exotic variety of tomato?

[BeowulfIII]

I have been planning the vegetable patch in Spring and was wondering if anyone could pass on an idea for a more exotic species of tomato that does well in the Southeast.

I will have sungold and brandywine as they are such great producers and so delicious but would like to experiment with something new also. Any ideas?

[Paul mabbott]

All toms are exotic (derived from the Americas) and do well in SE (England, I presume?). I (when I lived in London) tried many varieties but always went back to Gardener's Delight.
Do you have problems with your current strains? If not, don't change!

Originally Posted by BeowulfIII

I have been planning the vegetable patch in Spring and was wondering if anyone could pass on an idea for a more exotic species of tomato that does well in the Southeast.

I will have sungold and brandywine as they are such great producers and so delicious but would like to experiment with something new also. Any ideas?

[BeowulfIII]

Thanks Paul, not really, I had a good harvest last year but watched a show (Beyond River Cottage) with Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and he had a number of varieties in his polytunnel that looked very interesting. I will do a little more investigation and report on my findings. Any other interesting and tasty vegies you could recommend?

[Garden Carpet]

Hi Beowulf, I saw an advert for a black, cherry tomato... and some yellows is that the sort of thing you had in mind. If so I will look for the ad.
jaki

[BeowulfIII]

Jaki, just that sort of thing. The ads would be great. I am so looking forward to the Srping and putting in an interesting vegie patch and seeing the results. Also planting some Hamamelis and jasmine if I can find the officionalis version that WAB put me onto. Am quite new to this, live in central london but have a reasonably sized backyard with a number of trees and am hoping to convert it into a wildlife mecca with bird feeders and a number of newly planted trees, shrubs and obviously the vegie patch.

[smartie]

Marmande tomatoes are full of flavour and are reputedly the best of the Mediterranean cooking tomatoes. They are best grown outdoors. You can get seeds from Suttons. Why not try something like tumbling tom, as well - a cherry tomato you can grow in hanging baskets. Can't recommend it yet, as I'm trying it myself this year for the first time, but it is very popular - always sells out.

If you can get to Wimpole Hall (NT), it is worth visiting in the summer to see the tomatoes in their walled garden. They grew over 60 varieties this year and had a tomato tasting weekend at the end of the summer. The big walled kitchen garden is full of interesting veg and fruit and is worth seeing for its own sake, and the gardeners are very knowledgeable and helpful. They sell some of the produce. The house and park are very interesting too. A good day out.

If you like cabbage/kale, how about trying cavolo nero, a purple/black Italian brassica that is IMO even tastier than savoy cabbage and which keeps well in the ground. We also grow borlotti beans, which are very sucessful here. With those two ingredients and the tomatoes you could make ribollita, the best soup ever

[smartie]

And another thing that has just occurred to me.... If you want to grow salad leaves, Jekka's Herbs do some interesting seed mixes for leaves that are a bit out of the ordinary. They have several alternatives that you can see on their website. They are very good for herbs, too.

[Garden Carpet]

Hi Beowulf. This is from this months Gardeners World magazine.

Try the new tomato 'Black Cherrry' for its temptingly dark fruits. This versatile cordon variety can be grown in containers or growing bags, under glass or outdoors.

Harvest late july to late october under glass

Seed from Thompson and Morgon at www.thompson-morgan.com

Have fun.
jaki

PS. Dont do what I did last year and grow tomatoes in the same conservatory as the grapevine. I lost thirty plus pounds of grapes because they like it dry and I kept it moist for the toms!!

[Seajay]

Hi Beowulf, There was one a few years ago called Tigerella. You've guessed it - stripey. Nice tangy flavour though. I think it was T and Ms

[antdg]

Hi

I have grow tumbling tom in hanging baskets for the last 2 years. I have always had a good crop, but they do need to be kept moist. Some days I ended up watering 3 times when it was very hot.

Tony

[BeowulfIII]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I bought a Marmande variety (thanks smartie), Gardener's Delight, Alicante and a cherry called (F) Fantasio. I have put them in the seedpots in the conservatory already as I am hoping that there will be a particularly long growing season if January is anything to go by and I can plant them at the end of the month.

I have been on the Thompson and Morgan site (the range is unbeleivable) and will buy another couple for the balcony (will try the Tigarella).

Also bought some leeks, runner beans, mangetout as I am putting in some trellising at the back of the garden for climbing beans.

[nightshade]

We used to buy a beautiful yellow tomato from an honesty stall
near Holsworthy and have tried for years to find the variety
I do always try and add real chicken manure to any tomato
growing area it really gives a good flavour

[BeowulfIII]

I saw a variety yesterday called Golden Sunrise? Were they a beefy tomato?

[Gill Catton]

'simpson's seeds' are a brilliant little nursery that specialise n tomotoes peppers and chillis, the have seeds for all sorts of weirdo vareities and seedlings later in te year at their gorgeous old walled garden near Longleat. My favourites were little yellow pear shaped ones I might try to grow them myself this year!!

[jake_k]

i have some dried out tomato plants is it possible to revive them

[Paul mabbott]

We're going a bit off-topic here but we grow several kales and the favourite must be 'Black Russian' (or the similar 'Red Russian' or 'Purple Russian' ...). This not only keeps producing leaf for the longest period and in the deepest winter but, in contrast to C. nero, doesn't harbour slugs in the rolled over leaves! [Not that I have anything against slugs, you will appreciate, just don't want them in my dinner!]

For people who don't know kales - these are just leafy cabbage-like crucifers with the advantage that you can eat them one leaf at a time .... contrasts with cabbages, cauliflowers where you have to eat the whole plant and they all come in a rush ....&c With kale you can have a large amount for a major dish or you can just take a couple of leaves to add to a salad or soup ....

Originally Posted by smartie

If you like cabbage/kale, how about trying cavolo nero, a purple/black Italian brassica that is IMO even tastier than savoy cabbage and which keeps well in the ground. We also grow borlotti beans, which are very sucessful here. With those two ingredients and the tomatoes you could make ribollita, the best soup ever

Sounds great soup - got the recipe? I don't have shares in the company but have always found interesting things at Seeds of Italy - and in generous numbers of seeds!

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by smartie

And another thing that has just occurred to me.... If you want to grow salad leaves, Jekka's Herbs do some interesting seed mixes for leaves that are a bit out of the ordinary. They have several alternatives that you can see on their website. They are very good for herbs, too.

I've already plugged this in a different context. I've bought lettuce, rocket and other 'greenery' seeds from Seeds of Italy - you get enormous packets of seeds which would last most people five or six years.

With regard to salad greens, I gave up using the mixtures some time ago - more trouble than they're worth (and relatively expensive). I just sow small patches of different lettuces, chicories, rocket, chervil, mustard, whatever, at monthly intervals and then pick a few leaves from each patch - the problem with the mixes is that some components take over (the rocket grows fastest and slows down everything else, for instance) and some things don't thrive in the mix and you get grass and other things mixed in which doesn't improve the salad!