And so it begins: my annual mission to grow tomatoes
outdoors, without the protection of a greenhouse, on my allotment.
An exercise fraught with danger and tinged with the hope of achieving the holy grail of delicious ripe tomatoes.
Last year was a bit of a write-off. Very late frosts in June turned my young charges crispy, and although they recovered, the damage was done. With two new cold frames in my armoury, I have high hopes of preventing a repeat performance.
And so, on Sunday evening, far too late for any non-obsessed person to start such an enterprise, I decided to start sowing tomato seeds. A quick perusal of my cardboard seedbox and rather snazzier Lee Valley lever arch file seed keeper, it soon dawned on me that I had far more seeds than I needed. In case you are in any doubt about the veracity ofthat statement, please peruse the list below:
1. Gardeners Delight - the old faithful cherry tomato. A
must-have
2. Whippersnapper - no idea about this one, aside from the fact that it's from this year's Heritage
Seed Library haul
3. Sub Arctic Plenty - ditto: this was my "lucky
dip" item from the HSL so I have no reason to know anything about its
provenance. From the name, though, I have high hopes for it thriving in the
possibly sub-Arctic surrounds of a home
counties allotment
4. OxHeart - this one came as a gift from my aunt in New Zealand.
From the packet it looks large and juicy
5. Brandywine - the
remains of a packet that I tried (and largely failed with) last year
Essex Wonder - the HSL
variety currently being "sponsored" by me and colleagues in the Guardian Unlimited
news team
6. San Marzano - another half-full packet from last year.
This one's a small plum tomato that brought limited success
7. Auntie Madge's - another Heritage Seed Library packet that I don't think I had much joy with last year
... And probably several more that Ihave dropped off my tomato radar.
I sowed one pot of each, in the end. There'll be time for fresh sowings later, if it all goes pear-shaped. Even though lots of tomato seed packets suggest sowing in February or March, if you are sowing to grow outside, it's best to hold off for as long as you dare. Otherwise you're left with leggy seedlings desperate to be planted out, when it's still too chilly for them to thrive.
Oh, and the seed compost mix? Nothing snazzy, just some peat free compost cut with a few generous handfuls of perlite, that white crumbly substance that helps to aerate the soil: vital for young roots to develop.
Gosh, you're brave to sow tomatoes in March! I never dare do it until mid April at the earliest. And this year, God knows when it will be safe. At the risk of sounding very bitter and angry, I am absolutely fed up with this crappy weather. This is the lousiest spring I can remember for years and years, and all the seeds I've sown indoors are getting leggy and falling over. It's too darn cold for them by the windows and there's been barely enough light to keep them alive elsewhere. I think I'm going to have to re-sow all my early brassicas and celeriac and my fury knows no bounds. And the met office say we've got another fortnight of this!!
Posted by: Jess | March 21, 2006 at 08:58 AM
Sub-Arctic Plenty was bred so that American soldiers in Greenland could have nice fresh tomatoes, or something like that. I've grown them outside a couple of times and they did fine (without much looking after from me, I have to add). We don't really eat tomatoes, but I would describe them as a nice round, red salad tomato rather than something you would cook.
Posted by: Muppet | March 21, 2006 at 09:39 AM
I should say, Jess, that I'll probably sow some more in April as I don't think I've got through all the varieties I have. And I worry that leaving things til April will mean they aren't mature enough to have a reasonable growing season.
Although on the other hand, that doesn't really matter if they're blasted by the cold. Ah, the dilemmas of veg growing ...
Posted by: Jane Perrone | March 21, 2006 at 10:55 AM
I grew Brandywine outdoors last year on my east London allotment. They grew well and each plant produced about 6 large fruit weighing about 300-500g each. Cosequently the plants needed good support and I only let three trusses set on each. The skins were delightfully thin and the flesh rich and delicious. I wish you luck with this fantastic variety.
Posted by: Matt Goodyear | March 21, 2006 at 11:33 AM
I envy you guys your ability to grow tomatoes on your site. We have all virtually given up at ours as every year, just before they ripen, tomato blight sweeps through the site in a couple of days and kills almost every plant on the 52 plots. Last year I had a huge weight of fruit on my strong healthy plants, and had just picked the first few "Outdoor Girl", when it happened.
3 days later all I had was a pile if stinking. black mush on the floor, along with everyone else.
I won't bother this year, it's too frustrating.
Posted by: Greenmantle | March 21, 2006 at 02:17 PM
Good luck with the starts. We started several varieties on our window sill on a heat mat weeks ago and only a few came up. UGH! So we restarted them in very light sowing medium and they are almost all coming up now!
I think in colder climes, especially where blight can happen, it is crucial to get an early start on toms. They grow great indoors until they can be set out in a polytunnel or cold frame.
Our biggest problem with toms on the island is too short a growing season and late summer blight. We can have 3 months of perfect days, sunny and blue but come August or early Sept morning fogs set in until 2pm and that is enough to do it. We lost 150 plants full of ripening fruits last summer. We picked like crazy at first sight, but with a second morning of thick fog it was over. Almost everyone on the island lost their crop. There are ways to stop it--row covers, air circulation, etc. This year I am hoping the secret weapon is the polytunnel.
Posted by: Podchef | March 21, 2006 at 04:52 PM
Touch wood, blight hasn't been a huge problem for me so far. It's those damn late June frosts that worry me ...
Posted by: Jane Perrone | March 22, 2006 at 08:07 AM
I grew some heiloom and brandywine last year. They did really well and produced large heavy fruit. The plants needed strong support. The final product was well worth the extra effort.
Posted by: Garden Guy | April 02, 2006 at 02:36 AM
Do you publish a magazine about the tomatoes or catalog on products that you sell. anything free? Thanks
Posted by: Ava Nell Smith | May 01, 2006 at 07:03 PM
Where can i buy a tomato called essex wonder? thanks
Posted by: adrain | May 13, 2007 at 08:27 PM