Showing posts with label Tomato. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tomato. Show all posts

Saturday 16 May 2015

Tomatoes.

I bought plants and ready to plant!

'Black Russian' - a large, dark skinned variety
‘Golden Crown’ - An early-maturing cherry tomato producing sweet, yellow fruit.
‘F1 Peardrops’ - Peardrops is a yellow fruited trailing variety with highly attractive pear shaped fruit and a delicious flavour. Peardrops is a traditional green shouldered variety that has a good flavour balance of sweetness and acidity. Plants are useful for planting in mixed baskets and containers or even hanging baskets.
F1 Peardrops - Tomato Trailing | Vegetalis:

Tomatoes. By James Wong.

Tomatoes - James Wong | Official Site:
"Unbelievably, spraying a dilute solution of aspirin onto your tomato plants (we are talking half a soluble tablet per litre of water) is capable of causing their sugar content to soar one and a half times and boost their Vitamin C content 50%.

This treatment can even make your plants more resistant to cold, drought and (not that we'll ever need it in the UK) heat stress too. According to one trial this can even result in a 47% less incidence of late blight, the scourge of tomato growers,
This works as aspirin is a close chemical copy of the plant stress hormone, salicylic acid, which turns on the genes that regulate their defence systems.

The more stress a plant 'thinks' it is under, the more sugars are redirected to the developing fruit in a bid to make them irresistable to passing animals. Plants do this to ensure their seeds have the maximum chance of being dispersed to save the next generation, but it conveniently makes for tastier salad too."
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- Невероятно, опрыскивание раствором аспирина растений томата - помидора (растворить половину таблетки на литр воды) способно повысить содержание сахара в них в полтора раза и повысить содержание витамина С на 50%!

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Thursday 5 September 2013

Friday 9 August 2013

Tomato.

Celebrate the tomato - Telegraph: "Best for outdoors Suttons' tomato 'Orkado F1' was voted Best Tomato For Growing Outdoors by Which? Gardening. 'Orkado' yielded 17lb of medium-sized fruit from one growbag and its resistance to splitting and slicing qualities were also praised."

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Saturday 27 July 2013

Lower Lovetts Farm. Richard Sandford.

BBC Two - Gardeners' World, 2012, Episode 25:
"Monty was certainly impressed by the quality of Richard Sandford’s organic tomatoes. So what’s the secret of his success? Here are a few tips from the man himself.

All of Richard’s plants are grown in 25cm (10in) terracotta pots half-filled with his own compost. The pots are placed directly onto the sandy floor of his polytunnel where the roots are allowed to grow through the drainage holes in the bottom. Half-filling the pots means that there is a plenty of room for water to drain through. Pots are spaced 30cm (12in) apart to ensure good air circulation.

Richard also likes to train his plants at an angle to reduce the risk of the leaves being splashed by water. It also allows the fruit to hang down away from their support which, in turn, makes them less likely to be damaged.

Now, for the feeding. Monty was clearly surprised that Richard fed his plants every day. This requires some dedication! And furthermore, he makes all three feeds himself! Nettle feed is high in nitrogen and is used to boost leaf growth at the start of the season. Comfrey feed, on the other hand, is rich in potash and so is best applied when the plants start to fruit. Towards the end of August, when the fruit is in its prime, Richard switches to a daily feed of liquid wood ash. This is very alkaline and will eventually turn the leaves yellow, but what a small price to pay for such magnificent fruit! To make it, he simply steeps some wood ash in a bucket of water for three weeks and gives it a daily stir. The liquid is then drained off and any sediment allowed to settle. The liquid concentrate is then bottled and used at a dilution rate of 1 in 50. The wood ash itself must not come from wood that has been painted or treated with preservative."

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Tomato blight.

Alys Fowler: Tomato blight, plus the June drop | The Guardian:
- Try to keep leaves dry with some kind of shelter when the weather is wet for more than a day or two.
- Keep outside tomatoes sheltered from the rain if possible – plants hate wet leaves.
- Sometimes over feeding can be an issue, so feeding little and often is another way to keep plants healthy.
- A better approach is to breed tomatoes that won’t succumb to the disease.
- Grow resistant varieties such as: Potatoes 'Axona' or 'Mira' and Tomato 'Ferline','Legend' and 'Fantasio'.

All that said, there is hope for outdoor growers. A wilder Mexican tomato called Matt's Wild Cherry shows signs of resistance; another is Koralik, a sprawling bush tomato (the type where you don't have to pinch out side shoots) closely related to Matt's. Both have tiny cherry tomatoes.

Ferline and Legend are F1 cordons (the type where you do pinch out the side shoots) that were bred in Oregon, where blight is a common problem. They are not immune to blight, but are very early fruiting, so you get a tomato salad or two before your chutney-making begins.

Poor air circulation compounds the problem, so if your plants are in pots, give them plenty of space; in the ground, aim for 1-1.5m apart. There is some anecdotal evidence that a solution of 50/50 milk and water sprayed weekly helps to keep the spores at bay. And feed pot plants weekly with comfrey or liquid seaweed, to keep the plants' strength up.
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Tomato ‘Legend
This particular variety was bred in the USA by Dr. Jim Baggett at Oregon State University. In recent tests ‘Legend’ had shown impressive blight tolerance, and in particular during trials in a ‘garden’ situation. It produces large, glossy red fruits with an expected crop of up to 6lbs per plant. The fruit have a slightly flatter shape compared to the norm and come almost completely seedless. Fortunately for most gardeners, best results are produced when the plants were grown outdoors but they are also perfectly fine for growing under glass. They have an excellent flavour and should be sown 6-8 weeks before expected lasts frosts - in the United Kingdom this will be any time from March onwards.

Tomato ‘FERLINE’ F1 Hybrid
Not only has this new variety shown excellent tolerance to ‘Late Blight’, it has also proven itself to be highly resistant against both fusarium wilt and verticillium wilt. As with the new ‘Legend’ cultivar, ‘Ferline’ has also tested extremely well in garden trials. It produces heavy crops – up to 5lbs per plant – of flavoursome, deep red fruits. Although it does well sown outdoors ‘Ferline’ is also suitable for growing under glass.

Tomato ‘FANTASIO’ F1 Hybrid
This is a deliciously flavoured variety that has also trialled well in the garden situation against ‘Late Blight’ infection. In fact it has also shown good resistance to Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Verticilium wilt, Fusarium Wilts, and nematodes too. Tomato ‘Fantastico will bear you a good crop of round fruits, with each plant producing up to around 6lbs of tomatoes.
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Thursday 27 June 2013

The varieties of tomatoes.

There are two basic types of tomato
The first are called ‘Determinate’ or Bush types.
The second type are called ‘Indeterminate’ commonly called Cordon or Vine tomatoes.
Cooking
Jersey Devil*
Romany Striped

'Normal'
(For me that's (1) not large (2) Not too dark (black/purple) in color. I do not grow Supermarket type tomatoes i.e. red golf ball size)

Tomatoes blight.

Try growing cultivars such
as 'Ferline', 'Legend' and 'Fantasio', which have some blight resistance.
All that said, there is hope for outdoor growers. A wilder Mexican tomato called Matt's Wild Cherry shows signs of resistance; another is Koralik, a sprawling bush tomato (the type where you don't have to pinch out side shoots) closely related to Matt's. Both have tiny cherry tomatoes.

Ferline and Legend are F1 cordons (the type where you do pinch out the side shoots) that were bred in Oregon, where blight is a common problem. They are not immune to blight, but are very early fruiting, so you get a tomato salad or two before your chutney-making begins.

Poor air circulation compounds the problem, so if your plants are in pots, give them plenty of space; in the ground, aim for 1-1.5m apart. There is some anecdotal evidence that a solution of 50/50 milk and water sprayed weekly helps to keep the spores at bay. And feed pot plants weekly with comfrey or liquid seaweed, to keep the plants' strength up.

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Tomatoes.

Seeds - Simpson’s, Plants of Distinction, Tamar, Plant World Seeds gardens.
- Unfortunately with some of the best tomatoes you cannot buy organic seed so only from the second year of my own growing can they be considered truly organic.
- end of February or the start of March is about right for sowing.
The seed trays are put in a propagator and the plants are pricked out into 9cm terracotta pots when the third leaf appears.
Feeding starts intermittently then, (see web site for Liquid feeds) until the end of May when they are planted out into 30 cm (12 inches) terracotta pots in the main polytunnel.
From here on in they get my standard feed every day.
- The reason I only fill the pots half full with compost is I want to ‘stress’ the plant. Plants that are stressed often produce their best fruit in a last ditch effort of life. This stressing is not easy and requires a little practice as it can be a fine balance between success and failure and it is very easy to end up with small yellow tomato plants. The feed has to be constant and of a good quality so that the plant actually flourishes rather than dies. Stressing is a bit of a knack but CAN produce great fruit.
- I remove the bottom leaves only to get them out of the way so as not to splash water on them when watering. Tomato blight needs wet leaves to enter the plant and so by not wetting any of the leaves you have a very good chance of not getting blight later on. You needn’t do this if you are really careful with watering.
- After final repotting and once the compost has settled down I cover it with some fine OLD wood chips.
That’s about it for the preparation. Now it is just keeping up the watering and feeding.

Apart from my home made potting compost I only use the three feeds mentioned on the web site under Liquid Feeds.
Once I start watering I add ONE of these liquid feeds every day.
- To start with I use the nettle juice daily. This carries on until the end of June.
- July will be mostly comfrey but towards the end I will progress to Wood Ash.
In all the plants are fed like this every day for 3 months.

Watering
- On a hot day in June or July a 2 gallon watering can is sufficient for 8 plants watered around mid day.
- If the weather is exceptional I will go round again in the late afternoon (as the water will be hot again by then) with plain hot water at perhaps a 2 gallon watering can will do 12 to 16 plants.
- On overcast days if it’s raining I may just give them a splash at midday.
If my terracotta pots start turning green (even the tiniest amount) then I’m over watering, if the top of the compost is dry then I’m under watering.
do not put any of the plants on the compost heap, I throw the plants away..
Author - Richard Sandford- Lower Lovetts Farm.
" Kumato seeds are not available commercially, and the company that produces Kumato, Syngenta, has said they will never make the seeds available to the public.
As you can imagine, this announcement generated a large amount of interest in the Kumato and its possible lineage. While most likely a hybrid, some have speculated that it is an OP variety. In case you have not heard of Kumato, it is a "black" tomato introduced last year available only in Europe and Australia that is supposed to have a good shelf life. From its incredible sales last year in Sainsbury's grocery stores (the only stores to sell the Kumato), it was a very popular introduction. "

Sunday 16 June 2013

Tomato.

Plant tomato seedlings in spring for one of the best tastes of summer, fresh from your backyard:
I have the best way of growing small sweet tomatoes ever! (actually, I learned how from Jerry Baker)
So, it goes like this:
Dig a hole thigh-deep..yes, that deep! (about 20-24 diameter).
Cut a piece of 2" pvc pipe that once in the hole, still comes up to a comfortable height to stick the water hose in w/out having to bend over too far. (great for us w/knee problems!)
Leave in hole, at an angle (not straight up and down) Now, add 1/2 bag chopped corn cobs (from your local feed store)(no can do/find? use 1/2 of bag hay pellets---we're talking 50 pound bags) in the hole, leaving the pvc pipe in.
Now add 1/2 bag steer manure on top of chopped cobs, mixing the other 1/2 bag steer manure w/the dirt from the hole.
Add this mixture on top of what's already in hole, fill to top of hole...now, scoop w/hands, 3 holes in a triangle, (over the hole you've dug) for 3 tomato plants---making sure the holes are deep enough that roots are straight down, not curled.
Arrange the dirt to mound slightly away from plant's main trunk.
Taking 1/2 of a "hog panel" (from the local feed store), and using plastic zip ties, connect the 2 ends together (of just 1/2 a panel! Don't use both halves!)---which makes a big "cage". (share the other 1/2 hog panel or, if you are raising toms for profit, make another hole as above) Center middle of cage over the plants in hole.....carefully letting pvc pipe stick thru a square at correct height (Do not pull out!) .... using tent stakes, secure cage to ground. Now, for the amaZing part! Stick water hose in pvc pipe and turn on the water----ONLY until the water bubbles slightly on top of ground! STOP immediately!
Water ONLY down the pvc pipe! No more sprinklers! Every year I do this, I get thousands of the best tasting tomatoes----plenty to share!
This cage will be completly filled w/sturdy tomatoes---I'll try and post the pic showing that it gets 5 foot tall, and of course, no way can you fit your arms around half of the support cage. Once in awhile, you may have to help gently move a "limb" thru a hole in cage support.
Once a week, I add 2 TBL Miracle Grow in the pipe, b4 adding the water hose....remember----ONLY WATER UNTIL YOU SEE THE SLIGHTEST BUBBLING COMING TO SURFACE.
Water according to your local weather----a lil more in dry states, not as often in humid areas.
My cousin in Arkansas did this for the first time last year, and could'nt believe how many thousands of the best tasting toms she'd ever grown! (I live in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, just at the edge of where the evergreens stop and the desert starts)
Happy Gardening!

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Tuesday 19 March 2013

Tomato. Classification.


Tomato Outdoor Girl | Out of my shed:
Classification #1: Heirloom or Hybrid

Classification #2: Determinate or indeterminate
Determinate varieties of tomatoes, also called "bush" tomatoes. (cordon or bush)
Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes are also called "vining" tomatoes.
Classification #3: Shape
Globe tomatoes: the most heavily commercially-cultivated fruit
Beefsteak tomatoes: the biggest fruit
Paste tomatoes: thick-walled fruit, used to make sauces
Cherry tomatoes: smallest fruit
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Here's a quick reference:

• If you need disease-resistance, use hybrids, since most disease-resistant varieties have been developed since 1945 as hybrids.
• If you want to use seedlings from your local supermarket or nursery, you'll probably have hybrids.
• If you want standard round, red tomatoes or cherry-tomatoes, hybrids are fine.
BUT,
• If you want to be able to plant seeds from the tomatoes you grow and get a plant just like the one you started with, use heirlooms.
• If you want tomatoes like the ones Grandma grew, use heirlooms.
• If you want weird, wonderful, really different tomatoes -- purple or pink tomatoes for instance -- you'll only find this kind of variety amongst the heirlooms.
• If you want the very best in flavor, many gardeners swear by heirlooms.
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Types of Tomatoes:

Select one or two things that can function as a "bottom line," and base your choice of varieties on these.

- Do you need all your tomatoes to ripen in mid-August, when you have a week off work to can them? (Then you need a determinate variety and, if you live in a climate with a short summer, you'll need an early starter which was planted sometime in February or March.)

- Do you have only a couple of barrels or baskets to grow them? Then the key is a variety that can grow in a confined space.

- Does your patio only get sun in the afternoon? You'll need a variety that will tolerate shade.

- Do you have a long but cool growing season? Try one of the varieties listed on this site under Cooler Climates.

Take these key points to a sympathetic, knowledgeable nurseryman, and leave with the plants he hands you.
- On determinate plants, let suckers grow. On indeterminates, decide how many "main" stems you want, and pinch off all suckers after you've got that number on each plant. For larger (but fewer) fruit, limit the number of stems.
- Prevent blossom end rot by keeping the soil evenly moist and by adding a tablespoon of Epsom salts to the hole at planting time. Calcium will also help prevent this problem.
- Plant tomatoes on their side (horizontally in a trench) .

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Friday 1 June 2012

Tomato.

We bought Santini Tomatoes from M & S- a packet of Red and Yellow Santini tomatoes (1.99)
I just scooped mine out of the tomato, gave them a quick rinse and sowed them straight away.
100% germination.
I also regularly have tomatoes growing in my home-made compost which is used for mulching.

Seeds Tomato Sub Arctic Plenty

Seeds Tomato Sub Arctic Plenty: "Lycopersicon esculentum Sub Arctic Plenty also known as Worlds Earliest. One of the earliest tomatoes, compact plants produce lots of medium to large 4-6oz red fruits. It is one of the best varieties for cool growing conditions and will set fruit at lower temperatures than most. Determinate (Bush). 42 days"

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Wednesday 14 September 2011

Что любят и не любят томаты.

- Никогда не высаживайте растения томатов в тени.
- Никогда не загущайте растения томатов.
Лучше всего высаживать их в один ряд на расстоянии 45 см на грядке шириной 90-100 см.
Если же вы хотите высаживать рассаду в два ряда, то ширина грядок должна быть не менее 120 см, оставляя между растениями не менее 50 см.
- Никогда не заливайте водой почву по всей площади грядок.
В противном случае корневая система без поступления к ней кислорода из воздуха будет задыхаться, что отрицательно сказывается на обеспечении надземной части растений питательными веществами.
Лучше делать недалеко от стеблей (на длину корней растений) бороздки глубиной 10 см, в которые при необходимости вносите растворенные питательные вещества и влагу.
- совет по количеству органических и минеральных удобрений:
положить 1-2 стакана перегноя, т.е. навоза, срок которому не менее 5-ти лет, 1 ст. ложку суперфосфата и полстакана золы.

Friday 9 September 2011

Green Tomato-Apple Chutney | David Lebovitz

Green Tomato-Apple Chutney

Four jars (about 1 quart, 1l)

I did try peeling the tomatoes first, dropping them in boiling water for a few minutes, thinking the skins might be tough. But the skins refused to budge, so I took it as a sign they weren’t meant to be peeled. In the finished chutney, they’d softened nicely so my concerns were unfounded. If you don’t have shallots, use one red onion, thinly sliced.

To make sure to stir continuously during the last few minutes of cooking, just to make sure nothing burns as the chutney turns jam-like. I’d didn’t preserve them in jars using any canning method, figuring I’d eat it within a month or so. If you want, there’s a link at the end of the recipe for more information about canning chutney.