Choosing The Tastiest Tomatoes

Perhaps the main reason why we grow tomatoes is for the taste. There's no doubt that a home grown tomato is a treat for the taste buds.

However, some home grown varieties taste better, or are sweeter than others.

The sweetness of a tomato is measured on the Brix scale. For example, Gardener's Delight has a rating of 7.0 and Sweet Million rates at 7.1.

There are varieties that rate higher including Sungold at 9.3 and Rosada at an amazing 10.5!

Of course there's more to tomato taste than sugar content alone. Gardener's Delight is well known for having a good balance of sugar and acid which enhances it's traditional flavour.

I guess that a high sugar Brix rating with an acceptable amount of acid content should produce an excellent flavour.

Here's a list of varieties and their Brix rating worth trying this season.

Three of my favourite varieties for taste are Piccolo, Sungold and Black Cherry (left) which I grew last season.

As always, I shall be trying new varieties and definitely ones from the list with a high Brix rating.

Last Season - This Season

Last season was the best tomato growing season I've had for about six years. The wet weather stayed away and there was plenty of sunshine - very unusual for a summer in the UK!

Instead of blight and the numerous other diseases caused by damp weather and cold conditions, stress caused by high temperatures and supplying enough water was the main concern.

Container growing has come on in "leaps and bounds" with the introduction of air pots and smart pots that allow much more oxygen into the roots than a conventional plastic pot or container.

This allows plants to grow with more vigour and reach maturity sooner - especially if watered and fed consistently.

So last season was spent optimising growing conditions rather than struggling against the weather.

I guess the challenge is being ready for whatever the weather throws at us!

Let's hope that the season ahead (2014), is as good for growing tomatoes as last season was.

The Tomato Newsletter begins again in February 2014.

Tomato Newsletter

The Tomato Newsletter has just started again.

With a new season just around the corner, Nick has updated the Tomato Growing website and is including information about some of the latest growing devices.

Air pots and fabric pots are a great aid to providing more oxygen in the root zone of tomato plants and consequently a more successful result.

Propagation has its new items too with sowing seeds in sponges that provide an excellent ratio of moisture and air for healthy root growth.

If you aren't receiving Nick's Tomato Growing Newsletter, you can sign-up here.

Lots more posts to come at Tomato Daily as we approach the new season!

What Is Blossom Drop?

Blossom drop happens when a tomato plant aborts its flowers. as in the photo below.

 This can happen for a number of reasons but the most regular cause is because the flowers fail to pollinate.

This happens when the air is too dry or too humid and the pollen finds it difficult to find its way to the ovary in the flower.

The way to help avoid blossom drop is to shake flowers and stems. It is also a good idea to hold something that vibrates, such as a toothbrush against the stems and flowers to simulate the affect that a bee has when it helps pollen move within a tomato plant's flower.

It is frustrating when an entire truss of flowers fails to pollinate and set fruit, so keep shaking those plants, stems and flowers!

More information about blossom drop may be found here.

First Tomatoes Of The Season

The first tomatoes to ripen this season in my pollytunnel are Red Alert. These are cherry tomatoes grown in containers and are a bush variety.

Red Alert is one of the easiest varieties to grow, and if you live in a short season area, is one of the most reliable and quickest tomatoes to grow - especially if the weather is poor.

Red Alert - one of the easiest varieties to grow.

Another reason why I like to grow Red Alert is because the flowers set fruit easily and early in the season. Some varieties can take ages from when the flowers first appear to when they fade away and the small pea-like tomatoes show.

If you haven't grown Red Alert tomatoes, I would recommend that you give them a try!

Watering Tomatoes

Roots need moisture and air to grow successfully – too much water in the soil on a regular basis will reduce growth and encourage diseases.

 A good root structure is achieved with a balance of both moisture and air.

Try to keep soil just moist is the usual advice. 

Another method is to give the soul a good watering, then let it almost dry-out before watering again.

It's important that there is some moisture in the soil at all times because roots cannot absorb nutrients if the soil is bone dry.

Tomato plants need different amount of water depending on the temperature, whether or not they are fruiting and how many leaves a plant has - the more leaves the more water that's required.

Tomato Seeds & Varieties

For me, this is the most exciting time of the season - choosing which tomato varieties to grow this summer and I always end up with too many plants!

• Bush varieties for large containers
• Tall varieties for grow bags and the greenhouse
• Hybrid varieties for vigour and yield
• Heirloom tomatoes for taste and history and tradition
• Cherry tomatoes for hanging baskets and salads
• Medium to large varieties for slicing and sandwiches
• Red, yellow, orange, pink, green, white and black tomatoes for colour
• All shapes and sizes including plum tomatoes for the barbecue and frying 

The problem is ... I don't have enough room to grow all of these types - but I'll try to squeeze in as many as I can!

In my part of the world, sowing begins in earnest at the end of March and beginning of April but I've already sown lots and have plenty of seedlings growing - I can't stop myself!