier in the year I got a bit carried away! Here is a list of this season's varieties:

Bush

New Yorker
Oregon Spring
Tumbling Tom
Pepolino F1
Micro Tom
Minibel (pot)
Garden Pearl
Alaskan Fancy
Siberian
Roma

Cordon (tall)

Suncherry Premium F1
Jelly Bean Hybrid
Brandywine (Sudduth's)
Caspian Pink
Ferline F1
Glacier (semi-determinate)
Cuore di Bue
Sungella
Moneymaker
Black Cherry
Marmande
Gardener's Delight
Alicante
Golden Sunrise
Tamina

The problem was, just when I reached the point where I could not grow anymore, my neighbour turned up with more seedlings and I just could not refuse them!

Anyway, I am growing a number of these varieties for the first time and will enjoy watching the individual characteristics of each as they develop.

Since I started growing tomatoes, about twenty years ago, I am continually amazed by how different one variety can be from another.
Some like it hot (usually the Italian varieties), but others don't like to sit in the hot, direct sun all day (those that originate in cooler climes like Siberia!) but would rather have some shade.
Some set their fruit (pollinate) at lower temperatures than others such as Glacier and Siberian (perhaps their names give it away!), while others are very fussy and require long periods of good weather before they start to perform.

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